Two-seat sofa by Kaare Klint 1929

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This sofa was designed for the Danish Pavilion at the Exposición Internacional de Barcelona that opened on 15 May 1929 and continued until 15 January 1930.

The frame is in Cuban Mahogany and the sofa is upholstered with goatskin leather covers for the loose cushions and with the frame itself covered with leather held along the bottom edge by closely-spaced, round-headed, brass fixing tacks used as a decorative feature.

In the l1920s and in the 1930s, Klint designed a number of sofas and most with legs between the different sections …. so the two-seat sofas have six legs and the three-seat sofas eight legs and most with cross bracing forming a cross below the seats. Here, in the two-seat sofa, there are stretchers set back from the front line of the front legs allowing people to tuck their feet back without touching the stretcher as they are sitting in the sofa or when they are standing up.

Stretchers are chamfered on the under edge partly to reduce the apparent thickness but also to strengthen the vulnerable edge which is more likely to splinter or dent if it is left as a sharp angle. The underside of lower frame are also shaped up inside the housing with the legs and the line of brass tacks follows and emphasises this line.

The sofa has thin upholstered end pieces as arm rests that ramp up at the back to the higher bank panel and thin loose cushions at each side mirror this shape. There are double cushions on the seat, the top cushions with down for comfort. There are also soft loose cushions for the back rest.

The pavilion itself was designed by Tyge Hvass and took as a starting point Danish vernacular architecture of the 17th or 18th century. The exterior was painted red and the simple building had a pitched roof covered with clay pantiles.

Lighting for the pavilion was from Louis Poulsen and was designed by Poul Henningsen.

two-seater sofa 1929
designed by Kaare Klint (1888-1954)
made by the cabinetmaker Rud. Rasmussen
identified in the catalogue of the Design Museum as sofa model 4035

Cuban mahogany with goatskin leather and round-headed brass fixing tacks.

height: 86 cm (34 inches)
width: 137 cm (54 inches)
depth: 74 cm (29 inches)

 

the Danish Pavilion at the Exposición Internacional de Barcelona in 1929

the German Pavilion in Barcelona designed by Mies van der Rohe

a three-seat sofa without loose cushions and with the cross bracing below
this is Model no. 4118 designed for the office of the Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning
Klint designed a two-seat version of this for the Ny Carlsberg Foundation in 1930 with the same shape of end but with leather upholstered cushions closely buttoned so
an interesting amalgamation of the 4118 and the Barcelona two-seat sofa

Stangestolen / The Snake Chair by Poul Henningsen 1932

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Having looked at and written about a number of Danish chairs that were designed in the 20th century, it seemed important to include this chair - The Snake Chair designed by Poul Henningsen - not because it is remotely representative - it is actually perversely unique - but because it is distinctly modern in the materials it used.

With a single coil of tubular steel to support the seat and back, it breaks with almost all conventions, but, curiously, it also appears to be 'of it's period'. 

read more

 

design classic: PH 5 lamp by Poul Henningsen 1958

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With his designs for lamps and light fittings, Poul Henningsen sought to control electric light to produce even and glare-free illumination. His drawings show detailed studies of how light was reflected back off surfaces and it is said that he had a study or work room at his home in Hellerup where the walls were painted black so that he could trace the way light spreads out or, for pendant lamps, he could see how different curves on metal or glass shades could be used to direct some light down and some of the light up to reflect back off the ceiling.

He established his own independent studio in 1919 and with the Danish lighting company Louis Poulsen his first lamps were shown in Paris in 1925. Through the next 40 years he produced a series of lights that used a combination of shallow, curved shades, in either metal or in glass, that focus the light down or out at an angle across a wider area and these were combined with coloured baffles to change the colour tone of the light or he used a series of flaps or petals, again of glass or metal, to hide the light source and control the direction and angle of the beams of light.

These different lamps might appear to be about appearance - about style and fashion - or, with the very large lights, about drama but in fact they allowed for such a precise control of artificial light that they were used in work spaces and in museums and galleries - used in the first trade exhibition on the opening of Forum in 1926 and in the exhibition spaces and staircases of the Design Museum in Copenhagen - and even, on long stems set at an angle, installed in ranks to floodlight indoor tennis courts.

The PH 5 was first produced by Louis Poulsen in 1958 and is a large lamp with five metal shades 267mm high and with an overall diameter of 500mm but it has been so popular in Denmark that it has been claimed that every Danish family has at least one PH 5 light.

 

 

Poul Henningsen was also a writer and critic and when the PH 5 was released he wrote with self-mocking humour: 

“For a generation I have believed that consideration for the consumer and common sense would prevail, but now I have become a fatalist. I have accepted fate, and with Louis Poulsen´s permission I have designed a PH fixture which can be used with any kind of light source, Christmas lights and 100 W metal-filament bulbs. Although a fluorescent tube would be too much to ask in the existing form!” 

 

Louis Poulsen

note:

The PH 5 lamp in the photographs has slightly warped shades and some small dents in the edge because it has been used in at least four different apartments - at least four as I bought it at an antique market attracted by its unusual deep grey colour. Over the years it has had two trips across the North Sea and has been dropped at least once by removal men. Needless to say, new lights from Louis Poulsen are perfect - you have to add your own marks to make it yours.

 

lights from Louis Poulsen

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Louis Poulsen, the Danish company who manufacture lighting, was founded in 1874. They produce a huge range of lights and are noted not just for the exceptional quality of their light fittings but for their technical understanding of illumination for lighting to be used both inside and outside buildings. They are well known for their collaboration with the designer Poul Henningsen who trained as an architect but never practiced and saw himself as primarily an inventor. Henningsen died in 1967 but Poulsen still produce many of his pieces.

Two light fittings that are currently being promoted by Poulsen illustrate the range and character of their products.

The PH 3½-3 was designed by Henningsen in 1929 and was one of the first designs in the PH series using three shades to control the light. Over the intervening years a number of changes and modifications were made to the design but this light returns to the original form. It is in copper as a limited edition to mark the 120th anniversary of Henningsen’s birth and will only be available to order from 1st March to the 31st May 2014. 

When you look at the working drawings for the light, you can see exactly how carefully and precisely the measurements, proportions, curves and lines were determined. The lamps in the PH series, with their multiple shades, control light in an almost magical way. I have a PH 5 over my dining table and I am still trying to analyse exactly how it works. The layers of shades create a pool of light over the table but also throw out a soft light over the space around and yet people around the table cannot see the light bulb and are not dazzled by it as they look across the table.

With a price tag of £995 in England the PH 3½-3 will almost-certainly be seen as a collectors or specialists piece for architects and design fanatics.

The Toldbod 120, in contrast, is a simple pendant light that is a relatively recent addition to the Poulsen range. The shape is deceptively simple but it has sophisticated and very carefully designed lines … the bulb holder is not straight-sided but a subtle truncated cone and the shade curves out gently without verticals. The bulb itself is housed well into the shade so, again, there is no glare. The lights are relatively small, 120mm high and 120mm diameter (hence the 120 in the name) and made in spun aluminium. They come in a number of colours including white with a pale green interior, dark grey with a deep turquoise interior, “cloudy” white with deep orange inside and apple green with a speckled orange inside. Some finishes have a matt and slightly textured surface.

The lights look great as a loosely-formed group with different colours together and flexes at different lengths or as a line with a number of fittings equally spaced with one colour - for instance along a work surface - to give a structured lighting that would fit with a minimalist interior and be a good alternative to ceiling spots.