'Teenage Dreams' come to life in an immersive new exhibition

What’s the typical future teenager’s room going to look like? A current exhibition at the Danish Architecture Center explores that very question with a number of surprising answers relating to the influence social media, sustainability, and mental health concerns have all had on interior design as it moves headlong into the third decade of the 21st century.

Teenage Dreams, which opened as part of 3daysofdesign on June 12th in Copenhagen, is an invitation to explore a "dream universe" with installations from three studios: Our Shift, Natural Material Studio, and Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, along with photographs from the sociologist Barbara Marstrand. Their contributions capture the ability for ideas and behaviors to influence design trends, preferring an assembly of different manifestations over haptic observations and, ultimately, spurring a conversation that will challenge the conventions of typical domestic space and its expression through design.

"Spaces can have a huge impact on our well-being and sense of identity. Historically, Danish designers have focused on creating high-quality furniture for adults and educational furniture for children, whereas teens have been more or less neglected. This despite the fact that our teenage years are a highly formative period of our lives," Senior curator Pernille Stockmarr said finally. "We are living in interesting times with changing values. Teenagers are not only quicker to respond [to] these changes; they will also be tasked with shaping our future. As such, it is important to consider how the physical surroundings can reflect the dreams teenagers have about the massive changes they are faced with."

The exhibition can be experienced in person until January 5th, 2025.