Designed by Lauritzen in the 1940s for Radiohuset, the new Danish Broadcasting House in Copenhagen, the iconic pendant was originally named the 'Office Lamp'. Expertly crafted from three layers of mouth-blown Italian glass, with two transparent and one white middle layer uniting as one to create an alluring calming glow, the VL45's balanced, rounded form allows for it to coordinate and be positioned in a range of differently styled spaces. Available in three sizes, the lights look beautiful individually or in clusters of mixed sizes, with the opening at the bottom providing practical downwards directed light and the brass suspension adding a touch of subtle splendour.
Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984) was 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, Daells Varehus department store, Radiohuset and the first airport built in Kastrup – represented the concentrated essence of contemporary life. Other significant buildings to stem from Lauritzen’s drawing board include Folkets Hus better known today as the Vega concert venue, the Shellhuset building and the Danish embassy in Washington.
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.
