The happiest country in the world, Denmark's design culture is captivating - Part 1 -

Hello, this is Shizuha from the design department.
This time, I would like to talk about the design culture of Denmark, a country that everyone has probably heard of. I would like to introduce the reason why Denmark, a country filled with wonderful designs from architecture to furniture and tableware, has such a fascinating culture that it is called a design powerhouse.

What kind of country is Denmark?

Things that originated in Denmark and are particularly well known in Japan include the fairy tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and LEGO blocks. Even if you don't know much about the country's name, you're probably familiar with those names.

Left: Hans Christian Andersen, a representative Danish fairy tale writer. Right: A representative part of LEGO, a Danish brand of plastic building block toys.

Denmark is located in the region known as Northern Europe. There are various theories about what constitutes Northern Europe, but in the narrowest sense, it refers to the five countries of Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Iceland, as well as the northern part of Denmark. Denmark is the southernmost of these countries, and is located at a higher latitude north than Hokkaido. The country, which is roughly the same size as Kyushu and consists of peninsulas and islands, has 90% of its borders facing the sea, and is home to about 5.7 million people, making it one of the smallest countries in the world.

Location of Denmark and the Nordic countries

Summers are comfortable with cool, long days, but winters are rainy, short, and very cold.

As a representative welfare state, the gap between rich and poor is small, policies for gender equality have been implemented early on, and corporate welfare is also substantial, making it a model for many other countries. Although the tax rate is extremely high, it is a high-welfare, high-tax state in which the government covers all educational expenses from elementary school to university and lifetime medical expenses.

As a result, income disparity among citizens is the smallest in the world, and citizens are highly satisfied with their lives. It is always ranked high in the national happiness rankings published annually by the United Nations, and in 2016 it was ranked first out of 155 countries, and in 2017 it was ranked second, just behind neighboring Norway, making it known as the happiest country in the world. By the way, Japan ranks 51st, which is quite a tough result.

View of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark

When one thinks of Scandinavia, one thinks of the wonderful interiors, architecture, and landscape designs. Sweden is home to IKEA, a familiar name in Japan for its interiors and miscellaneous goods, while Finland is home to Marimekko , a popular fabric brand. Scandinavia is a mecca for simple modern and organic modern design.

There are three main reasons why I am particularly interested in Denmark among the Nordic countries. One is that wonderful industrial design has permeated the people as a culture, and there are many master designers who have achieved this cultural development, and the culture and thinking under their influence is wonderful. Another is that when I moved for personal reasons, I finally got a Danish-made desk, and I am obsessed with its charm. Finally, I was inspired by the unique charm of the culture represented by the word "hygge," which is the origin of happiness.

Visit the Shizuoka City Museum of Art, an urban art museum in the castle town of Shizuoka

With this interest in mind, I happened to learn that there was a Danish design exhibition going on at the time, so I promptly headed over to the "Danish Design" exhibition being held at the Shizuoka City Museum of Art on the first weekend of October.
Heading west on the Tokaido Line from JR Fujisawa Station, I changed to the Kodama at Odawara and arrived at Shizuoka Station, located in the center of Shizuoka City, a castle town associated with Tokugawa Ieyasu, about 80 minutes later. As I left the north exit, I immediately realized that it was the museum, as there was a large, eye-catching building right in front of me.

The building housing the museum can be seen from the rotary in front of the north exit of JR Shizuoka Station.

Entering the building and taking the escalator up to the third floor, a simple, clean white space with high ceilings and walls spreads before me. The Mt. Fuji motif logo and signs throughout the building give a sophisticated impression. Unlike popular exhibitions in Tokyo, the building was completely empty, even on a Saturday. There were only a few couples, married couples, and people who looked like architecture students. I was tired of crowded art exhibitions, so this situation put my mind at ease and made me more eager to enjoy the exhibition.

Inside the Shizuoka City Museum of Art, where the Danish Design Exhibition is being held

A corner with giant Lego blocks for children to play with: "Let's Play with Lego Soft!"

This Danish design exhibition is being held to commemorate the 150th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Denmark and Japan, starting in Nagasaki and running at five locations across the country over the course of a year.

Danish Design Exhibition and Master Designers

The exhibition was planned in cooperation with the Danish Design Museum, and traces the history of design from modern times to the present day through about 200 Danish design products. Starting with a display of Royal Copenhagen tableware, the first Danish crafts to receive international acclaim, the exhibition proceeds to show the works of many master designers and their historical backgrounds in parallel, and also introduces modern Danish design. At the end, there was an experience corner where visitors could actually sit in chairs designed by the masters, and a corner where children could play with giant Lego blocks was also set up.

Royal Copenhagen "Blue Fluted"
It has been a long-selling item since production began in 1775 as a gift from the royal family. *The image is not a photo from the exhibition.
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 3.0))

Among them, we will introduce some particularly famous and important designers who were active from the dawn of the 1920s to the golden age of the 1950s and 1960s and made great contributions, as well as their masterpieces.

The father of Danish modern furniture design
Kaare Klint (1888-1954)

Klint is said to be the person who had the greatest influence on Danish furniture design. He founded the furniture department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and became a professor there himself. Many world-famous designers emerged from his students. Although Klint did not leave behind many works, he left behind masterpieces such as the Red Chair, Safari Chair, and Faubourg Chair, which he based his philosophy on re-examining and reconstructing past styles at a time when innovation and unrestricted modernism were mainstream. These reflect the process of pursuing maximum functionality based on ergonomics and solving past problems through design, and influenced many designers of the next generation.

Left: Portrait of Kaare Klint. Top right: The Danish Design Museum is lined with
Lighting and desks designed by Clint, including his classic Red Chair
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY 2.0))
Bottom left: Safari chair designed by Clint
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 3.0))
Bottom right: Forbo chair and desk designed by Clint
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY 2.0))

The architect behind the world's first designer hotel
Arne Emil Jacobsen (1902-1971)

He is one of Denmark's most famous designers. The Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, completed in 1960, is Jacobsen's masterpiece, and is known to be the world's first designer hotel, in which he designed everything by himself, from the architecture to the furniture, lighting, carpets, doorknobs, and cutlery. Among the mid-century furniture, he designed the particularly iconic and popular Egg Chair and Swan Chair for this hotel. Jacobsen's designs can be seen all over Denmark, including apartment buildings and gas stations. The Seven Chair, an icon of Scandinavian interior design, is a huge best-selling product that has sold over 7 million chairs to date.

Left: Portrait of Arne Jacobsen Right: The Seven Chair, a masterpiece of mid-century Scandinavian design
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 3.0))

A master of chairs who has designed over 500 types of chairs
Hans J Wegner (1914-2007)

He has produced many masterpieces, including the Chinese Chair, inspired by a chair from the Ming Dynasty in China as an attempt to develop the shape of a historical chair into the modern era, The Chair, famously sat on by presidential candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon during a debate on CNN, and the Y Chair and Shell Chair, joint products with Carl Hansen & Son, Denmark's leading furniture manufacturer. He is known worldwide as a master of chairs, having designed more than 500 types of chairs in his lifetime. He is also considered one of the most important figures in the Danish design world, having been involved in the design and planning of furniture for the city hall building project in Aarhus, Denmark's second largest city (completed in 1948, in collaboration with Arne Jacobsen and Erik Muller).

Left: Portrait of Hans J. Wegner Top right: The Chair designed by Wegner
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 3.0))
Bottom right left: Y chair designed by Wegner Bottom right: Shell chair designed by Wegner
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 2.0))

Including lighting design,
A multi-faceted master artist
Poul Henningsen (1894-1967)

He is active not only as an architect and designer, but also as a writer, journalist and cultural critic. He is known by the name PH (Pee-Haw), and is a multi-talented artist who is also a painter, lighting designer, composer, kite enthusiast and educator. In particular, the pendant lamps designed by Henningsen are masterpieces of mid-century design that are still used today in homes and public facilities throughout Denmark and are beloved by the people. The pendant lamps, which have been produced in collaboration with Louis Poulsen since 1925, are groundbreaking designs that combine multiple shades to create a soft gradation of light and a warm, emotional look, as well as functionality such as reducing glare. Together with the company, Henningsen has released over 100 types of lighting.

Left: Portrait of Poul Henningsen Top right: PH5 pendant light
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 3.0))
Bottom right: Pendant light designed for the Langeline Pavilion in Copenhagen;
Commonly known as "PH Artichoke"
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 2.0))

A maverick in Danish design
Finn Juhl (1912-1989)

Architect. He is recognized as a maverick designer and architect who went against the influence of Kaare Klint, the mainstream of Danish modern design. He contributed greatly to the advancement of Danish modernism in America by planning exhibitions of Danish design in New York. When he designed the interior of the United Nations Headquarters Trustees' Council Meeting Hall in New York, he created a design based on a perfectly unified perspective, down to the smallest details, including curtains, furniture, carpets, walls, and color schemes. He has also worked on the interior design of jet planes, and has a wide range of activities. His furniture designs, which include sculptural beauty, are as beautiful as art, and his representative works include the Chieftain Chair and the Easy Chair, both of which have an ultimate curved beauty that makes you want to touch them, such as the smoothness of the details.

Left: Portrait of Finn Juhl Top right: The United Nations Headquarters Trust Local Council Meeting Hall in New York, designed by Juhl
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY-SA 4.0))
Bottom right: The Finn Juhl House, a private home designed and built by Juhl himself when he was 30 years old.
(Photo by Wikipedia – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY 2.0))

A chair with beautifully curved arms designed by Finn Juhl
(Photo by coffee shop soulja – Change of venue(2017) / Adapted.(CC BY 2.0))

There are many other wonderful designers and their works out there, so if you're interested, I encourage you to take a look.

The first part introduced the country of Denmark, outlined the "Danish Design" exhibition, and introduced some of the important designers featured there.
In the second part, I would like to introduce why these designs continue to be loved, the desk I actually purchased, and what I have learned through Danish design.

To be continued