Arne Jacobsen

Born: 1902 - Died: 1971
Best-known works: Swan, Egg, AJ lamps, SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen
Training: School of Architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen

Background
Arne Jacobsen is a world-renowned Danish modernist architect and designer. Through the course of his career he created many buildings for clients in Denmark, Germany and England. Among his most widely known works are National Bank of Denmark (Copenhagen, 1971), the SAS Royal Hotel & Terminal (Copenhagen, 1960) and St. Catherine’s College (Oxford, UK, 1963). Rumour has it that only his fear of flying prevented him from creating buildings in America as well. Jacobsen was a decisive and single-minded architect, who had a great deal of influence over the design of his buildings down to the smallest detail.

This attention to detail led him to broaden his architecture practice to include design of related objetcs – light fixtures, furniture, tableware, fixtures and fittings like door handles and bathroom taps and even wallpaper. The Egg and The Swan are two of his most famous chairs, and the list of his classic lamp designs includes the AJ series and the AJ Royal pendant. He was the recipient of many prestigious prizes – both in Denmark and abroad – throughout his career.

Through his 11 years as a professor at the School of Architecture in Copenhagen he influenced an entire generation of Danish architects, who developed their own architectural languages based on Jacobsen’s rational and minimalist expression.

Other work:
Bellevue Theatre
Aarhus City Hall
Søllerød City Hall
Rødovre City Hall
Glostrup City Hall
Toms Chocolate factory in Ballerup