Arne Jacobsen

Arne Jacobsen was one of the pioneers of functionalism, and his buildings helped define not only an architectural movement but an entire era of design.

Jacobsen was born in 1902 and lived and worked in Copenhagen all of his life. Most of his greatest buildings are in Copenhagen and include the Bellavista Housing Estate, the Danish National Bank and, perhaps his most celebrated work, the 1960 Radisson SAS Royal Hotel. 

In the Radisson SAS Royal Hotel, Jacobsen's famous attention to detail encompassed every aspect of the building, right down to the cutlery and the door handles. As a tribute to Jacobsen, room 606 remains to this day a shrine to its designer featuring the original furniture and fittings he created for it.

Jacobsen is, of course, equally well known for his furniture design, notably the Swan, Egg and Ant chairs which were revolutionary when he designed them in the 1950s, and they remain collectors' items.

Jacobsen died in 1971, but his functionalist ideal - 'economy plus function equal style' - has since become a mantra for generations of designers.

Arne Jacobsen