Arne Jacobsen (February 11, 1902 - March 24, 1971, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish architect and designer. His works are among the most important of the current Danish functionalism, which, like Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, advocated a rational and functional architecture. The design developed by Arne Jacobsen laid the foundations of Scandi...
Arne Jacobsen (February 11, 1902 - March 24, 1971, Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish architect and designer. His works are among the most important of the current Danish functionalism, which, like Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius, advocated a rational and functional architecture. The design developed by Arne Jacobsen laid the foundations of Scandinavian organic modernism and its influence is still very present today.
Until 1924, Arne Jacobsen receives a masonry training at the Technical College of Copenhagen. It will be recognized later in Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, from which he graduated in 1927. In 1929 he won a competition for the house of the future with a visionary project housing pivoting on an axis to follow the movement of soleil1. From 1927 to 1929, he worked for the architectural firm of Paul Holsoe but soon founded his own agency in 1930, where he worked until his death. There notably develop architectural projects, decorating, furniture but also textiles and ceramics.
One of his creations is the first independent Bellavista residential complex Klampenborg (1933-1934), a suburb of Copenhagen; this project will contribute to the fame of Arne Jacobsen and establish its reputation as The Danish Corbusier. In the field of design, one of its great success is the Ant chair of 1952, which was designed originally for a pharmaceutical company. It consists of a folder and a plywood seat and foot made of thin steel tubes that make it an extremely lightweight object. Ant and its variations, 7 or 3107 series, has become the best selling Danish furniture in the world, produced nearly 5 million copies; it is also one of the most copied chairs.
His work will be distinguished by numerous international awards like the Honorary Diploma of the X Milan Triennial in 1954 and posthumously the International Design Award in Japan in 1991. In 1956 he became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. More than 30 years after his death, the Danish design is still marked by his imprint.
