70 ARNE JACOBSEN
designs were made into curtains, dresses, scarves, furniture covers, and even parasols. Sparked by exile and his relationship with
Jonna, Jacobsen’s fascination with textiles continued to grow. Over the next 25 years, the couple created more than 150 patterns, many of which are illustrated in the book, including the striking Lemons in Net (1948), created for Textil Lassen, and the abstract Duck (1956) for Cotil. With good reason, Dickson and Lund-Larsen see a strong link between Jacobsen’s abstract textile designs and his architecture, identifying in his later sketches for houses ‘a change in style with buildings that have a repetitive pattern, inside and out’. It is quite possible, they suggest, that his own house, one of the Søholm Row terraces near Klampenborg, grew out of his textile designs. Constructed in yellow brick with eternit roofing, these homes display repeating patterns not unlike those in his and Jonna’s geometric patterns. In 1950, the couple moved into the end terrace, where Jacobsen established his design studio in the building’s basement. Commissions for buildings virtually
dried up during the war, especially larger public sector projects. However, in the 1950s, Jacobsen, who now enjoyed a good income from his mass-produced textiles, was able to rebuild his architectural practice. It was a period that also saw the creation of some of his most revered furniture designs, which brought him to the attention of an international audience. Te time of finely crafted, unique furniture was ending as mass production techniques slowly took over. ‘It was out with woodworking benches and highly specialised carpenters, and in with uniformity and volume, alongside sexy shapes in a new aesthetic,’ write Dickson and Lund-Larsen. Jacobsen embraced this new age and, in 1952, he collaborated with Fritz Hansen on an innovative three-legged chair formed from a single piece of plywood mounted on a frame of tubular steel. Originally called the 3100, it would become known as the Ant. Te instantly recognisable Ant was
developed for the canteen of the Novo pharmaceutical company. Departing from Jacobsen’s earlier work, its modern approach to form and material laid a strong foundation for the future evolution of his furniture. Its steel legs followed the precedent set by Charles Eames’s LCW Chair (1945), while its bent plywood seat built on lamination techniques developed for Peter Hvidt and Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen’s AX Chair (1950). Its nickname comes mostly from the shape of the seat shell with its rounded curves and characteristic waist, but also its three thin legs. Although Jacobsen had left the work of his predecessors far behind with the Ant, it was prone to tipping and some people, worried it would collapse, even refused to sit on it. Several new lightweight variants were subsequently developed with Hansen in 1955, including the more stable
Clockwise from right The Aarhus City Hall clock, council chamber, welcome bench in the foyer, and wedding chamber
Wood is the dominant element at Aarhus City Hall, a theme continued by the stylish furniture, all of which was designed specifically for the building
four-legged Series 7, the Tongue and the Mosquito. Te latter of these had a wing- shaped backrest, which was easier to handle. Te design was ideal for children, and smaller versions were created for one of Jacobsen’s first municipal school buildings, Munkegård in Gentoffe, where it was accompanied by matching desks. One of Jacobsen’s principle works of
total design was the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, a curtainwall building renowned for its precise, minimalist architecture, glass façades and ultra-modern furnishings using new industrial materials and technology. Dickson and Lund-Larsen provide numerous insights into the iconic furniture found within
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