There’s a high possibility that those of you who are passionate about architecture will recognize Arne (Emil) Jacobsen’s name and you’ll probably associate him with functionalism (a principle based on the idea that the design of the building should depend on the purpose it will serve). Also, you, the connoisseurs, might easily associate him with some of his famous projects: The Radisson Blu Royahl Hotel in Copenhagen (basically the first skyscraper in Denmark), The Aarhus City Hall, St. Catherine’s College in Oxford or the Danish National Bank.
But Arne Jacobsen was not only a brilliant architect. He also used his skills and courage in design and his legacy includes a series of objects that even today seem very special and modern, even though they were designed decades ago.
The Danish designer was born in Copenhagen in 1902 and he probably inherited his mother’s artistic abilities since she used her spare time to paint floral motifs, even though she worked as a bank teller. Actually, Jacobsen initially wanted to be a painter himself, but he was encouraged towards architecture by his more pragmatic father (after all, he worked as a wholesale trader). He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts until 1927, but he managed to get noticed as early as 1925 thanks to an international art fair in Paris. However, the silver medal he won there was only the first in a long series of achievements.
And when it comes to chairs, the models he is best known for and the pieces that actually inspired generations of designers throughout time are: 3300 (with simple and clear lines unified in a minimalistic design that looks just as modern in any era), Ant (a chair with rounded shapes and 3 legs, but surprisingly, a prototype that he once considered to have insufficient potential), Dot (an amazingly simple stool born in the refining work of the Ant), Egg (probably one of his most famous creations, madly loved by a lot of people ever since 1958), Grand Prix (curved, distinguished and awarded since 1957), Lily (exactly as its name – open, special and delicate just as the flower of a lily), Oxford (a chair that would look just as good in today’s offices as it did in 1963 when it was first created), Series 7 (by far his “best-seller”) and Swan (surely just as loved as the Egg).
Arne Jacobsen’s creations are living proof that good design is simple design and it’s not by chance that his designs passed the test of time. Just by looking at them today and putting aside any additional information you might know, it might be hard to believe that all of his famous chairs were originally designed in the 1950s and the 1960s. Furthermore, it’s simply remarkable how much they can express through so few lines and little details and we are happy to have in our portfolio models inspired by the Danish’s masterpieces. For example:
– FC 050:
– FC 004:
– FC 196:
