Arne Jacobsen

Known as the father of Danish functionalism, architect and designer Arne Jacobsen pioneered the modernist movement in Denmark. Born and raised in Copenhagen, Jacobsen studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in the 1920s. He later designed some of the country’s most influential architecture, including Copenhagen’s first skyscraper, which housed the SAS Royal Hotel. An innovative furniture and product designer, Jacobsen also created the hotel’s interiors and furnishings, including its famed Egg and Swan chairs, and its lighting in collaboration with Danish lighting manufacturer Louis Poulsen. Sixty years later, the hotel’s AJ lights are a midcentury classic—their minimalist forms and meticulous craftsmanship embody Jacobsen’s signature brand of Danish modernism.