Designers - Vilhelm Lauritzen

Vilhelm Lauritzen is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark and a key figure in Danish functionalism, studying architecture from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in Copenhagen. Lauritzen believed in the ultimate balance – that an architect should not lean too heavily towards function or form. Besides designing many renowned buildings in Denmark like the Radiohuset, Nørrebro Theatre, and the Danish embassy in Washington, D.C., lighting was also a focal point in his projects. He frequently oriented windows to allow for the proper combination of skylight and sunlight and lent that same philosophy to his own fixtures. They combine strongly directed light with a gentler, more diffused illumination to create multiple variations of both light and shadow. Vilhelm Lauritzen’s first fixtures, which he designed for Radiohuset, started to be produced by Louis Poulsen in the 1940s.