CPH:DOX launches a three-year partnership with two of the country’s leading design brands

Every year, Kunsthal Charlottenborg transforms into the festival’s headquarters—a place that must serve many different purposes at once.

It requires a cinema where you can sit back, be entertained, and learn something new. It requires a lounge area where you can meet, be inspired, and where there is room for both reflection and socializing. And of course, it requires a bar where conversations can flow freely both before and after the films.

Architects Sarah Falk Fredslund and Terroir v. Mikkel Møller Roesdahl have designed the headquarters, which—even though it is temporary—can accommodate all the different needs that a gathering place for CPH:DOX must meet. They have based their design of the festival’s centerpiece on one of CPH:DOX’s core values: curiosity.

“By creating a temporary space like this, we have a unique opportunity to be innovative in our design approach. We’ve taken an exploratory approach in that the many different components that make up the bar, cinema, and lounge will be stored away for the coming years and set up again—but in new ways,” says Mikkel Møller Roesdahl about the ambition to create a space that feels distinctive and well-thought-out, even though it is temporary.

This year, CPH:DOX has also launched a new three-year collaboration with Montana and Gabriel—two prominent Danish brands, each with a long history of Danish design and craftsmanship, which are contributing furniture and textiles, respectively, to the headquarters. The design process has therefore been based on the materials’ inherent properties, ensuring that the dimensions and processing leave just as many possibilities for the years to come. For example, most of the textiles are used in their full length, with the rolls serving as the structural support, so they can be rolled up again and reused next year.

“Multi-year partnerships offer a significant advantage. When partnerships are planned for more than one year at a time, there is an opportunity for an iterative process where the learning and experience gained from spaces, products, and materials are used to improve and strengthen the formats. Resources are incorporated into longer and more cyclical processes, and this can inspire transformation and reuse,” says Sarah Falk Fredslund.

At Montana, they are happy to contribute:

“At Montana, we’re always interested in how design can shape the experience of a space. During CPH:DOX, Kunsthal Charlottenborg becomes a temporary cultural hub where architecture, design, film and people come together. Our contribution is about supporting that atmosphere — creating flexible, colour-driven spaces that invite people to gather, reflect and engage with the stories unfolding on screen,” says Trine Roed, Brand & Marketing Director at Montana Furniture.

At the textile manufacturer Gabriel, there is also excitement about the new partnership:

“In both film and textile design, the experience is shaped by details people may not consciously notice: Texture, tone, atmosphere. With our installation at CPH:DOX, we explore how temporary spaces can inspire longer-lasting change. We see it as a small experimental lab where people meet, exchange ideas and test new perspectives. By bringing people together in an inclusive and mindful way, the project becomes part of a broader cultural continuum – showing how temporary installations can spark more permanent and sustainable approaches to design,” says Cenk Kivrikoglu, Creative Director at Gabriel.

If you visit Kunsthal Charlottenborg during CPH:DOX, in addition to furniture from Montana and textiles from Gabriel, you can also enjoy beer from To Øl and cocktails from Mikropolis at the bar, where the playlist is curated by Naya Burić from P8 Jazz.