During the 1940s, the Danish architect and designer Vilhelm Lauritzen felt the need for a lamp that was neither a spherical pendant nor a sought-after PH lamp. This laid the groundwork for the VL Ring Crown, a new lamp with a glass shade that was not only neat and glare-free but also practical.
Louis Poulsen is now bringing back this design classic.
The VL Ring Crown is made of untreated, polished brass, and comes with three, five, or seven shades made of glossy white, triple-layered, mouth-blown opal glass. It brings a distinctive touch to stylish interiors worldwide and emits a warm light to softly illuminate contemporary living.
The VL Ring Crown derives from a lamp design created for the old Danish Broadcasting House in Copenhagen in the 1940s. While the wall lamp and pendant versions were put to good use, the Ring Crown was never installed. However, not long after, a Ring Crown based on the original drawings was launched.
In 1947, architect Finn Juhl, who worked for Vilhelm Lauritzen, received the Eckersberg Medallion for his interior design of the flagship store of Danish porcelain manufacturer Bing & Grøndahl on Amagertorv in Copenhagen. He used the B & G Ring Crown in this project.
Vilhelm Lauritzen received plenty of orders for the Ring Crown, which he later described to Poul Henningsen in Louis Poulsen’s magazine, "NYT," in 1953.
“It should be easy to dust, not collect dirt at the bottom, not break in one go if damaged, be easy to change the bulb, be as glare-free as possible (without dimming), and be available for downward lighting and for evenly rounded light as needed. And it should look neat,” he wrote.
The VL Ring Crown fully lives up to all of these expectations. It will be available in stores from September 2019 in wall lamp and pendant versions – both in white opal glass and brass.
About Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984)
Vilhelm Lauritzen is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark. He was the trailblazing 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 DC (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. The company has a global presence with dedicated showrooms in Copenhagen, Singapore, Stockholm, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Dusseldorf.
North American Media Contact:
Alyssa Young, alyssa@bdeonline.biz
Press release, August 2019