The architect and designer Vilhelm Lauritzen, an important figure in the modernist and functionalist movements, designed the VL38 lamp in the 1940s for the Copenhagen Radio House (Radiohuset), one of his major architectural works. Vilhelm Lauritzen designed all the lighting for the building in partnership with Louis Poulsen, including the VL38 table lamp for the recording studios.
Louis Poulsen has now reintroduced it in its original design, with its characteristically organic lampshade, painted white and angled at an angle, and its polished brass arm. VL38 is available in three versions: the VL38 table lamp, the VL38 floor lamp and the VL38 wall lamp. All three members of the VL38 series are fitted with LEDs, so that they can benefit from contemporary advances in energy efficiency and lighting quality.
"From a design point of view, the VL38 family is similar to the chandeliers created by Vilhelm Lauritzen for Radiohuset. The design is simple, functional and elegant. The combination of white and brass is both beautiful and timeless. The lampshade is designed to diffuse light downwards to provide comfortable, glare-free lighting.
Like all his lamp designs, the VL38 illustrates Vilhelm Lauritzen's quest to develop a functional aesthetic that harmonises with architecture. Interest in Vilhelm Lauritzen's lamps continues to grow at auctions and in antique shops, which has convinced us to reissue them," says 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
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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