LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS OF THE FUTURE

Ultima K, consultant and manufacturer within professional interior design, equips the learning environments of the future with flexibility and functionality. A high level of aesthetic appeal is a given.

Teaching, as practiced by schools since 1814, has traditionally placed the teacher at the center of the classroom, within a conventional interior limited to functionality: lectern, blackboard, chairs, desks.

In today’s learning environment, the focus has shifted. Students take center stage and engage in active interaction with their teachers to gain knowledge and competencies through lively dialogue.

Architecture and interior design are now assigned different leading roles. They are expected to promote and support dynamic and creative solutions and processes that arise from interaction within the learning space. Among innovatively active students, furniture and infrastructure become catalysts—acting as midwives in the pedagogical process.

This takes shape through form and color schemes; through interaction and infrastructure; but most of all—perhaps—through materials of not only high quality, but also warm and humanistic character. They should be vibrant and rustic, nature-based, and possess tactile qualities that activate and strengthen learning, such as Forbo Furniture Linoleum.

Architecture should inspire and invite people to live more sustainably by making it easy and intuitive to make sustainable choices in everyday life.

This is also a responsibility of the built environment, believe the architects at AART, who developed the ideas behind the new Kløverskolen in Gellerup.

At Ultima K’s theme day on schools in transformation, Anne Sofie Okkels from AART Architects highlighted the choice of natural materials as one of the key markers in Kløverskolen’s dialogue with its users:

“Architecture becomes, through these materials, a pathway to experience, a framework for coming together, and a voice for sustainable behavior,” explains Anne Sofie Okkels, pointing to brick and wood as the main spokespeople in the building’s material palette, while Forbo Furniture Linoleum serves as the recurring theme in the school’s interior design.

“Materials are crucial in the learning situation,” Anne Sofie Okkels emphasizes. “The surfaces and tactility of the furniture, their form, and the overall aesthetic that the interior design conveys.”

“It was a mega celebration when Furniture Linoleum 2025 was launched. The new colors were much needed and long awaited, so when they finally arrived, it was truly a delightful and refreshing breath of fresh air.”
This is how architect Kasper Mose describes it. A collaboration between Kasper Mose, Ultima K, and Ergomade has brought forward the universal furniture series Prima, with Forbo Furniture Linoleum 2025 playing a leading, star role.

When it comes to furniture design in general—and design using Furniture Linoleum in particular - Kasper Mose knows what he is talking about. After several years at major architectural firms such as Friis & Moltke and Arkitema, Kasper Mose chose in 2020 to open his own studio from his home in Horsens, focusing on the design of furniture and interiors.

“I care deeply about the details in my work and truly enjoy touching everything. I process materials like a craftsman and therefore understand the world through my hands; for that very reason, the warm and friendly Furniture Linoleum holds a special place in my work,” Kasper Mose admits.

Furniture Linoleum launched a new color palette that is both classically subdued and yet has a distinct edge.

This is according to Torben Mikkelsen, Senior Consultant at Forbo Flooring Systems.

Since the collection’s presentation at the major European furniture fairs in early spring, Torben Mikkelsen has received a stream of positive reviews.

“They have kept the warm surface of Furniture Linoleum at the center, along with the contribution it makes to good room acoustics. The climate-neutral materials are also being praised, while Furniture Linoleum is an excellent absorber of heat,” Torben Mikkelsen points out.

“This means that heat is drawn away from the body in summer conditions, and that a chair with Furniture Linoleum helps cools and regulate temperature,” Torben Mikkelsen explains.

Ultima K points to a simplified supply chain, a strong network, and the colors of Furniture Linoleum as decisive factors behind a unique market introduction.

Added Value!

That is the shortest possible headline for what most people seek in any commercial context. Ultima K, which has served as a sparring partner behind the Prima furniture collection, notes that added value arises through its unique combination of design, production, and marketing.

“The key words are many years of experience with both product and market, as well as with the decisive supply lines,” explains Lars Fallesen, Sales and Development Manager at Ultima K, who has been involved in the development process since the birth of the Prima series. He is currently experiencing intense interest in the Prima furniture because it represents a rare combination of high quality, a classically simple design, and usability across a wide range of institutions and commercial environments—with a particular focus on learning spaces. For example, Prima includes chairs in a range of heights with matching tables, including folding tables equipped with the patented folding solution from 1000 Dots.

Upcycling is not the same as refurbishment!
This observation comes from Ultima K, which anticipates significant growth in the future market for upcycled furniture and interiors. Refurbishment restores and returns an item to its original condition; upcycling gives the furniture or material an entirely new life—possibly in a completely different function.

Several leading Danish furniture and interior manufacturers have begun addressing the topic, recognizing a growing understanding of how upcycling can achieve high LCA scores and the sharply increasing demand that follows.

The architectural studio NERD Architects has developed an alternative to the classic school desk. The aim was to create a piece of furniture offering more possibilities and greater flexibility than a traditional table. At the same time, the furniture was intended to add increased materiality, a higher level of aesthetics, and a stronger identity to the space.

The result is the Lava series, which NERD Architects describe as a multifunctional piece of furniture with modules that can be combined in various ways, thereby changing both the table’s form and its expression.
At the same time, the modular design allows the table to be used in a wide range of contexts.