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The VLA26 Vega Chair, designed in the 1950s for the halls of the building in Copenhagen of the same name, is now in production by Carl Hansen & Søn with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects.

B a c k o n s t a g e

The furniture pieces designed by Danish architect V i l h e l m L a u r i t z e n h a v e b e e n r e d i s c o v e r e d : c u s t o m - m a d e f o r h i s f u n c t i o n a l i s t a r c h i t e c t u r e s , t h e y a r e n o w i n p r o d u c t i o n . A l w a y s c u r r e n t , n o w a s t h e n , t h e y t e l l o f a t i m e l e s s d e s i g n

words by Laura Maggi

S i m p l e , l i n e a r a n d h i g h l y r e f i n e d : t h e d e s i g n l a n g u a g e r a n g e s f r o m a r c h i t e c t u r e t o f u r n i t u r e , d o w n t o t h e s m a l l e s t d e t a i l s

The Vega, or Folkets Hus (The People’s House, 1935–1956) was designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen as an entertainment venue for the labour movement. In 1996, after a careful refurbishment, the modernist building was turned into a concert space with rooms of different capacities and a nightclub. As usual, the architect designed not only the furniture, but also every single detail, from the woodwork, friezes and chandeliers to the fixtures, doorknobs and electrical outlets.

Belonging to the Foyer series is the bench exclusively designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen for the Radiohuset in Copenhagen, the building he worked on from 1937 to 1945, used as the headquarters of the Danish national broadcaster Danmarks Radio. Made of oak, it is now reissued, together with a sofa and a lounge chair, by Carl Hansen & Søn in close collaboration with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and with full respect for the original design.

‘ A r c h i t e c t u r e i s a n a r t t h a t e v e r y o n e s h o u l d e n j o y , n o t a p r i v i l e g e f o r t h e f e w ’ , V i l h e l m L a u r i t z e n l i k e d t o r e p e a t

The large hall of the Copenhagen Airport Terminal, one of the most famous projects by architect Vilhelm Lauritzen (1937–1939), underwent restoration in 1998. It is considered among the earliest examples of Danish functionalist architecture.

“No life without aesthetics” was the mantra of architect Vilhelm Lauritzen, among the masters of Danish functionalist and modernist architecture, although not a household name. A mantra that inspired all his professional output, leading him to elaborate a simple, linear and highly refined language, with attention ranging from the design of the architectural structure to the furnishings, including the smallest details, such as handles, handrails and electrical outlets. His idea of a work of art entailed total control over the entire project and was very close to that of Gio Ponti, his contemporary. Today, in the year marking the centenary of the foundation of his studio, which has continued to be active since 1922 in Copenhagen, two of his furniture projects are back on stage thanks to the partnership between Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects and Carl Hansen & Søn, the company that has put them into production. “The final prototypes were developed about two years after the first meeting at the offices of Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects”, says CEO Knud Erik Hansen, third generation of entrepreneurs. “A wonderful experience; the furnishing projects were created for the buildings they were intended to, custom-made, but never produced. With the studio, we selected two works linked to two famous Copenhagen building projects designed by Lauritzen: The Radiohuset building and the Vega cultural centre. Together with the company, we worked to adapt comfort to meet present day needs, while preserving the original design that makes the Foyer series, composed of bench, sofa and lounge chair, timeless”, furniture that will last a lifetime. “At the same time”, continues Anne Møller Sørensen, partner of Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, “the VLA26 Vega Chair is an expression of Danish design at its best. It illustrates the distinctive Lauritzen’s touch: a functionalist, simple and evergreen design, which at once preserves a well-defined personality”. Born in 1894, after studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a series of projects that never saw the light, inspired by a monumental classicism, Lauritzen encountered the avant-garde of Functionalism, characterised by structural innovations and the use of materials such as cement. We find traces of this, for example, in the architecture of the Copenhagen Airport Terminal (1937–1939) with its original concrete wave ceiling. “Architecture is an art that everyone should enjoy, not a privilege for the few”, he liked to repeat; a belief that stayed with him until his death in 1994. The Foyer series was conceived for the lobby of Radiohuset, home to Danish national broadcaster Danmarks Radio and today venue of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. The building was erected during World War II when Denmark was under German occupation. Point of honour for Lauritzen was not allowing the Nazis to use this space for their propaganda, and, like Penelope, he succeeded in slowing down its construction, which began in 1937, completing it only in 1945, the year of the German surrender. The VLA26 Vega Chair, on the other hand, belongs to the project for the Vega or Folkets Hus (The People’s House, 1935–1956) conceived by Vilhelm Lauritzen as a meeting place for the working class. In 1996, it was converted, after a careful restoration, into a concert space hosting, among many others, Prince, David Bowie and Bjork. “We didn’t have a chair in our collection that was easily stackable like the Vega Chair, one more reason to put it into production”, emphasises Knud Erik Hansen, “and it’s very satisfying to see how these new products, created in the past, have seamlessly become part of our family”. The collection, recently also showcased at the London Design Festival, is made at the factory, founded in 1908 as a joinery, located on the island of Fionia, a couple of hours drive from Copenhagen. Here craftsmanship, accrued over the course of a century, is expressed in woodcraft, in the interweaving of the seats, and in the processing of leathers and upholstery fabrics. —