Hans J. Wegner was born in 1914 in Tønder, Denmark, the son of a shoemaker. At the age of 17, he finished his apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker with H. F. Stahlberg, in whose workshops Wegner’s first design experiments took form. He moved to Copenhagen as a 20 year-old, and attended the School of Arts and Crafts from 1936 – 1938 before he began working as an architect.
As a young architect, Wegner joined Arne Jacobsen and Erik Møller in Århus, working on furniture design for the new Århus city hall in 1940. It was during the same year that Wegner began collaborating with master cabinetmaker, Johannes Hansen, who was a driving force in bringing new furniture design to the Danish public.
The Copenhagen Museum of Art and Industry acquired its first Wegner chair in 1942.
Wegner started his own design office in 1943. It was in 1944 that he designed the first “Chinese chair” in a series of new chairs that were inspired by portraits of Danish merchants sitting in Ming chairs. One of these chairs, the “Wishbone Chair”, designed in 1949 and produced by Carl Hansen & Son in Odense since 1950, became the most successful of all Wegner chairs.
Among Danish furniture designers, Hans J. Wegner is considered one of the most creative and productive. He has received practically every major recognition given to designers, including the Lunning prize, the grand prix of the Milan Triennale, Sweden’s Prince Eugen medal and the Danish Eckersberg medal. Wegner is an honorary Royal designer for industry of the Royal Society of Arts in London. Almost all of the world’s major design museums – from The Museum of Modern Art in New York to Die Neue Sammlung in Munich – include his furniture in their collections.
Hans J. Wegner died in Denmark in January, 2007.
Hans J. Wegner’s contribution to Danish Modern:
- First a cabinetmaker, then a designer: integrates exacting joinery techniques and exquisite form.
- A deep respect for wood and its characteristics – and an abiding curiosity about other natural materials
- Brings an organic, natural softness to formalistic minimalism
- Generally regarded as ”the master of the chair”, with more than 400 chair designs to his name
Hans J. Wegner
CH163 – walnut
from 6862 €
CH163 – oak
from 5800 €
CH162 – walnut
from 5510 €
CH162 – oak
from 4742 €
Divina MD 203 + oiled oak
5202 €
Sif 90 leather + oiled walnut
9600 €
Sif 98 leather + smoked oiled oak
8971 €
Sunniva 352 + oiled oak
6078 €
Canvas 734 + white oiled oak
4988 €
Sunniva 811 + smoked oiled oak
6540 €
Sunniva 957 + white oiled oak
6078 €
The sofas are available in the full range of fabrics, as well as in Loke, Thor and Sif leathers.
Upon delving into Hans J. Wegner’s vast archives, Carl Hansen & Son found a sofa design Wegner created for the modern living room in 1965. The sofa’s simple design features vertical and horizontal lines that are softened by cushions, which work with the frame’s angling to ensure a comfortable sitting posture. Carl Hansen & Son is relaunching the sofa in a new series that comprises two-seat and three-seat versions titled CH162 and CH163, respectively.
“The sofa series was originally known as the ‘Down Cushion Sets’, because cushions filled with feathers were an innovation at the time. Wegner chose feather cushions to create a soft and inviting look – a style that broke with the standard practice of using cushions of fixed upholstery. It is yet another example of Wegner’s unconventional approach to furniture design that makes him unique. We are proud to manufacture his furniture and bring his ever-relevant treasure trove of designs out into the light for everyone to see and enjoy,” says Knud Erik Hansen, CEO of Carl Hansen & Son.
The sofa’s legs have four equal sides that grow wider at the front when they reach the armrest, creating a triangular shape. An enlarged wooden plug in the middle of this triangle not only becomes the sofa’s most characteristic detail, but also hides a screw that makes reupholstering much easier. It is this innovative approach to giving functionally necessary elements unique expression that is particularly characteristic of Wegner.
When the sofa is viewed from the side, one can see that rather than following the sofa’s front edge downward, the upholstery slants inward on its path down towards the side rail, breaking the stringent lines in the simplest way.
The series is available in oak, walnut and ash with a variety of finishes, and the textile options includes many colours and fabric styles.
CH163 – oiled walnut + Sif 90 leather
CH163 – oiled oak + Sunniva 352 (Kvadrat) – 58% wool, 25% viscose, other
CH163 – white oiled oak + Canvas 734 fabric (Kvadrat) – 90% wool, 10% nylon
CH163 – smoked oiled oak + Sunniva 811 fabric (Kvadrat) – 58% wool, 25% viscose, other
CH163 – white oiled oak + Sunniva 957 fabric (Kvadrat) – 58% wool, 25% viscose, other
CH162 – oiled oak + Divina MD 203
CH163 – smoked oiled oak + Sif 98 leather
ready-made versions
smoked oak
clear lacquered walnut
oiled walnut
clear lacquered oak
oiled oak
white oiled oak
soaped oak
natural woods
The CH162 and CH163 sofas can be customized by playing with the choice of wood and fabric / leather. You will find below information to help you choose the wood of the structure, and a preselection of fabrics and leathers particularly suited for this sofa. Besides their intrinsic characteristics, fabrics and leathers are distinguished by their price category: groups 1, 2 and 3 for fabrics (increasing prices), groups A, B and C for leather (idem).
Do not hesitate to contact us to talk directly of your project. We also have at your disposal a wide collection of wood, fabrics and leathers samples, we will gladly send it you free of charge (against deposit).
customize your sofa
CH162 H78 x L137 x D80 cm – Seat Height 41cm
CH163 H78 x L195 x D80 cm – Seat Height 41cm
Frame solid wood
Seat/cushions CMHR fireproof foam
