After arriving in Copenhagen on a red-eye, I convinced my body that it had slept a full night and began my exploration of this mid-century modern mecca at the crack of dawn...
Jill's Tour: Even the Airports are Beautiful!
The sun had barely risen and I had already spotted 14 Louis Poulsen lamps--large, small, standing, hanging, in ultra modern settings, in 17th century homes, in museum lobbies, in municipal buildings... to name a few.
Clearly, the theme is good design. Whether low-end or high-end, fashion or transit oriented, clean, simple, and unornamented are de riguer. Everyone here looks well put together, the airport is lined with mahogany floorboards, and every street has a flawless bike lane.
Danish furniture designs are grounded in early 19th Century classicism--with its simple lines and lack of decoration. In the 1920's, Denmark's government put its socialist weight behind new designers. Since then, the Danish functionalism with a natural twist--lots of wood and special attention to the needs of the human body--has yielded a memorable and consistently fresh genre of furniture design. And because it is such an integral part of the Danish gestalt, it easily and seamlessly blends with the city's rich architectural heritage. Modern additions, fixtures, and furniture work as well for a building built 40 years ago as for one built 400 years ago.
And check out this park that turns into an ice skating rink in the winter! Try to spot the woman skating all in white.
Comments (7)
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Not to be a snark, and I'm just jealous; but why say mid-century mecca? Copenhagen is modern darnit, and just leave it at that! I hate the fake coined-for-sales term "mid-century modern." (Art history major here).
view piachka's profile
I want to go! It's beautiful!
view a to the toy's profile
Please: Lots more pictures. I love it.
view LisaG's profile
I had the good fortune to live & study in Copenhagen a few years back. Looking back, I realize that it was that time that sparked my interest in design. I didn't fully utilize my time there, because I was just *learning* to appreciate design. But not that I'm back in the States, I regularly catch myself being drawn to the same Danish design principles that I found so striking while I was there.
view Molly Margarita's profile
I lived in DK for a time as well, and wasn't such a design-head but I remember seeing lots of things I loved, including my B&O telephone and TV (and old B&O stereo).
view Pipsqueak's profile
I was just in Stockholm in Sept. and had very similar feelings. I felt like almost EVERYTHING was well designed. It kind of felt like "of course we designed this well, if we're going to make it at all, why wouldn't we design it well". But not in a haughty way, just in a "of course!" kind of way. I think it is part of a larger societal attitude towards design. I loved it there....
view Angie in Montreal's profile
Copenhagen Airport is the only airport where I didn't mind getting the news that my plane had been delayed (by 5 hrs). They have an excellent cafe as well. The city itself is every designer's heaven.
view teru's profile