If you are one of the many who have followed Denmark's next classic on DR1, you now have the opportunity to experience some of the works up close. In the penultimate episode of the last season, the participants had to design a lamp for Tivoli. As the garden kicked off the summer season today with 'Easter', both the winning lamp and the other participants' entries were exhibited in the garden, where they can be experienced until April 24th.
By Tina Kristensen.
04.04.2025.
Tivoli has a rich tradition of lamps. Since the first Tivoli season in 1843, light has been an attraction in itself, and with Poul Henningsen's rotating spiral lamp from 1949, Erik 'Spjæt' Christensen's dancing goldsmiths in Tivoli Lake and Olafur Eliasson's prisms, created especially for Tivoli, there is room here for the more creatively designed lighting objects. It was therefore interesting to see how the designers from 'Denmark's next classic' approached the task of designing a lamp for Tivoli.
Little Sun Light Swarm. New lamps for Tivoli by Olafur Eliasson and Little Sun
Photo: Mathias Fjeldborg
Free play
Under the title 'Free play in Tivoli' you can find episode 5 of season 6 on DR. Here you can see how the designers approach the project. "It's the greatest designers who have made lamps for Tivoli, so to have the opportunity to do that, it's incredible, it's unreal," says Saskia Hübner at the start of the program and the participants generally seem to be very inspired by the task of creating an outdoor lamp for the garden.
The judging panel included Jesper Kongshaug, Tivoli's lighting designer. He tells the participants that in the garden they try to create a narrative, a dramaturgy in the different seasons, so that you encounter the same experience in new ways. He talks about the fact that there is a fondness for dusk. Here, the designers' lamps must be part of the garden's story and the journey from day to night, where the electric light is turned up more and more.
Thus, the five designers were tasked with creating a timeless outdoor lamp that would not dazzle and at the same time have a playful expression. A task that was not entirely straightforward, as it turned out, perhaps especially for those who had not worked with lighting design before.
Denmark's next classic. Photo: DR
Variation in material and expression
It is always interesting to see how diverse designs can emerge from a fairly fixed task. Time and again you are surprised by the imaginative results and the project with the present lamps also resulted in some quite different expressions. The five designers have approached it very differently and this has resulted in five very different lamps. From soft shapes to more rigorous lines and with a great variation in the materials, from terrazzo and glass to rubber and metal.
The lamps are located in the Parterre Garden right by the lake and each piece has a small presentation of the project. While we walked around the garden, many curious guests stopped by the exhibition and read about the design and discussed it. Who was the favorite? Which lamp would look great at home in the garden?
Amanda Lilholt, Denmark's next classic, Tivoli. Photo: architecture/design 
Kasper Kjeldgaard, Denmark's next classic, Tivoli. Photo: architecture/design 
Saskia Hübner, Denmark's next classic, Tivoli. Photo: architecture/design 
Anne Linde, Denmark's next classic, Tivoli. Photo: architecture/design 
Sophus Bang, Denmark's next classic, Tivoli. Photo: architecture/design
And the winner is...
But there can only be one winner, and the winning lamp seems to be particularly suitable for Tivoli. It blends in as a natural part of the landscape, reflects the surroundings and plays with them.
The winner of the episode was designer Sophus Bang, on the grounds that he had created a poetic lamp that perfectly suits Tivoli.
"The lamp is created as a sculptural experience that changes from morning to night. During the day it captures and reflects the sunlight, creating optical distortions and playing with the surroundings. When darkness falls, it melts into Tivoli's magical scenography, where its subdued light is woven into the reflections from the Garden's millions of light sources. The inspiration comes from the light reflections on the rippled water surface of Tivoli Lake and the fabulous light refractions in old, handmade window glass. The mouth-blown lamp glass is created using the same technique as some of the earliest window glass, and the copper stands will patina over time and merge with the city's iconic iridescent spires. Tivoli has always been a world of light, color and movement - a poetic kaleidoscope that changes with the seasons, but always feels familiar. My lamp is a tribute to just that. It is a fabulous light source that plays with the magic of Tivoli," explains Sophus Bang.
The other lamps, designed by Amanda Lilholt, Saskia Hübner, Anne Linde and Kasper Kjeldgaard, the latter of whom came second in the episode from Tivoli, will also be exhibited in the Parterrehaven by Tivoli Lake.
The exhibition in Tivoli runs until April 24th.
The winner of the entire season was Amanda Lilholt for the waiting furniture she had made for Copenhagen Central Station in the first episode of the season. The entire season can be streamed on DRTV.
The picture above: Sophus Bang's winning lamp, Denmark's next classic. Photo: Louisa Lehmann Mortensen