Henningsens’ Lighting Philosophy
Poul Henningsen was born in Copenhagen as the son of the famous Danish actress Agnes Henningsen. He never finished his studies as an architect, but studied from 1911-1914 at the technical school of Frederiksberg and at the technical college in Copenhagen from 1914-17.
Henningsen began his career designing traditional functionalist architecture. But his professional interest focused more and more on lighting design - for which the Dane is famous until today. Henningsen was also active as journalist and writer. For a short time at the beginning of the Second World War, he was the leading architect at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. But like many other creative people Poul Henningsen was forced to take refuge during the German occupation of Denmark and soon became an important part of the Danish community of artists who lived in Sweden.
Poul Hennigsens pioneering work concerning the relationships of light structures, shadow, reflection and light play is the foundation stone of the light theory, which is still used at Louis Poulsen Lighting.
The Three Shade Luminaires
His three shade lights are undoubtedly the most famous designs by Poul Henningsen: originally designed as a pendant lamp, the construction was also a success as table or floor lamp. Today, there is a large family of PH three shade lights. The shades reflect and break the light several times – this way producing a soft and focussed light that exudes high comfort. Many PH luminaires are equipped with inside painted shades, so that the beam of light gets a specific colour: this way, different lighting scenes are available for each room of the apartment.
The versatile combination possibilities and the great variety led to continuous growth of the PH lamp family, which meanwhile is famous in the whole world.
Poul Henningsens life-long collaboration with Louis Poulsen Lighting began in 1925 and lasted until his death. To this day, Louis Poulsen Lighting benefits from his genius.
Poul Henningsen