Teenage Dreams: Exhibition on the Teenage Bedroom at DAC
The exhibition Teenage Dreams in 2024 invited reflection on the teenage bedroom as a refuge, a study space and a technological setting for identity and social life. Three installations explored wellbeing, materials and the boundary between private and public.
Through fascinating installations created by recognized design studios such as Our Shift, Natural Material Studio, and Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, visitors entered into a world where dreams and reality merged.
The exhibition focused on young people and invited you to explore and reflect on what a teenager’s room represents.
A teenager’s room is more than just a room. For teenagers, their bedroom is their safe space. It is where they can get a good night’s sleep and can be themselves. It is where they do their homework, recharge their batteries, and relax. However, their room also provides the technological setting for their communication, social interaction, and identity formation online.
Today, more young people than ever are struggling. Many feel pressured to succeed and suffer from loneliness. And many teens are far more concerned about the environment today than previous generations were. Their commitment to being responsible consumers is reflected in an increasing recycling trend, both with regard to their clothing choices and to the materials and furniture they surround themselves with.
Each installation was designed to spark reflection and conversations about how spaces impact our well-being and reflect the sign of the times. You could touch new biogenetic materials, recharge your body and phone while lying in what was once a festival tent, and check out the light in the selfie zone where the border between the private and public sphere was dissolved.
Explore the exhibition
Dreamscapes
The installations did not show us an exact representation of what the teenage bedroom will look like in the future; rather, they offered us a vision of this universe in which wishes and behavior, nature and technology merge in different ways.
The individual installations challenged conventional design and perceptions of physical space and invited you into a world of new opportunities. The exhibition focused on the power of ideas rather than on practical solutions, and as such illustrated that dreams can shape how we design spaces in the future.
Photo: Claus Troelsgaard
We heard directly from the teenagers themselves
In the exhibition you encountered short videos in which teenagers were given an opportunity to share their wishes about their surroundings and their bedrooms.
The exhibition also included the photography project Still Life of Teenagers, a collection of snapshot images of contemporary teenage bedrooms taken by photographer and sociologist Barbara Marstrand.
Photo: Claus Troelsgaard 
Photo: Claus Troelsgaard
Natural Material Studio
»I remember my room being very minimalist, with a bed that took up half the space. My walls were painted in two different shades of blue, and my bedding was satin. I recall my teenage years as a time of experimentation and exploration of my own voice, body, position, and possibilities in life« – Bonnie Hvillum.
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Photo: Sofie Bøgegren – Dansk Arkitektur Center (DAC) Our Shift
»My teenage room was filled with clothes. All the clothes were on the floor. I had a large pink Persian rug on the floor, but you couldn’t see it because of the clothes. I also had a huge baroque mirror where I always checked my outfits. I loved that mirror« – Milan Flíček.
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Barbara Marstrand
»My room was quite minimalist with few, but large pieces of furniture. I had a white table with a mirror and a spotlight above, serving as both a makeup table and a desk. Additionally, I had a wooden dresser, which my mom also had in her teenage room. On top of the dresser was a silver-colored box TV, primarily tuned to The Voice and MTV. The dresser still stands in my apartment to this day, but the TV is gone« – Barbara Marstrand.
Read about Barbara Marstrand
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What was Teenage Dreams?
Teenage Dreams was an exhibition focused on young people, inviting visitors to explore and reflect on the idea of the teenage bedroom.
When did Teenage Dreams take place?
The exhibition ran from 12 Jun 2024 to 5 Feb 2025.
What was a teenage bedroom described as according to the exhibition?
A teenage bedroom was described as a refuge for sleep and safety, a place for homework, recovery and relaxation, and a technological setting for communication, social life and virtual identity-making.
What could visitors experience in the installations?
You could experience touching new biogenic materials, resting and charging both body and phone in materials that once were festival tents, and checking the light in a selfie zone where the boundary between private and public dissolved.
Which exhibitors are mentioned?
Our Shift, Natural Material Studio and Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen, as well as the photo project Still Life of Teenagers by sociologist and photographer Barbara Marstrand.
What should I know if I only read one thing?
Teenage Dreams (12 Jun 2024–5 Feb 2025) used installations and teenagers’ voices to explore how the teenage bedroom affects wellbeing and reflects today’s technology and materials.
This exhibition is developed by Danish Architecture Center
The exhibition was developed in collaboration with Barbara Marstrand, Our Shift, Natural Material Studio and Krøyer-Sætter-Lassen.