Vilhelm Lauritzen, 1940's
The architecte and designer Vilhelm Lauritzen, one of the most prominent figure of the modernist and functionalist movements, specifically designed the VL38 lamp for the Radiohuset building in Copenhagen in the 1940's.
The architecte and designer Vilhelm Lauritzen, one of the most prominent figure of the modernist and functionalist movements, specifically designed the VL38 lamp for the Radiohuset building in Copenhagen in the 1940's.
Vilhelm Lauritzen created all the light fittings for the project in partnership with Louis Poulsen, and the VL38 Table Lamp was originally used in the radio studios in the building. The VL38 family is being launched in its original design, where the lamp head is organically shaped, painted white and obliquely angled. The arms of the light fittings are made of brass, and all the lamps have been fitted with LED light sources to accommodate contemporary advances in light technology and energy efficiency.
“From the perspective of design, the VL38 family is related to the chandeliers Vilhelm Lauritzen created for Radiohuset. It is an extremely simple, function and elegant series of lights, and the combination of white and brass is both beautiful and timeless. The shape of the lamp head directs the light downwards, so it always provides pleasant, non-dazzling illumination.
All the lamp models are typical examples of Vilhelm Lauritzen’s approach to a modern and functional design idiom that also distinguishes his architecture. Demand for the original lamp at auctions and antique markets today proves that Vilhelm Lauritzen’s lamps never go out of fashion", relates Rasmus Markholt, Design Manager at Louis Poulsen.
Material die cast aluminium – brushed brass.
Cable length 3,3 m – Switch on the lamp stand
Weight 2.2 kg
Light source 10W LED 2700K (warm light), light intensity 416 lm.
Class Ingress protection IP20. Electric shock protection II w/o ground
White
Black
Material punched aluminium – brushed brass
Cable length 3,3m – switch on wall box
Weight 0.9 kg
Light source 10W LED 2700K (warm light), light intensity 416 lm.
Class Ingress protection IP20. Electric shock protection II w/o ground
White
Black
Material die cast aluminium – brushed brass
Cable length 4m. Switch on cord
Weight 5.2 kg
Light source 10W LED 2700K (warm light), light intensity 416 lm
Class Ingress protection IP20. Electric shock protection II w/o ground
White
Black
Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984) is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark; he was the trail-blazing figurehead of Danish functionalism. A number of his buildings – Nørrebro Theatre (1931–32), Daells Varehus department store (1928–35), Radiohuset (1936-41) and the first airport built in Kastrup (1937–39) – represented the concentrated essence of contemporary life. Other significant buildings to stem from Lauritzen’s drawing board include Folkets Hus (1953–56) better known today as the Vega concert venue, the Shellhuset (1950–51) building and the Danish embassy in Washington (1958–60). In particular the Radiohuset building and the earliest version of Kastrup Airport – both listed today – are considered peerless monuments to modernism in the European genre of construction.
Throughout his life, Vilhelm Lauritzen adhered to the principle that architecture is applied art – with equal emphasis on both ‘art’ and ‘applied’. “No life without aesthetics” was another one of Vilhelm Lauritzen’s firmly held beliefs.
Vilhelm Lauritzen mastered both daylight and artificial lighting. He consistently involved daylight in his architectural projects by including large south- and west-facing windows that neatly mixed warm sunlight with the cooler sky light flowing in through windows facing north and east. It was an approach that shifted focus from the limited wall surfaces in the room itself. People, furnishings and fittings are highlighted and shaded in the sculptural light.
Lauritzen’s fixtures light up with the same idea. They combine strongly directed light that produces sharp shadows with a gentler, more diffuse illumination that softens and shades the rooms.
The first light fitting Vilhelm Lauritzen designed was created in 1926–29 for Fritzsches Glashandel and named the Universal pendant. As a true functionalist, Vilhlem Lauritzen dedicated his entire life to continuing to develop and improve his light fixtures.
Vilhelm Lauritzen’s first fixtures, which he designed for Radiohuset, started to appear in Louis Poulsen catalogues in the middle of the 1940s.
In the 1950s – in step with the progress on his major construction assignments – the Lauritzen range expanded to comprise a broad, varied selection of fittings.
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