At this year’s 3daysofdesign festival in Copenhagen, OFFECCT presents the results of a semester-long collaboration with the renowned Swiss design university ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne. The project asked students to rethink the traditional room divider, exploring new ideas that improve acoustics and support sustainable design.
Rethinking the Room Divider
ECAL’s Master Product Design students took on a bold challenge: to design ‘formally surprising and functionally effective sound-insulating room dividers’ for the spaces of tomorrow. Set as an internal competition, the course invited students to rethink both the materiality and construction logic behind traditional acoustic panels.
Camille Blin, Head of Master Product Design at ECAL: “In an open-plan office, visual and acoustic barriers are essential for maintaining focus and managing noise, yet they can often feel oppressive or isolating. This presented a wonderful challenge for our students: to reimagine these otherwise anonymous partitions and infuse them with a sense of humanity, creativity, and humour, transforming them from purely functional elements into true characters within the shared environment.”
As modern workspaces and living environments trend towards open-plan designs, the need for acoustic comfort and adaptable spatial organisation has never been greater.
With a long track record of innovative acoustic solutions, OFFECCT was a natural partner for this project, offering valuable insight into how furniture can improve both the sound and feel of shared spaces.
Øystein Austad, Design Manager at OFFECCT: “At OFFECCT, we see it as our responsibility not just to design functional products, but to explore new ideas and challenge conventional thinking. This project with the talented students from ECAL - the ‘stars of tomorrow’ - gave us the opportunity to do just that: to find a balance between radical creativity and practical application. The results are both inspiring and relevant to the evolving nature of how and where we work.”
Exhibition at 3daysofdesign
The most outstanding designs will be showcased during 3daysofdesign, held from 18–20 June 2025 at Papirøen (Paper Island) in Copenhagen’s Holmen district, offering visitors a first look at the future of acoustic furniture through the lens of emerging design talent.
More than just a showcase of student work, the project highlights the value of collaboration between education and industry. With OFFECCT’s experience in developing smart, sustainable acoustic solutions, the partnership has helped bridge creative exploration with real-world application.
About 3daysofdesign
Celebrating its growing influence as a global design event, 3daysofdesign is a dynamic festival for dreamers, doers, and the design-curious. Held across Copenhagen’s showrooms, galleries, and creative spaces, the event offers a platform for both emerging voices and established brands to connect with design lovers from around the world.
Find out more about visiting the exhibition
