As part of 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, Louis Poulsen is hosting a public celebration of 60 years of iconic lighting by the legendary Poul Henningsen. From May 24 to May 26, Louis Poulsen will transform its Gammel Strand showroom into The Louis Poulsen Makery – a hybrid mini-factory/café space where visitors can watch craftspeople bring some of Poul Henningsen’s best-known lamps to life while enjoying café fare from I’m a KOMBO /Prolog.
Six decades ago, in 1958, Poul Henningsen unveiled the PH Artichoke, PH 5, and PH Snowball pendants – three iconic lighting designs now recognised and admired worldwide. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of these sculptural forms, which transformed the way people illuminate their spaces, Louis Poulsen will recreate a part of its factory (located in western Denmark) at the company’s main showroom on the historic Gammel Strand in central Copenhagen.
Thoroughly re-styling the showroom to embody a creative, industrial environment, the Louis Poulsen Makery will showcase the assembly process of the three PH icons. Visitors will enjoy live demonstrations, videos, stations with tools and components, and storytelling about the history and making of the lamps. Louis Poulsen will also announce exciting product news.
The Makery pop-up café combines the culinary expertise of popular Danish creative chef venture I’m a KOMBO and the famed baristas of Copenhagen coffee bar Prolog. Casual and relaxed, the public café space will offer an ideal setting for experiencing the Louis Poulsen and Poul Henningsen story.
What: The Louis Poulsen Makery
When: May 24-26
Where: Gammel Strand 28, 1202 Copenhagen K
Contact: Sarah Lærke Stevens, sls@louispoulsen.dk
The profoundly influential and daring designer, architect, author, and cultural critic Poul Henningsen left his mark on many areas of Danish thought and design and built a legacy that remains integral to Louis Poulsen’s work to shape light.
Henningsen first saw electric light in 1907 and dedicated most of his life to taming and refining the then-new phenomenon. His lifelong collaboration with Louis Poulsen began in 1924. Seeking to reduce glare and enhance illumination, Henningsen developed his revolutionary three-shade system in 1926, achieving softly diffused lighting that was pleasing to the eye and created more comfortable and inviting spaces for work and life. The designer’s partnership with Louis Poulsen went on to give the world such classics as the PH 5, PH Artichoke, and PH Snowball.
Henningsen’s pioneering work with the relationship between light structures, shadows, glare, and colour reproduction – and his fascination with the human need for both darkness and light – remain the foundation of Louis Poulsen’s lighting philosophy.
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 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 SatoandGamFratesi, 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, Singapore, Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Düsseldorf.
Press release, May 2018