The Wilhelm Hansen Foundation has announced the 2026 recipients of the Finn Juhl Prize: designer Jonas Trampedach and design duo Akiko Ken Made
The award recognises their distinct yet complementary contributions to contemporary furniture design.
Jonas Trampedach, who established his Copenhagen studio in 2010, is known for designs rooted in “clear, legible principles.” Working across industrial products, furniture, and lighting for brands such as HAY, Fredericia, and Frama, Trampedach merges industrial efficiency with artisanal craft. His work—including the press-formed Sample Chair and the Type Chair for HAY—demonstrates how manufacturing processes can retain handmade sensibility. He co-founded VÆRKTØJ, a 3 Days of Design exhibition exploring shared fabrication techniques.
Akiko Kuwahata and Ken Winther, working as Akiko Ken Made, represent a synthesis of Japanese and Danish craft traditions. Kuwahata trained as a cabinetmaker in Japan and studied furniture design in Denmark; Winther comes from a cabinetmaking family and trained at PP Møbler, later apprenticing with Japanese master carpenters. Their Copenhagen workshop produces meticulously crafted wood furniture and objects, from steam-bent ash seating to intricately turned pieces that challenge the material to its limits.
Both recipients embody principles core to Finn Juhl’s legacy: sculptural sensitivity, respect for the creation process, and belief in the integrity of everyday objects. The Finn Juhl Prize, established in 2003 by the Wilhelm Hansen Foundation, is awarded annually to designers and architects who advance furniture design with reference to Juhl’s organic modernism.
Read more about Akiko Kuwahata and Ken Winther:
https://www.akikokenmade.dk
Read more about Jonas Trampedach: