Copenhagen, Denmark
2023 - 2024
Ekko Chair
Designed in collaboration with Danish furniture maker Brdr. Krüger, the Ekko Chair marks Henning Larsen's first chair design since 1969 — conceived as an extension of the architecture it was made for.
Project details
Client
Højvangen Church / Brdr. Krüger
Typology
Status
Named after the Danish word for echo, the Ekko Chair is designed as a reflection of the bearing columns and beams of the church it was made for. It echoes the Danish tradition of puritan church seating, paying homage to the past while adapting to contemporary needs and aesthetics — and echoes the values of the church itself: a sense of openness and connection to something larger.
Originally designed for Højvangen Church in Skanderborg, the Ekko Chair was conceived not as an accessory to the architecture but as a continuation of it — shaped by the same principles of openness, honesty, and quiet permanence that define the building. Designed with Danish furniture maker Brdr. Krüger, the collaboration marks Henning Larsen's first chair design since 1969, and Brdr. Krüger's first church chair since the company's founding in 1886.
Traditional craftsmanship
A wooden chair built entirely with 90-degree right angles and no supporting structures is, by most conventions, an engineering problem. The geometry challenges structural logic, and the typical result is a chair with a short lifespan. Over eighteen months of collaboration, Brdr. Krüger developed a specially engineered mortise-and-tenon joint to make the form viable — one that required extensive prototyping and testing to perfect. The result meets the highest EU durability standard (L2) for extreme use. For a chair designed to live inside a church built for centuries, durability was essential.
"Many prototypes broke along the way, but we're incredibly proud to have created a chair that uncompromisingly combines elegance with robustness. This is a chair designed to endure, both within and beyond the church," says Jonas Krüger, Brdr. Krüger.
Materials were chosen with the same care. All wood is PEFC-certified, sourced from responsibly managed forests. The backrest is steam-bent — a process that shapes rather than cuts, reducing waste. The seat is handwoven from 100% natural linen webbing, and each chair is oiled and polished by hand. Over time, the materials develop a patina, growing quietly into the space they inhabit.
"People often say simplicity is the hardest to achieve, and that was certainly our experience with the Ekko Chair."
Anders Astrup Andersen
Senior Designer
An echo of architecture
Højvangen Church was designed as a gathering place for contemporary life — open, inclusive, and built around a centrally located pulpit and baptismal font. Over eighteen months, we worked closely with Brdr. Krüger to develop a design that mirrored the architectural identity of the church — sharing its values of simplicity, durability, and a quiet sense of belonging.
Three hundred Ekko Chairs now surround the central font in a circular arrangement, their pattern tracing the ripples of water across the floor. Together they shape the room as much as the walls do, defining the space for gathering, for ceremony, for quiet reflection.
Rooted in a purist approach to form, the chair is characterized by clean lines and a universal quality that allows hundreds of chairs to sit together while maintaining the coherence of the room. Warm without being decorative, present without being loud, the Ekko Chair supports ritual and community without drawing attention away from either.
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Senior Designer
Greta Tiedje
Global Design Director
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Højvangen Church
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