Arne Jacobsen (1902 – 1971) Danish Architect and Furniture Designer

Exponent of Functionalism

Arne Jacobsen (1902 – 1971) was a Danish Designer who was born in Copenhagen.

Education

He studied at the Det Tekniske Selkabs Skoler, Copenhagen, and architecture at Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen under Kay Fisker to 1927.

Biography

In 1927, Jacobsen established his practice in Hellerup. He was Denmark’s first exponent of Functionalism, influenced by Modern architecture of the 1930s, such as Le Corbusier, Gunnar Asplund, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. His first significant assignment was the Bellavista housing complex in Copenhagen, which he completed between 1930 and 1934.

Fritz Hansen, with whom he had a long friendship dating back to 1932, was responsible for several of his most well-known designs. He started designing mass-produced furniture around 1950. He designed the Ant from 1951 to 1952, the Swan seats from 1958, and the Series 7 group from 1955, among other things.

The 1951 three-legged stacking chair in plywood and steel, one of his earliest productions, was designed for industrial production by Fritz Hansen. Swan originally debuted in the glass-encased SAS Hotel in Copenhagen in 1958—60. The Fritz Hansen 3107 office chair, designed in the 1950s, was based on the Ant chair and casters and arms.

The flatware for A. Michelsen from 1957 was used in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1969). His stainless-steel tableware line for Stelton, Cylinda Line, debuted in 1967 and was a huge hit.

Other works included;

• Allerod (furniture dating back to 1932), 
• Louis Poulsen (lighting), 
• Stelton and Michelsen (stainless steel), 
• I.P. Lunds (bathroom fixtures), 
• Grautex, Aug. Millech, and C. Olesen were among the clients (textiles). 
• His St. Catherine’s College building in Oxford, which he designed from 1960 to 1964 and meticulously detailed down to the lighting, textiles, cutlery, and tableware, exemplifies his interest in controlling all aspects of the physical environment integrating architecture, interior furnishings, and utilitarian objects.
• 1937 Sterling House, Copenhagen; 
• 1939—40 Arhus town hall (with Erik Moller); 
• 1942 Sollerod town hall (with Flemming Lassen); 
• 1952 Massey-Harris exhibition and factory building, Glostrup; 
• 1952—56 Munkegard School, Gentofte; 
• 1955 Jespersen office building, Copenhagen; 
• 1955 housing scheme, Soholm; 
• 1955 town hall, Rodovre; 
• 1956 Carl Christensen factory, Alborg

Selection of Works

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

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