Poul Henningsen created the three-shade system back in 1925-1926, when in cooperation with Louis Poulsen he designed the first lamps for an exhibition in Paris. Throughout his life, PH sought to create glare-free light that could be directed where it was needed and created soft shadows.

In 1931 the four-shade system was launched to creat lamps that could be mounted high up and act as alternatives to the often-used chandeliers. The PH four-shade lamp was constructed to increase the amount of light that the lamp emits horizontally in order to achieve greater illumination on walls and shelves than the regular three-shade lamp. This was taken from the Louis Poulsen standard assortment in the 1940s, but was redesigned in 1979 by two Danish architects - Sophus Frandsen and Ebbe Christensen - for the exhibition building Charlottenborg in Copenhagen, just in a bigger size: the PH 6 ½/6. In 1984, the smaller PH 5/4½ was created for Århus Musikhus.
Please note – the PH 6½-6 can be delivered with a 70-150W G12 bulb – contact us for more information.