When Hall 2 at Myrens Verksted fills with design this September, sustainability forms the very foundation of the setting. Designers Kristine Bjaadal and Bjørn van den Berg are behind the exhibition design for four key showcases during Designers’ Saturday 2025: DS Best Interior, DS Best Talents, DS Collab, and DS Unika.

What these exhibitions have in common is that they not only present fresh ideas and expressions in Norwegian and Nordic design – they also embody a new way of thinking about exhibitions, material use, and collaboration. Under this year’s theme, Repurpose, Bjaadal and van den Berg have worked with a clear intention: to use materials that can return to the circular cycle after use, leaving as light a footprint as possible.

“We wanted to keep the processing of materials to a minimum, so that after the exhibition they can be returned to suppliers or passed on to designers and students,” they explain.

Textiles from Kvadrat are neither cut nor sewn but hung so they can easily be rolled up again after use. Panels in valchromat and Really – made from forestry by-products and recycled textiles – are largely left intact, while the podiums in Unika are built from untreated timber borrowed from Hamran. In DS Collab, Oslofinér has contributed chipboard workbenches that will be returned after the event, and the literal foundation of the Unika exhibition consists of breathable, chemical-free boards and clay paint from Grund, a new Norwegian manufacturer. After the exhibition, the boards go back to Grund for reuse.

Every material has been chosen with care – for its aesthetics, structure, and durability, but also with the clear aim of avoiding waste. Posters are printed on Re-board – lightweight yet durable cardboard panels that can either be donated for further use or recycled as paper.

“It has been important for us to create spaces with distinct atmospheres, but in a way that ensures the products and projects remain in focus. The exhibition design should not dominate, but act as a calm backdrop.”

Through collaboration with partners such as Erco (lighting), Oslofinér, Kvadrat, Grund, and Hamran, the project demonstrates how exhibition design and production can form part of a circular and flexible system – where nothing is intended to be temporary, but instead given new life in the next stage.

When Hall 2 at Myrens Verksted opens its doors on 12 September, it will not only be new talents, bold concepts, and unique collaborations that take centre stage. The very framework will also tell a story – of materials, responsibility, and the possibility of rethinking how we present what is new.

About the exhibition designers:

Kristine Bjaadal holds a Master’s degree in design from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Based in Oslo, she is the studio manager of the creative workspace Studio Prindsen. As a designer, she works in the intersection between function and sculpture, both in collaboration with industrial producers and through her own small-scale production. She also works with exhibition design and project management for design shows, and has for several years been involved as exhibition designer for Lagvis, Norwegian Presence, and Oslo Design Fair, as well as project manager for, among others, Norwegian Presence in Milan in 2023 and the recent exhibition VOLUM 00 in Copenhagen.

Web: kristinebjaadal.no
Instagram: @kristinebjaadal

Bjørn van den Berg holds a Master’s degree in Product Design from OsloMet. Based in Oslo, he designs everyday objects in close collaboration with various manufacturers. Through material quality, tactility, and subtle references, he seeks to create products that invite presence and long-term use. Van den Berg works in both product and furniture design and has extensive experience in exhibition design and project management. He was project manager for the first Unika auction in 2017 and has been involved in several exhibitions for Norwegian Presence – including as exhibition designer with Sverre Uhnger and Silje Nesdal in 2018, and with Kråkvik & D’Orazio in 2023 during Salone del Mobile in Milan.

Web: bjornvandenberg.no
Instagram: @bjornvandenberg