Louis Poulsen has a long history of designing to shape light and the company’s collaboration with Vilhelm Lauritzen, the trail-blazing figurehead of Danish functionalism, forms part of that tradition. This significant partnership further confirms that working with creative minds is an important and integral part of the world of Louis Poulsen.
Louis Poulsen debuted the new addition to the Vilhelm Lauritzen range, originally designed in the late 1930s for the Radio House in Copenhagen, at Euroluce in Milan earlier this spring. The range now consists of the classic mouth-blown glass VL45 Radiohus Pendant and the VL38 table, floor and wall lamps in white/brass and the new black/brass version.
Vilhelm Lauritzen was a master of the art of combining materials and light. He carried out comprehensive studies of daylight as early as in the 1920s, and throughout his working life Lauritzen was devoted to developing and improving his lamps, which blended in harmoniously with the buildings he designed.
“The VL38 is the epitome of the characteristic Vilhelm Lauritzen lampshade and his innovative views on lighting design. The original combination of white and brass is both beautiful and timeless. The new black version adds a rigorous and modern touch to a design that allows you to work with contrast and darkness in your interiors, without compromising the shape of the light,” explains Rasmus Markholt, idea and design director at Louis Poulsen.
The arms of the lamps are made of brass and the shade is painted white on the inside to ensure a soft, comfortable light. With two light levels, the lamp emits a directed downward light and the angle of the shade can be adjusted to optimize light distribution. All the lamps have been fitted with LED light sources to accommodate contemporary advances in light technology and energy efficiency.
The VL38 table and floor lamps in black and brass will be available in stores beginning September 2017.
About Vilhelm Lauritzen
Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984) is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark; he was the trail-blazing figurehead of Danish functionalism.
Throughout his life, Vilhelm Lauritzen adhered to the principle that architecture is applied art – with equal emphasis on both ‘art’ and ‘applied’. “No life without aesthetics” was another of Vilhelm Lauritzen’s firmly held beliefs. Vilhelm Lauritzen mastered both daylight and artificial lighting. He consistently involved daylight in his architectural projects by including large south- and west-facing windows that neatly mixed warm sunlight with the cooler light from the sky flowing in through windows facing north and east. It was an approach that shifted focus from the limited wall surfaces in the room itself. People, furnishings and fittings are highlighted and shaded in the sculptural light. Lauritzen’s fixtures light up with the same idea. They combine strong directional light that produces sharp shadows with a gentler, more diffuse illumination that softens and shades the room.
Vilhelm Lauritzen’s first lamps, which he designed for the Radio House in Copenhagen, started to appear in Louis Poulsen catalogues in the mid-1940s. In the 1950s – as his major construction projects progressed – the Lauritzen range expanded to comprise a broad, varied selection of fittings.
About Louis Poulsen
Founded in 1874, the 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 atthe commercial and domestic lighting markets, with lights 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 key suppliers of architectural and decorative lighting and has a global presence with dedicated showrooms in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Dusseldorf. Additional information is available at www.louispoulsen.com
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August, 2017