He was born into a family of Danish writers in Copenhagen in 1894. Initially, he worked in functionalist architecture, but then his interests shifted to lighting fixtures. Even as a child he noticed the unpleasantly harsh light from the incandescent bulbs of the time. This later inspired him to design lampshades that emit natural diffused light.
His most famous and revolutionary series of PH lamps (PH 5, PH Artichoke) is the one in which he works with a 3-layer shading system, achieving a light that shines downwards and sideways but does not glare from any angle. Over the years new additions have been made to this collection and it is now available in many other shapes and colours, the most popular being the PH 5 and PH 5 mini lamps.
Henningsen's lifelong collaboration with Louis Poulsen began in 1924 and the brand continues to benefit from his genius to this day. Poul Henningsen laid the foundation for a philosophy concerning the relationship between light, shadow and man's need for light. Henningsen was also of the opinion that design must serve man and function must precede form.
His vision and creativity influenced many generations of designers and the lamps remain icons to this day.
You can read about the Louis Poulsen brand on our blog.
