In 2019, Louis Poulsen will be introducing a new member of the VL45 Radiohus Pendant family. Size Ø175 complements the existing sizes of Ø250 and Ø370 and creates endless opportunities for exciting new interior designs involving this beloved classic.
In partnership with Louis Poulsen, iconic Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen designed the VL45 Radiohus Pendant in the 1940s for Radiohuset, the new Danish Broadcasting House. Originally, though, the VL45 Radiohus Pendant was called the Office Lamp.
The Office Lamp was a very similar, but less complex version of the Studio Lamp, which had a two-piece shade and was designed to be small and aerodynamic in order not to interrupt the airflow of the ventilation in the stuffy studios where musicians practised for hours and hours. The light also needed to combine a downward and precise working light for the musicians with an overall softer, more diffused and glare-free light.
Vilhelm Lauritzen solved this by using elliptical mirrors in the inner shade surrounded by the outer opal glass bell. The VL45 Radiohus Pendant, as we know it today, retains its lighting benefits as well as its warm, sophisticated look and feel that fit so perfectly into current interior design trends.
All the versions of the VL45 Radiohus Pendant are made of the characteristic mouth-blown, glossy white opal glass and untreated brushed brass. Large or small, alone or in groups, the pendants have their own way of enhancing all types of interior.
The VL45 Radiohus Pendant will be available in size Ø175 in stores from September. Size Ø370 will also be available with an LED upgrade embedded in the pendant.
About Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984)
Vilhelm Lauritzen is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark; he was the trail-blazing figurehead of Danish functionalism. A number of his buildings – Nørrebro Theatre (1931–32), Daells Varehus department store (1928–35), Radiohuset (1936-41) and the first airport built in Kastrup (1937–39) – represented the concentrated essence of contemporary life.
Other significant buildings to stem from Lauritzen’s drawing board include Folkets Hus (1953–56) better known today as the Vega concert venue, the Shellhuset (1950–51) building and the Danish embassy in Washington (1958–60). In particular the Radiohuset building and the earliest version of Kastrup Airport – both listed today – are considered peerless monuments to modernism in the European genre of construction.
About Louis Poulsen
Founded in 1874, Danish lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen creates products that encompass the duality of design and light. Every detail in the design has a purpose. Every design starts and ends with light. Louis Poulsen offers a range of lighting aimed at the commercial and domestic lighting markets, with lighting fixtures and solutions for both indoor and outdoor applications. In close partnership with designers and architects like Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen, Verner Panton, Øivind Slaatto, Alfred Homann, Oki Sato, and GamFratesi, Louis Poulsen has established itself as one of the world's key suppliers of architectural and decorative lighting and has a global presence with dedicated showrooms in Copenhagen, Singapore, Stockholm, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Dusseldorf.
Press release, August 2019