Modular timber bench wins VELUX x Roskilde Festival Sustainability Challenge 2023
The winning flexible seating arrangement made from discarded pallets was one of 10 finalist solutions competing to become part of future festivals. The students involved in the second annual sustainability challenge used recyclable materials to develop furniture for lounge areas where festival-goers can relax at Roskilde Festival.
In collaboration with Roskilde Festival’s Circular Lab and IDA, the VELUX Group invited students to develop new concepts for lounge furniture while using materials that are recyclable to promote a more sustainable approach at festivals.
The winning modular-based timber seating called KNAD, was announced at the competition finale held on June 28, which is the official opening of Northern Europe’s largest music and arts festival.
About KNAD
The jury behind the Sustainability Challenge 2023 highlighted KNAD’s simplistic yet innovative form, functionality and versatility, plus the materials used. The shape is inviting for social gatherings, it’s easy to assemble, expand and transport and it’s made from few yet readily available materials – reclaimed timber, rope and screws.
The students behind KNAD are a group of friends who enjoy the social aspect of Roskilde Festival and wanted to help make it a more sustainable experience.
We got the idea of making a social, modular piece of furniture. We experimented with cardboard, but quickly realised that it wouldn't hold up to the elements. So we decided to use recycled wood from discarded pallets,
We've been to Roskilde quite a few times now. There is so much that is left behind. We would love to help fix the consumption cycle, where we buy and simply throw away. That's why it's great that the Sustainability Challenge has given us the opportunity to contribute to the green transition at Roskilde.
All KNAD members Johs Christian Rungholm, mechanical engineer student, Frederik Bach Juulsen, business communication student, Hans Jacobsen, history student, Emil Thomsen, HA English student and Marius Kirkholt Sørensen, information science student, can now look forward to a long-term collaboration with the Circular Lab at Roskilde Festival, supported by VELUX.
Circular solutions tested at Roskilde Festival
Roskilde Festival's Circular Lab works towards developing circular solutions to improve Roskilde Festival. At the Circular Lab, young people can test their new sustainable solutions for festival-goers.
Three of the best projects from last year are now part of the Circular Lab, where their solutions are exhibited and continuously developed. The best solutions from this year’s Sustainability Challenge will also join the Circular Lab, working towards contributing to a better festival in the future.
The most important task of the Circular Lab and the Sustainability Challenge is to create a healthier and better festival for all. We do this by thinking about the footprint we leave - also on the climate. We can rethink many things about how we organize festivals, and the projects from both this year and last year are clear proof of that. Our festival needs to be more sustainable, and it is important that we can contribute to this with IDA, the VELUX Group and a lot of talented young people.
Other highlighted projects
Second place went to a group of students who study IT Product Development at Aarhus University. Their sustainable lounge furniture, Love Couch, is made from recyclable, discarded, and biodegradable material. Third place went to Lazy N' Green, a project created by a group of young students from KEA, who presented a new sustainable ‘Fatboy’ made from used coffee bags filled with dried grass.
Two additional projects were highlighted as the most original ideas. Rehammock, created by a group of students from DTU, is a hammock made from discarded climbing rope, and Cultivating Design, created by two international students from SDU, is an innovative piece of lounge furniture made with discarded industrial materials and mycelium fungus.
Read more about Sustainability Challenge 2023 – VELUX x Roskilde Festival.
About the VELUX Group
For more than 80 years, the VELUX Group has created better living environments for people around the world; making the most of daylight and fresh air through the roof. Our product programme includes roof windows and modular skylights, decorative blinds, sun screening products and roller shutters, as well as installation and smart home solutions. These products help to ensure a healthy and sustainable indoor climate, for work and learning, for play and pleasure. We work globally – with sales and manufacturing operations in more than 37 countries and around 11,700 employees worldwide. The VELUX Group is owned by VKR Holding A/S, a limited company wholly owned by non-profit, charitable foundations (THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS) and family. In 2022, the VELUX Group had total revenue of EUR 2.99 billion, VKR Holding had total revenue of EUR 4.29 billion, and THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS donated EUR 181 million in charitable grants
For more information about the VELUX Group, visit velux.com.