Earth Tree Installation
EARTH TREE INSTALLATION
Kengo Kuma & Associates
ARCHITECTS
Kengo Kuma & Associates
PARTNER IN CHARGE
Yuki Ikeguchi
SPONSORS
buro Happold, Dinesen, Petersen Tegl A/S, Anker & Co., Kvadrat
MANUFACTURERS
Dinesen, Anker & Co, Buro Happold, Kvadrat, Petersen Tegl
TEAM
Asger T. Taarnberg, Nicolas Guichard, Yasemin Shiner
SUPPORTED BY
Nordea, Høje-taastrup And Realdania, Dreyers Fond, The Danish Arts Foundation, Toyota Foundation
EXHIBITION DESIGNER
Kengo Kuma And Associates
PHOTOGRAPHS
Dinesen
ENGINEERS
Dinesen
YEAR
2026
LOCATION
København, Denmark
CATEGORY
Temporary Installations
English description provided by the architects.
Earth | Tree, a new site-specific installation with Dinesen Douglas by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma and his studio Kengo Kuma & Associates (KKAA), opens at international art centre Copenhagen Contemporary on 28 March 2026.
As part of Copenhagen Contemporary's CCreate program, the new exhibition transforms a former industrial hall into an immersive architectural environment shaped by wood, brick, and light.
The installation is led by KKAA partner Yuki Ikeguchi and marks the studio's first major exhibition in Scandinavia, featuring a site-specific installation.
At the core of the installation is a suspended structure composed of handcrafted Dinesen Douglas fir elements.
The wood is processed in collaboration with the Danish Troldkær School as part of an initiative to develop and empower students with special needs, an initiative supported by CC.
The construction allows light to filter through and shift throughout the day, inspired by the Japanese concept of komorebi – the effect of sunlight passing through tree canopies and casting moving patterns of light and shadow.
The project brings together materials from a group of Danish manufacturers: wood from Dinesen, brick from Petersen Tegl, and lighting by Anker & Co.
Together, these elements form a spatial composition that connects Japanese and Nordic approaches to materiality and craft.
The collaboration between Dinesen and KKAA is grounded in a shared understanding of wood as a natural and living material.
In Kuma's work, wood is used to create light, permeable structures that dissolve the boundary between architecture and nature.
Dinesen's approach similarly begins in the forest, working with handpicked trees and refined craftsmanship to reveal the inherent qualities of the material.
In Earth | Tree, this shared perspective becomes tangible. The wooden structure by Dinesen shapes the space through its texture, scale, and scent, while interacting with the changing light conditions created by Anker & Co., reflecting the daily rhythm from sunrise to sunset and generating a continuously evolving atmosphere.
Representing the earth are Petersen Tegl's handcrafted stone tiles in warm beige and red-brown hues, grounding the artwork.
The installation also reflects a shared commitment to responsible material use. By working with sustainably sourced wood and incorporating recycling into the design, the project emphasises longevity and the full utilisation of resources, which lies at the heart of Dinesen.
"Collaboration with artists is at the heart of Dinesen. Through our wood, they bring visions to life, infusing our work with unique stories, identity, and an expanded mythology.
Art is as a space where we are challenged and can connect to something greater than ourselves." – Hans Peter Dinesen, Brand Director at Dinesen and fifth-generation owner
Earth | Tree invites visitors to experience architecture as a sensory and material practice, where structure, light, and atmosphere are inseparable.
