Poul Henningsen

Poul Henningsen was born in 1894 in Ordrup, Denmark. From the age of 18, when he began to experiment with light and he have been searching for harmony in lighting and became Denmark's first expert in lighting theory. Even though Poul Henningsen's is mostly known from his lamps his talent was very diversified. He was trained at the Technical School and the Danish College of Technology, Copenhagen. Ever since 1920 Poul Henningsen worked as an independent architect in Copenhagen where he designed several houses, a factory, a part of Tivoli, and the interiors of two theaters. Beside working as an architect Poul Henningsen wrote articles for several newspapers and periodicals, he scripted a number of revues for Copenhagen theaters, he wrote poems, and was the editor of the magazine "Kritisk Revy" (Critical Revue ). From his writings Poul Henningsen was known as a seriously and sharp critical of society and architecture.

As a Copenhagener Poul Henningsen often drove through the city and was shock by what he saw: "When, in the evening, from the top of a tram car, you look into all the homes on the first floor, you shudder at how dismal people's homes are. Furniture, style carpets, everything in the home is unimportant compared to the positioning of the lighting. It doesn't cost money to light a room correctly, but it does require culture. "