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On a sunny afternoon in Copenhagen, we met with Kristian Rise, Deputy Director of Designmuseum Danmark, to talk about how this sculptural bench found its way into one of the city’s most historic courtyards. For nearly a decade, Kristian has shaped how visitors engage with design — not just through exhibitions, but through the moments in between.

The Dream View Bench, with its soft curves and industrial surface, was first encountered as a sketch in Vester’s studio. It immediately struck the museum team for its quiet clarity — a contemporary form that felt both tactile and contemplative.

“It’s a material experiment that’s quite honest, easy to understand, and carries a poetic expression,” Kristian says.

The museum has been housed in the former Royal Frederik’s Hospital since 1926 — a Rococo building from the 1750s, later adapted by Kaare Klint and Ivar Bentsen. When the hospital first opened in 1757, its design reflected a progressive idea for the time: that fresh air, natural light, and access to greenery could help people heal. Patients could step directly into the courtyard garden, and the rooms were built with large windows and doors opening onto the outdoors.

Today, the Dream View Bench quietly echoes that original intention. Its curved, reflective surface folds in the surrounding nature — the trees, the sky, the changing light — inviting rest, pause, and presence. Just as the hospital once looked to nature as a form of care, the bench offers a subtle but powerful reminder: that design, too, can play a role in our connection to nature and improve our well-being.

Placing a reflective steel object in a lush, historical garden was a deliberate move. The contrast was bold — but softened by the bench’s mirrored surface, which folds in its surroundings: green leaves, historic facades, passing clouds. It’s a subtle play of visibility and belonging.

Visitors respond intuitively. Some pause mid-walk to lean back into the curve. Others sit in pairs or stretch out alone, gazing skyward. “We placed the first bench and someone used it immediately,” Kristian recalls. “That’s the ideal — when the object speaks directly to the body.”

The chair’s sloped shape gently encourages this pause. It tips the body upward, reconnecting the sitter with the sky — a subtle invitation to daydream. It reflects a growing awareness of how form can shape mood, clarity, and connection to nature.

“We’re working on making our visitor journey feel more accessible, less formal. Design doesn’t have to sit behind glass. We want people to meet it, engage with it, and use it,” says Kristian.

For the museum, the bench is not just an object — it’s a living extension of its mission. The collaboration with Lise Vester continues a dialogue that began in 2022 with The Future’s Present, an exhibition exploring new design ideas.

“She’s part of a generation of designers working with a kind of soft attentiveness,” Kristian says. “There’s a clear concern for well-being, not just functionality. That aligns with the Danish design tradition, but brings something more empathetic into focus.”

He sees Vester’s work as emblematic of a broader shift — one where emotional and sensory thinking plays a central role in design. “We try to show the process behind an object,” he explains. “Not just what it looks like, but why it exists. How it connects to people. How it makes you feel.” It’s a sensibility that Vester shares with both the museum and Muuto — each in their own way shaping how design is felt, encountered, and lived with.

For now, the Dream View Bench sits quietly in the museum garden, open to use. It invites solitude, conversation, even play. Children treat it like a ride; others simply pause and breathe. “We’re still testing how it works in the space,” Kristian says, “but I think it offers something valuable: a moment to stop and reflect. That’s the power of design.”