In autumn 2020, Louis Poulsen will be bringing back the PH Septima, a distinctive seven-shade glass lamp, originally designed by Poul Henningsen in the period 1927-31. With its poetic shape and seven shades, all ornamented with alternating clear and frosted sections, the PH Septima diffuses a pleasantly delicate light that sets the stage in any interior.
The PH Septima balances heritage and modernity in an exceptional design that draws inspiration from the iconic three-shade system of the PH 5/5. With the Septima, Poul Henningsen added four additional sections to the basic three-shade system – to make seven shades in total. The seven shades of the glass crown are produced in delicate, but very strong, Italian borosilicate glass and decorated with alternating clear and frosted sections that add a contemporary aesthetic edge, while creating a warm and harmonious ambience.
The glass shades with their clear and frosted sections are positioned so that the frosted sections cover the clear sections underneath, allowing the layers to spread the light in a more diffused way, while maintaining glare-free, downward directed light distribution. A neat round glass cup at the top in order prevents dust etc. from falling into the lamp.
When exhibited for the first time as a prototype at the Danish Museum of Decorative Art (now Design Museum Denmark) in 1928, the PH Septima was publicly applauded. In 1931, Henningsen introduced a smaller version of the PH Septima, which was based on the shade sizes from the PH 4/4. The two sizes were therefore named Septima 5 and 4. Yet, as a result of shortage of materials in the 1940s, very few examples of the much-admired PH Septima were produced at the time.
During the development of the PH Septima, Henningsen designed a metal version that was never put into production. His drawings, however, formed the basis for the development of the PH Artichoke, designed about three decades later for the Langelinie Pavilion in Copenhagen. Today, the PH Septima is regarded as one of Poul Henningsen’s most refined pendants and recognised for its significant impact as a precursor of the prominent PH Artichoke.
Recapturing the craftsmanship and heritage of Henningsen, Louis Poulsen is proud to bring the PH Septima back to life in its original design with minor modifications to make it a modern and functional lamp meeting today’s standard for great lighting comfort.
The PH Septima comes with clear and frosted glass and has been modernised to include a brass suspension, arms and canopy to complement the soft tone of the design. To ensure a high level of comfort with soft, diffused and glare-free light, the bulb is cloaked in seven glass shades. The PH Septima comes in size Ø500, based on the shade set of the Septima 5, with an E27 light source and will be available in stores from autumn 2020.
About Poul Henningsen
Poul Henningsen was born in Copenhagen to the famous Danish writer Agnes Henningsen. He never graduated as an architect, but studied at the Technical School in Frederiksberg from 1911-14 and then at the Technical College in Copenhagen from 1914-17. He started designing traditional functionalistic architecture, but over the years he changed his professional focus to concentrate on lighting, which is what he is most famous for.
He also expanded professionally into writing, becoming a journalist and an author. For a short period at the beginning of World War II, he was head architect of the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. But like many other creative people, he was forced to flee Denmark during the German occupation. However, he soon became an important member of the Danish colony of artists living in Sweden.
His lifelong collaboration with Louis Poulsen began in 1925 and lasted until his death. To this day, Louis Poulsen still benefits from his genius. Poul Henningsen was also the first editor of the company magazine NYT. Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen, CEO of Louis Poulsen at the time, gave the magazine to PH as a gift because he had been terminated from the Danish newspaper for which he worked (in the opinion of the newspaper management, his opinions were too radical).
Poul Henningsen’s pioneering work on the relationship between light structures, shadows, glare and colour reproduction and man’s need for light remains the foundation of the lighting theories still practised by Louis Poulsen.
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, Miami, Oslo, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Dusseldorf.