Design and sculptural fun in GFRC - Hans Henrik Øhlers

['White Tube'  is a fun playground sculpture in Guldbergs Plads, Copenhagen N by Danish artist Hans Henrik Øhlers. PU-foam, Steel reinforcement, Fibre concrete. Image by the artist]

['White Tube'  by artist Hans Henrik Øhlers. PU-foam, Steel reinforcement, Fibre concrete. Image by the artist]

I notice this great sculptural playscape whenever I bike past the school and playground in the Guldberg Plads situated in Copenhagen neighborhood Nørrebro. I have not yet got off my bike and on to the sculpture - or into it - but now I came across the piece in the secret goldmine website of Contec, the manufacturer of GFRHPC ( Glass Fiber Reinforced High Performance Concrete) with references you can read more about here and here. I guess I have not passed the sculpture by night either - it must be lovely illuminated from within with the embedded fiberoptics

[Enjoy the great atmosphere and work process conveyed in the video of the last parts of making the White Tube on site by Hans Henrik Øhlers]

And if in Copenhagen, check out the entire outer Nørrebro area, which also features superstar architects BIG and cooool artists Superflex' Superkilen Urban Park

[He looks like such a nice guy. Danish artist-builder-innovator Hans Henrik Øhlers. Via]

Danish artist and builder Hans Henrik Øhlers has developed fun and curious specialities and innovative construction methods that he applies to combine sculptural work with functionality - he makes sculptural playground installations in PU-foam covered with reinforcement and GRC, he does furniture design and custom interior designs for recording studios, and acoustic and light installations. 

As you may tell as you scroll down, I am really happy to have stumbled into Øhlers web site - especially the fact that he values to communicate the process of his projects so much.

[Wave Rock by Øhlers. In PU-foam, black polyurea]

[The Slope slidable sculpture by Hans Henrik Øhlers]

[Øhlers custom designs and makes futuristic sound recording studio interiors. Image via]

[Acoustic wall sculpture by Øhlers. For GL music, studio C, via]

[Images of the process of making the acoustic wall sculpture. Via]

The acoustic sculpture is for interiors. It's really interesting because it features reflecting as well as absormant surfaces. Inside the diffusing (through the holes) sound-reflecting shell, there is sound-absorbing Paper-wool. It is placed directly behind the listener in a sound studio. Check out more images of the manufacturing process here. I am a sucker for improving acoustics and I would love to have a few of these acoustic reefs on my wall - and also, though I am enjoying the crafted work by Øhlers I would wish for the techniques he is developing that they could be scaled in numbers, that is to say industrially made. I mean, wouldn't it be great to have access to more sculptural acoustic solutions.

[Images of 'Organic Lamp 1' by Øhlers. 85 cm diameter, made from GFRC with fiberoptics. Via ]

[Furniture in GFRHPC for theater foyer. Design and production by Øhlers, image via]

More concrete designs in GFRC - wait GFHPC, no GFRHPC

Ok, so GFRC is Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete - the Danish company Contec-prefab uses a patented GFRHPC - which is Glass Fiber Reinforced High Performance Concrete. - not catchy but efficient. See the images below to get an idea of how thin -

[Images of Glass Fiber Reinforced High Performance Concrete (GFRHPC) at Contec-Prefab, via]

Contec did the collaboration with Designer Christian Flindt, which I wrote about here. The company has 20 years of experience of working with High and Ultra High Performance concrete technologies - so, the faithful Concretely reader will not be surprised when the early work was based on a technology developed by Mr. Hans Henrik Bache in late 1970´s and early 1980´s. Compact Reinforced Concrete (CRC). (Mr. Bache is the father of Anja Bache who also explores and develops CRC). Do check out their gallery section here for more collaborations.

[Images of GRHPC designs manufactured by Contec. Images via]

[Fun playground sculpture in Guldbergs Plads, Copenhagen N by Danish artist Hans Henrik Øhlers. Image by the artist]

[Fun playground sculpture in Guldbergs Plads, Copenhagen N by Hans Henrik Øhlers. Image and manufacture via]

Cool fabric-formed contrast - Christian Flindt and Contec

[You need to know in order to notice - I love the contrasting combination of classic furniture materials like wood and upholstered seats with concrete sprayed in flexible molds. Design by Christian Flindt. Photo via]

[Fabric former and he is handsome too - the Danish designer Christian Flindt. Photo via]

It is about time I introduce you to some fabric formed concrete designs by Danish designer Christian Flindt. He may be one of the first designers to combine flexible formwork and sprayed high-performance concrete for design products. That is designs intended to actually be reproduced in greater numbers. I first came across his use of sprayed concrete on fabric molds when my mother (sweetheart, yes) sent me a cutout from her newspaper interview from when Flindt was invited to participate in the competition to make new designs to refurbish Iconic UN assembly Finn Juhl. Since the interview was from during the competition I have not seen any images – and they are not se clearly seen on Flindt’s web site – you really need to know it when you see these images of the entry prototypes that combines soft upholstered seats for the long meetings, with an alternative to backs made from bent wooden veneer ply.

[Look again - the dark finish and the back of the classic chair design is not leather nor is it wood but the smoothest concrete. Design by Christian Flindt. Photo via]

I, finally, found the images of the fabric-formed chair in a lovely hiding place of a company web site today – Contec-prefab - another treat for you, is the high-performance concrete division within the Danish company Contec. While I tend to feel stupid when a company this relevant for my concrete endeavors slips under my concrete radar – I really wish that companies would invest in being searchable online. Oh well. It turns out that Contec and Flindt have teamed up and I really love their work.

[GFRC and wood. Images from the design prototypes for the Finn Juhl Hall. Design by Christian Flindt. Photo via]

I have always had a soft spot for the contrast between the materialities of concrete next to other materials like wood or steel. – Italian architect icon Carlo Scarpa was my first encounter, the amazing Castel Vecchio. I really, really want one of Flindt’s tables where he combines wood and smooth high strength concrete. The accuracy and finishes are great!!

Oh – I nearly forgot – look at the façade prototypes in colored concrete. 

[Facade panels. Design by Christian Flindt. Photo via]

I look forward to more fruitful collaborations by Flindt and Contec. – and I hope that manufacturing technologies soon will make it economically feasible to produce sprayed concrete panels and furniture in flexible formwork in the limited numbers...

The Arizona based design-builder-educator Gore Design is another goodfella using GFRC and flexible formwork. - They do design and manufacture/contracting themselves – but you already knew about that, right?