Arne Jacobsen
Overview
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.
Arne Jacobsen was born on 11 February 1902 in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to upper-middle-class Jewish parents. He first hoped to become a painter but was dissuaded by his father who encouraged him to opt instead for the more secure domain of architecture.
Encyclopedia
Arne Emil Jacobsen, usually known as Arne Jacobsen, (11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect
and designer
. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism
as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.
to upper-middle-class Jewish parents. He first hoped to become a painter but was dissuaded by his father who encouraged him to opt instead for the more secure domain of architecture. After a spell as an apprentice mason, Jacobsen was admitted to the Architecture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where from 1924 to 1927 he studied under Kay Fisker
and Kaj Gottlob
, both leading architects and designers.
Still a student, in 1925 Jacobsen participated in the Paris Art Deco
fair, Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
, where he won a silver medal for a chair design. On that trip, he was struck by the pioneering aesthetic of Le Corbusier
's L'Esprit Nouveau pavilion. Before leaving the Academy, Jacobsen also travelled to Germany, where he became acquainted with the rationalist architecture of Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius
. Their work influenced his early designs including his graduation project, an art gallery, which won him a gold medal. After completing architecture school, he first worked at city architect Poul Holsøe's architectural practice.
In 1929, in collaboration with Flemming Lassen
, he won a Danish Architect's Association
competition for designing the "House of the Future" which was built full scale at the subsequent exhibition in Copenhagen
's Forum
. It was a spiral-shaped, flat-roofed house in glass and concrete, incorporating a private garage
, a boathouse
and a helicopter pad
. Other striking features were windows that rolled down like car windows, a conveyor tube for the mail and a kitchen stocked with ready-made meals. A Dodge Cabriolet Coupé
was parked in the garage, there was a Chris Craft
in the boathouse and an Autogyro
on the roof. The name Jacobsen immediately became recognised as an ultra-modern architect.
, which he planned in every detail, a characteristic of many of his later works.
Soon afterwards, he won a competition from Gentofte Municipality for the design of a seaside resort complex in Klampenborg
on the Øresund coast just north of Copenhagen. The various components of the resort became his major public breakthrough in Denmark, further establishing him as a leading national proponent of the International Modern Style
. In 1932, the first item, the Bellevue Sea Bath
, was completed. Jacobsen designed everything from the characteristic blue-striped lifeguard tower
s, kiosks and changing cabins to the tickets, season cards and even the uniforms of the employees. The focal point of the area was supposed to have been a lookout tower, more than a hundred metres high with a revolving restaurant at the top but it was abandoned after huge local protests. Still, it is reflected in the overall arrangement of buildings in the area which all follow lines that extend from their missing centre. In 1934, came the Bellavista residential development, built in concrete, steel and glass, with smooth surfaces and open floor planning, free of any excesses or ornaments. Completing the white trilogy in 1937, the Bellevue Theatre
featured a retractable roof allowing open-air performances. These early works clearly show the influence of the White Cubist architecture Jacobsen had encountered in Germany, particularly at the Weissenhof Estate
in Stuttgart
. The cluster of white buildings at Bellevue also includes the Skovshoved Filling Station
. In their day, these projects were described as "The dream of the a modern lifestyle".
Despite considerable public opposition to his avant-garde style, Jacobsen went on to build Stelling House
on Gammeltorv
, one of Copenhagen's most historic squares. Although the modernistic style is rather restrained and was later seen as a model example of building in a historic setting, it caused virulent protests in its day. One newspaper wrote that Jacobsen ought to be "banned from architecture for life".
When, together with Erik Møller
, he won a competition for the design of Århus City Hall
it was with yet another controversial design. It was deemed too modern and too anti-monumental. In the end Jacobsen had to add a tower as well as marble cladding. Still, it is considered one of his most important buildings. It consists of three offset volumes.
During World War II
, scarcity of building materials made assignments difficult to obtain and in 1943, due to his Jewish background, Arne Jacobsen had to abandon his office and go into exile to escape planned deportation. He fled Denmark, rowing a small boat across Øresund to neighbouring Sweden where he would stay for the next two years. His architectural work was limited to a summer house for two doctors. Instead he spent his time designing fabrics and wallpaper.
When the war ended in 1945, Jacobsen returned to Denmark and resumed his architectural career. The country was in urgent need of both housing and new public buildings but the primary need was for spartan buildings which could be built without delay.
After some years Jacobsen got his career back on track and with projects such as the Allehusene complex from 1952 and his Søholm terraced houses
from 1955 he embarked on a more experimental phase. He moved into one of the Søholm houses himself and lived there until his death.
Rødovre Town Hall
, built from 1952 to 1956, shows how well Jacobsen combined the use of different materials: sandstone, two types of glass, painted metalwork and stainless steel. It is also noted for its central staircase, suspended from the roof on orange-red steel rods. The sides are cut from 5 cm steel plate, painted a dark grey; the steps, only a few millimeters thick, are stainless steel with a rubber coating on the upper side for better grip.
The Munkegaard School
consists of pavilions connected by glass corridors, arranged in a grid system around small courtyards. It received considerable attention in international school circles and contributed to his growing international reputation.
These larger assignments started to attract attention and commissions from abroad. Rødovre Town Hall secured him an invitation for his first competition in Germany which was followed by a number of other German projects.
A delegation of Oxford
dons
visited the SAS Hotel and the Munkegård School in their search for an architect for St. Catherine's College
. They were soon convinced he was the right choice for their important commission. Again Jacobsen designed everything, including the garden, down to the choice of fish species for the pond. The dining hall is notable for its Cumberland slate floor. The original college buildings received a Grade I listing on 30 March 1993.
, Germany, the Danish National Bank
and the Royal Danish Embassy
in London. These projects were completed by Dissing+Weitling, a firm set up by his former key employees Hans Dissing and Otto Weitling.
Today, Arne Jacobsen is remembered primarily for his furniture designs. However, he believed he was first and foremost an architect. According to Scott Poole, a professor at Virginia Tech
, Arne Jacobsen never used the word 'designer', notoriously disliking it.
His way into product design came through his interest in Gesamtkunst
and most of his designs which later became famous in their own right were created for architectural projects. Most of his furniture designs were the result of a cooperation with the furniture manufacturer with which he initiated a collaboration in 1934 while his lamps and light fixtures were developed with Louis Poulsen. In spite of his success with his chair at the Paris Exhibition in 1925, it was during the 1950s that his interest in furniture design peaked.
A major source of inspiration stemmed from the bent plywood designs of Charles and Ray Eames
. He was also influenced by the Italian design historian Ernesto Rogers
, who had proclaimed that the design of every element was equally important "from the spoon to the city" which harmonized well with his own ideals.
In 1951, he created the Ant chair
for an extension of the Novo pharmaceutical factory
and, in 1955, came the Seven Series
. Both matched modern needs perfectly, being light, compact and easily stackable. Two other successful chair designs, the Egg and the Swan
, were created for the SAS Royal Hotel in 1957.
Other designs were made for Stelton, a company founded by his foster son Peter Holmbl. These include the now classic Cylinda Line stainless steel cocktail kit and tableware.
Other interior design is a line of faucets and accessories for bathroom and kitchen,created after he won a competition in 1961 for his design of the National Bank of Denmark. This classic design is still in production today by Danish company Vola.
Arne Jacobsen is noted for his sense of proportion. Indeed, he himself saw this as one of the main features of his work. In an interview he said; "The proportion is exactly what makes the beautiful ancient Egyptian temples [...] and if we look at some of the most admired buildings of the Renaissance and Baroque, we notice that they were all well-proportioned. Here is the basic thing".
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
and designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
. He is remembered for contributing so much to architectural Functionalism
Functionalism (architecture)
Functionalism, in architecture, is the principle that architects should design a building based on the purpose of that building. This statement is less self-evident than it first appears, and is a matter of confusion and controversy within the profession, particularly in regard to modern...
as well as for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple but effective chair designs.
Early life and education
Arne Jacobsen was born on 11 February 1902 in CopenhagenCopenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
to upper-middle-class Jewish parents. He first hoped to become a painter but was dissuaded by his father who encouraged him to opt instead for the more secure domain of architecture. After a spell as an apprentice mason, Jacobsen was admitted to the Architecture School at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts where from 1924 to 1927 he studied under Kay Fisker
Kay Fisker
Kay Otto Fisker was a Danish architect, designer and educator. He is most known for his many housing projects, mainly in the Copenhagen area, and is considered a leading exponent of the Danish Functionalism....
and Kaj Gottlob
Kaj Gottlob
Niels August Theodor Kaj Gottlob, usually known as Kaj Gottlob, was a Danish architect who contributed much to Neoclassicism and Functionalism both as professor of the School of Architects at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and as a royal building inspector.-Early life:After qualifying from...
, both leading architects and designers.
Still a student, in 1925 Jacobsen participated in the Paris Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
fair, Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes
The International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. The term "Art Deco" was derived by shortening the words Arts Décoratifs, in the title of this exposition, but not until the late 1960s by British art critic...
, where he won a silver medal for a chair design. On that trip, he was struck by the pioneering aesthetic of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's L'Esprit Nouveau pavilion. Before leaving the Academy, Jacobsen also travelled to Germany, where he became acquainted with the rationalist architecture of Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
. Their work influenced his early designs including his graduation project, an art gallery, which won him a gold medal. After completing architecture school, he first worked at city architect Poul Holsøe's architectural practice.
In 1929, in collaboration with Flemming Lassen
Flemming Lassen
Flemming Lassen was a Modernist Danish architect and designer, working within the idiom of the International Style. Among his most notable buildings are libraries and cultural centres. He was the brother of Mogens Lassen, also an architect.-Early life:Flemming Lassen was born on 23 February 1901...
, he won a Danish Architect's Association
Architects' Association of Denmark
The Architects' Association of Denmark , or simply AA, is an independent professional body for Danish architects. It was founded in founded om 21 November 1879 with the prime duty to advance and promote architectural quality by influencing the planning and design of our physical environment in the...
competition for designing the "House of the Future" which was built full scale at the subsequent exhibition in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
's Forum
Forum Copenhagen
Forum Copenhagen in Frederiksberg in Central Copenhagen, Denmark, is a large, rentable faire building, which hosts a large variety of concerts, markets and exhibitions, among other things. The venue can hold 10,000 people....
. It was a spiral-shaped, flat-roofed house in glass and concrete, incorporating a private garage
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
, a boathouse
Boathouse
A boathouse is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats stored are rowing boats...
and a helicopter pad
Helipad
Helipad is a common abbreviation for helicopter landing pad, a landing area for helicopters. While helicopters are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard surface away from obstacles where a helicopter can safely...
. Other striking features were windows that rolled down like car windows, a conveyor tube for the mail and a kitchen stocked with ready-made meals. A Dodge Cabriolet Coupé
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
was parked in the garage, there was a Chris Craft
Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries, Inc., formerly National Automotive Fibers, Inc., was a publicly-held American corporation traded on the New York and Pacific Stock Exchanges. It later took on the name of one of its acquisitions, Chris-Craft Boats...
in the boathouse and an Autogyro
Autogyro
An autogyro , also known as gyroplane, gyrocopter, or rotaplane, is a type of rotorcraft which uses an unpowered rotor in autorotation to develop lift, and an engine-powered propeller, similar to that of a fixed-wing aircraft, to provide thrust...
on the roof. The name Jacobsen immediately became recognised as an ultra-modern architect.
Pre-World War II career
The year after winning the "House of the Future" award, Arne Jacobsen set up his own office. He designed the functionalist Rothenborg HouseRothenborg House
The Rothenborg House is a private home in Klampenborg, just north of Copenhagen, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in 1930.The house was built for the lawyer Max Rothenborg. His wife was thrilled with the building and participated enthusiatically in its furnishings...
, which he planned in every detail, a characteristic of many of his later works.
Soon afterwards, he won a competition from Gentofte Municipality for the design of a seaside resort complex in Klampenborg
Klampenborg
Klampenborg is a northern suburb to Copenhagen, Denmark. It is located in Gentofte Municipality, directly on Øresund, between Taarbæk and Skovshoved. Like other neighbourhoods along the Øresund coast, Klampenborg is an affluent area with many large houses....
on the Øresund coast just north of Copenhagen. The various components of the resort became his major public breakthrough in Denmark, further establishing him as a leading national proponent of the International Modern Style
International style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
. In 1932, the first item, the Bellevue Sea Bath
Bellevue Beach
Bellevue Beach , often simply referred to as Bellevue, is a beach at Klampenborg on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark...
, was completed. Jacobsen designed everything from the characteristic blue-striped lifeguard tower
Lifeguard tower
Lifeguard towers are used to watch and supervise swimmers in order to prevent drownings and other dangers. Lifeguards scan for trouble from the structures, which vary from beach bungalows by the ocean to poolside towers. Lifeguard towers are also used to spot sharks and other threats.The towers...
s, kiosks and changing cabins to the tickets, season cards and even the uniforms of the employees. The focal point of the area was supposed to have been a lookout tower, more than a hundred metres high with a revolving restaurant at the top but it was abandoned after huge local protests. Still, it is reflected in the overall arrangement of buildings in the area which all follow lines that extend from their missing centre. In 1934, came the Bellavista residential development, built in concrete, steel and glass, with smooth surfaces and open floor planning, free of any excesses or ornaments. Completing the white trilogy in 1937, the Bellevue Theatre
Bellevue Teatret
The Bellevue Teatret is a theatre in Klampenborg at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened in 1936 to the design of Arne Jacobsen, the building is considered one of his most important architectural works and examplar of Danish functionalism...
featured a retractable roof allowing open-air performances. These early works clearly show the influence of the White Cubist architecture Jacobsen had encountered in Germany, particularly at the Weissenhof Estate
Weissenhof Estate
The Weissenhof Estate is a housing estate built for exhibition in Stuttgart in 1927...
in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. The cluster of white buildings at Bellevue also includes the Skovshoved Filling Station
Skovshoved Petrol Station
The Skovshoved Petrol Station is a historic, still-operating filling station in Skovshoved at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. First opened in 1936, it was designed by Arne Jacobsen and is an example of the functionalist style typical of the time. It is Class A listed and was...
. In their day, these projects were described as "The dream of the a modern lifestyle".
Despite considerable public opposition to his avant-garde style, Jacobsen went on to build Stelling House
Stelling House
Stelling House is a building on Gammeltorv in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1937, it was designed as an office building and retail store for the A...
on Gammeltorv
Gammeltorv
Gammeltorv is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its buildings were constructed after the Great Fire of 1795 in...
, one of Copenhagen's most historic squares. Although the modernistic style is rather restrained and was later seen as a model example of building in a historic setting, it caused virulent protests in its day. One newspaper wrote that Jacobsen ought to be "banned from architecture for life".
When, together with Erik Møller
Erik Møller
Svend Erik Møller was a Danish architect.Møller used to work with the famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. Together they won the competition to build the new City Hall in Aarhus, which was built from 1938 to 1942. At the same time they built another town hall in Søllerød. From 1955...
, he won a competition for the design of Århus City Hall
Århus City Hall
Aarhus City Hall is the city hall of Aarhus, Denmark. It was inaugurated 2 June 1941, and it was drawn by architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. The decision to build a city hall was taken during a city hall meeting in 1937. As one of just a few Danish city halls it was marked for preservation...
it was with yet another controversial design. It was deemed too modern and too anti-monumental. In the end Jacobsen had to add a tower as well as marble cladding. Still, it is considered one of his most important buildings. It consists of three offset volumes.
World War II exile and return
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, scarcity of building materials made assignments difficult to obtain and in 1943, due to his Jewish background, Arne Jacobsen had to abandon his office and go into exile to escape planned deportation. He fled Denmark, rowing a small boat across Øresund to neighbouring Sweden where he would stay for the next two years. His architectural work was limited to a summer house for two doctors. Instead he spent his time designing fabrics and wallpaper.
When the war ended in 1945, Jacobsen returned to Denmark and resumed his architectural career. The country was in urgent need of both housing and new public buildings but the primary need was for spartan buildings which could be built without delay.
After some years Jacobsen got his career back on track and with projects such as the Allehusene complex from 1952 and his Søholm terraced houses
Søholm Row Houses
The Søholm Row Houses, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in Klampenborg just north of Copenhagen, were completed in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
from 1955 he embarked on a more experimental phase. He moved into one of the Søholm houses himself and lived there until his death.
Rødovre Town Hall
Rødovre Town Hall
Rødovre Town Hall is located at the centre of Rødovre, a municipality some 9 km to the west of Copenhagen's city centre. Completed in 1956, it was designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen...
, built from 1952 to 1956, shows how well Jacobsen combined the use of different materials: sandstone, two types of glass, painted metalwork and stainless steel. It is also noted for its central staircase, suspended from the roof on orange-red steel rods. The sides are cut from 5 cm steel plate, painted a dark grey; the steps, only a few millimeters thick, are stainless steel with a rubber coating on the upper side for better grip.
The Munkegaard School
Munkegaard School
Munkegaard School is a school in Klampenborg, just north of Copenhagen, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and completed in 1957. The complex is considered to be one of Jacobsen's most important architectural works.-Background:...
consists of pavilions connected by glass corridors, arranged in a grid system around small courtyards. It received considerable attention in international school circles and contributed to his growing international reputation.
Large commissions
With the SAS Royal Hotel, built from 1956 to 1960, Jacobsen was given the opportunity to design what has been called "the world's first designer hotel". He designed everything from the building and its furniture and fittings to the ashtrays sold in the souvenir shop and the airport buses.A delegation of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
dons
University don
A don is a fellow or tutor of a college or university, especially traditional collegiate universities such as Oxford and Cambridge in England.The term — similar to the title still used for Catholic priests — is a historical remnant of Oxford and Cambridge having started as ecclesiastical...
visited the SAS Hotel and the Munkegård School in their search for an architect for St. Catherine's College
St Catherine's College, Oxford
St Catherine's College, often called Catz, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its motto is Nova et Vetera...
. They were soon convinced he was the right choice for their important commission. Again Jacobsen designed everything, including the garden, down to the choice of fish species for the pond. The dining hall is notable for its Cumberland slate floor. The original college buildings received a Grade I listing on 30 March 1993.
Departure and uncompleted works
When Arne Jacobsen died unexpectedly in 1971, he had a number of large projects under way. These included a new town hall in MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany, the Danish National Bank
Danmarks Nationalbank
Danmarks Nationalbank is the central bank of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks . The bank issues the Danish currency, the krone....
and the Royal Danish Embassy
Embassy of Denmark in London
The Embassy of Denmark in London is located on Sloane Street, in Kensington. It occupies a large, modern building designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and completed in 1977.-External links:*...
in London. These projects were completed by Dissing+Weitling, a firm set up by his former key employees Hans Dissing and Otto Weitling.
Furniture and product design
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, popularly known as Virginia Tech , is a public land-grant university with the main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia with other research and educational centers throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and internationally.Founded in...
, Arne Jacobsen never used the word 'designer', notoriously disliking it.
His way into product design came through his interest in Gesamtkunst
Gesamtkunstwerk
A Gesamtkunstwerk is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so...
and most of his designs which later became famous in their own right were created for architectural projects. Most of his furniture designs were the result of a cooperation with the furniture manufacturer with which he initiated a collaboration in 1934 while his lamps and light fixtures were developed with Louis Poulsen. In spite of his success with his chair at the Paris Exhibition in 1925, it was during the 1950s that his interest in furniture design peaked.
A major source of inspiration stemmed from the bent plywood designs of Charles and Ray Eames
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Ormond Eames, Jr and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" Eames were American designers, who worked in and made major contributions to modern architecture and furniture. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film.-Charles Eames:Charles Eames, Jr was born in...
. He was also influenced by the Italian design historian Ernesto Rogers
Ernesto Nathan Rogers
Ernesto Nathan Rogers was an Italian architect, writer and educator.-Biography:Born in Trieste, Italy he graduated from the Politecnico di Milano, Italy in 1932...
, who had proclaimed that the design of every element was equally important "from the spoon to the city" which harmonized well with his own ideals.
In 1951, he created the Ant chair
Ant (chair)
The Ant chair is a classic of modern chair design.It was designed in 1952 by Arne Jacobsen for use in the canteen of the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk. The Ant was named for its approximate similarity to the outline of an ant with its head raised.The chair was designed to be light,...
for an extension of the Novo pharmaceutical factory
Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products and services. Created in 1989 through a merger of two Danish companies dating back to the 1920s, it has become one of the world's leading companies in diabetes care, where Novo Nordisk pursues research into pulmonary delivery systems;...
and, in 1955, came the Seven Series
Model 3107 chair
The Model 3107 chair is one of the most popular chairs in Danish design history. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen, using a new technique in which plywood could be bent in two dimensions. Over 5 million units have been produced exclusively by Fritz Hansen ever since its invention in 1955...
. Both matched modern needs perfectly, being light, compact and easily stackable. Two other successful chair designs, the Egg and the Swan
Swan (chair)
The Swan is a chair and a couch designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. It is manufactured by Danish furniture manufacturer Republic of Fritz Hansen....
, were created for the SAS Royal Hotel in 1957.
Other designs were made for Stelton, a company founded by his foster son Peter Holmbl. These include the now classic Cylinda Line stainless steel cocktail kit and tableware.
Other interior design is a line of faucets and accessories for bathroom and kitchen,created after he won a competition in 1961 for his design of the National Bank of Denmark. This classic design is still in production today by Danish company Vola.
Style and legacy
According to R. Craig Miller, author of "Design 1935-1965, What Modern was", Jacobsen’s work "is an important and original contribution both to modernism and to the specific place Denmark and the Scandinavian countries have in the modern movement" and continues "One might in fact argue that much of what the modern movement stands for, would have been lost and simply forgotten if Scandinavian designers and architects like Arne Jacobsen would not have added that humane element to it".Arne Jacobsen is noted for his sense of proportion. Indeed, he himself saw this as one of the main features of his work. In an interview he said; "The proportion is exactly what makes the beautiful ancient Egyptian temples [...] and if we look at some of the most admired buildings of the Renaissance and Baroque, we notice that they were all well-proportioned. Here is the basic thing".
Selected works
Architecture
- Bellevue BeachBellevue BeachBellevue Beach , often simply referred to as Bellevue, is a beach at Klampenborg on the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark...
, Klampenborg, Denmark (1932) - Bellavista residential complexBellavista housing estateThe Bellavista housing estate designed by Arne Jacobsen is the clearest example of Bauhaus architecture in Denmark. Completed in 1934, the estate is located just north of Copenhagen, in Klampenborg, Gentofte Municipality, next to Jacobsen's Bellevue Beach, which had been completed a couple of years...
, Klampenborg, Copenhagen (1931–34) - Bellevue TheatreBellevue TeatretThe Bellevue Teatret is a theatre in Klampenborg at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. Opened in 1936 to the design of Arne Jacobsen, the building is considered one of his most important architectural works and examplar of Danish functionalism...
and restaurant, Klampenborg (1935–36) - Skovshoved Petrol StationSkovshoved Petrol StationThe Skovshoved Petrol Station is a historic, still-operating filling station in Skovshoved at the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark. First opened in 1936, it was designed by Arne Jacobsen and is an example of the functionalist style typical of the time. It is Class A listed and was...
, Skovshoved, Copenhagen (1936) - Stelling HouseStelling HouseStelling House is a building on Gammeltorv in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Completed in 1937, it was designed as an office building and retail store for the A...
, 6 GammeltorvGammeltorvGammeltorv is the oldest square in Copenhagen, Denmark. With adjoining Nytorv it forms a common space along the Strøget pedestrian zone. While the square dates back to the foundation of the city in the 12th century, most of its buildings were constructed after the Great Fire of 1795 in...
, Copenhagen (1934–37) - Søllerød Town HallSøllerød Town HallSøllerød Town Hall , now renamed Rudersdal Town Hall, was built for the former Søllerød Municipality which in 2007 became part of Rudersdal Municipality, combining Søllerød and Birkerød. The building is located in the village of Søllerød some 19 km to the north of Copenhagen's city centre....
(with Flemming Lassen), Søllerød, Copenhagen (1938–42) - Århus City HallÅrhus City HallAarhus City Hall is the city hall of Aarhus, Denmark. It was inaugurated 2 June 1941, and it was drawn by architects Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller. The decision to build a city hall was taken during a city hall meeting in 1937. As one of just a few Danish city halls it was marked for preservation...
(with Erik MøllerErik MøllerSvend Erik Møller was a Danish architect.Møller used to work with the famous Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen. Together they won the competition to build the new City Hall in Aarhus, which was built from 1938 to 1942. At the same time they built another town hall in Søllerød. From 1955...
), Århus (1939–42) - SøholmSøholm Row HousesThe Søholm Row Houses, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen in Klampenborg just north of Copenhagen, were completed in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
I (1946–50), II and III terraced houses, Klampenborg - Rødovre Town HallRødovre Town HallRødovre Town Hall is located at the centre of Rødovre, a municipality some 9 km to the west of Copenhagen's city centre. Completed in 1956, it was designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen...
, Rødovre, Denmark (1952–56) - Alléhusene housing, Gentofte, Copenhagen (1949-1953)
- Glostrup Town Hall, GlostrupGlostrupGlostrup Kommune is a suburban municipality and town in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand approx. 10 km west of Copenhagen in eastern Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 13 km², and has a total population of 20,673 . Its Zip code is 2600...
, Copenhagen (1958) - Munkegaard SchoolMunkegaard SchoolMunkegaard School is a school in Klampenborg, just north of Copenhagen, designed by the Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and completed in 1957. The complex is considered to be one of Jacobsen's most important architectural works.-Background:...
, Copenhagen (1957) - SAS Royal HotelRadisson SAS Royal Hotel, CopenhagenThe Radisson Blu Royal Hotel is a hotel in Copenhagen, that was designed by Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen for the airline Scandinavian Airlines System between 1956 and 1960. At its completion the hotel was the largest in Denmark, at 69.60 meters in height, the first skyscraper in...
, Copenhagen (1958–60). - Toms Chocolate Factory, BallerupBallerupBallerup Kommune is a municipality in Region Hovedstaden on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark. Approx. 15 km. From central Copenhagen. The municipality covers an area of 34 km², and has a total population of 47,116 . It is also the name of the municipal seat,...
, Copenhagen (1961) - National Bank of DenmarkDanmarks NationalbankDanmarks Nationalbank is the central bank of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is a non-eurozone member of the European System of Central Banks . The bank issues the Danish currency, the krone....
, Copenhagen (1965–70) - Landskrona Sports-Hall, Landskrona, Sweden (1965)
- St Catherine's College, Oxford, UK (1964–66)
- Mainz City Hall, MainzMainzMainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, Germany (1966–73) - Christianeum School, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany (1970–71) - HEW Vattenfall EuropeVattenfallVattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board...
, Hamburg, Germany (1970) - Royal Danish EmbassyEmbassy of Denmark in LondonThe Embassy of Denmark in London is located on Sloane Street, in Kensington. It occupies a large, modern building designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen and completed in 1977.-External links:*...
, London, UK (1976–77) - Parliament House, IslamabadIslamabadIslamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan
Furniture and product design
- Ant chairAnt (chair)The Ant chair is a classic of modern chair design.It was designed in 1952 by Arne Jacobsen for use in the canteen of the Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk. The Ant was named for its approximate similarity to the outline of an ant with its head raised.The chair was designed to be light,...
(1952) - Series 7 chairsModel 3107 chairThe Model 3107 chair is one of the most popular chairs in Danish design history. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen, using a new technique in which plywood could be bent in two dimensions. Over 5 million units have been produced exclusively by Fritz Hansen ever since its invention in 1955...
- Swan chairSwan (chair)The Swan is a chair and a couch designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for Radisson SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen. It is manufactured by Danish furniture manufacturer Republic of Fritz Hansen....
(1958) - Egg chairEgg (chair)The Egg is a chair designed by Arne Jacobsen in 1958 for Radisson SAS hotel in Copenhagen. It is manufactured by Republic of Fritz Hansen.The Egg was designed in a typical Jacobsen style, using state-of-the-art material....
(1958) - Pot chair (1959)
- Giraffe chair (1959)
- Cylinda Line cocktail kit
- Flatware cutlery (1957)
In culture and media
- Arne Jacobsen's No. 7 chairModel 3107 chairThe Model 3107 chair is one of the most popular chairs in Danish design history. It was designed by Arne Jacobsen, using a new technique in which plywood could be bent in two dimensions. Over 5 million units have been produced exclusively by Fritz Hansen ever since its invention in 1955...
is known for being the prop used to hide Christine KeelerChristine KeelerChristine Margaret Keeler is an English former model and showgirl. Her involvement with a British government minister discredited the Conservative government of Harold Macmillan in 1963, in what is known as the Profumo Affair....
's nakedness in the iconic photograph of her taken by Lewis MorleyLewis MorleyLewis Morley, born in Hong Kong, 1925, to English and Chinese parents, is a photographer. He was interned in Stanley Internment Camp during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong between 1941 and 1945, when he was released and went to the United Kingdom with his family. He studied at Twickenham Art...
in 1963. Morley just happened to use a chair that he had in the studio, which turned out to have been a copy of Jacobsen's design. Since then 'Number 7' chairs have been used for many similar portraits imitating the pose. - The Seven has featured on the set of the BBC soap opera EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
. - Jacobsen's flatware design, with right and left-handed spoons, is used by Stanley KubrickStanley KubrickStanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
in his movie 2001: A Space Odyssey2001: A Space Odyssey (film)2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
. It was selected for the film because of its 'futuristic' appearance.
Awards and recognition
- 1955 C. F. Hansen MedalC. F. Hansen MedalThe C. F. Hansen Medal is awarded annually with few exceptions to one or more recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts for an outstanding contribution to architecture. It is the Academy's highest obtainable destinction for an architect. It is named after the architect C. F. Hansen and...
- 1957 Grand prix, Milan XI TriennaleTriennaleLa Triennale di Milano is a design museum and events venue in Milan, Italy, located inside the Palace of Art building, part of Parco Sempione, the park grounds adjacent to Castello Sforzesco. It hosts exhibitions and events which highlight contemporary Italian design, urban planning, architecture,...
, Italy, for Grand Prix chair - 1967 ID-prize, Danish Society of Industrial Design, for Cylinde
- 1968 International Design Award, American Institute of Interior DesignersAmerican Society of Interior DesignersThe American Society of Interior Designers is the oldest and largest professional association for interior designers. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate...
, US, for Cylinde
See also
- Architecture of DenmarkArchitecture of DenmarkThe architecture of Denmark has its origins in the Viking period, richly revealed by archaeological finds. It became firmly established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque, then Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up throughout the country...
- Danish designDanish designDanish Design is a term often used to describe a style of functionalistic design and architecture that was developed in mid-20th century. Influenced by the German Bauhaus school, many Danish designers used the new industrial technologies, combined with ideas of simplicity and functionalism to...
- Danish modernDanish modernDanish modern, frequently capitalized as Danish Modern, is a vintage style of minimalist wood furniture from Denmark associated with the Danish design movement...
- Dissing+Weitling
Literature
- Dyssegaard, Søren (ed.); Jacobsen, Arne; Skriver, Poul Erik: Arne Jacobsen, a Danish architect, (translation: Reginald Spink and Bodil Garner), 1971, Copenhagen: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 56 p. ISBN 8785112003
- Jacobsen, Arne: Arne Jacobsen: absolutely modern, 2002, Humlebaek: Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 96 p. ISBN 8790029747
- Solaguren-Beascoa de Corral, Felix: Arne Jacobsen (Obras y Proyectos / Works and Projects), 1992, Barcelona, Editorial Gustavo Gili, 222 pages. ISBN 8425214041
- Thau, Carsten; Vindum, Kjeld: Arne Jacobsen, 2008, Copenhagen, Arkitektens forlag, 560 p. ISBN 9788774072300