This Is Not a Forest by Archival
This Is Not a Forest at the Danish Architecture Center (DAC) reimagines the institution’s Welcome Hall as a sensory and conceptual landscape. Designed by Archival as the architectural author, the exhibition is developed in close collaboration with Dinesen Lab for materials and Studio Pneuma for scent.
Opening during 3daysofdesign and on view until autumn 2026, DAC offers an immersive environment shaped by wood, process and perception.
Architecture as constructed nature
Set within the BLOX building by OMA, DAC’s Welcome area, a threshold between city and exhibition, has been transformed into the primary site of exploration. Archival redefines the space through a new reception desk and a series of landscape-like furnishings. Here, wood is not merely a material but the central medium through which the exhibition unfolds.
This Is Not a Forest operates as a framework rather than a literal representation. It does not recreate nature; instead, it reveals how architecture constructs experiences that feel natural. Through verticality, repetition, and filtering, the installation echoes the spatial qualities of a forest while remaining explicitly fabricated. What appears organic is, in fact, carefully orchestrated.
At the core of Archival’s approach lies the act of processing as a design act. From cutting and milling to drying and assembling, each stage of wood’s transformation is treated as both a technical and creative decision. These processes are made visible, inviting visitors to consider the full lifecycle of material, from extraction to construction, as an ethical and spatial condition.
A collaborative material framework
While Archival defines the conceptual and architectural framework, Dinesen provides the wood that underpins the installation, in the form of offcuts and “Tiles” assembled into end-grain mosaics. Through Dinesen Lab (a part of Dinesen), this collaboration expands into a shared investigation of how we engage with forests through design, craft, and material awareness. Studio Pneuma adds a subtle olfactory layer, reinforcing the exhibition’s sensory depth.
“This exhibition reflects our mission to use the entire tree trunk responsibly and find uses for parts unsuitable for floor planks. Archival has explored Dinesen Tiles, an end-grain floor in the making, made entirely from discarded Douglas fir.”
Under Archival’s direction, the exhibition invites visitors NOT to step into a forest, but instead to recognise how such sensations are constructed and how material awareness can shape more thoughtful, circular approaches to design.
Explore the exhibition until 27 September 2026. Continue to Danish Architecture Center.