Poul Christiansen
1918-2008 (Denmark)
Poul Christiansen was born in 1947, graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1973. Despite working in various architecture and design studios across Denmark in the1960s and 1970s, his most famous work by far was his whimsical mixture of origami and lighting design, particularly in products like his 172 Pendant Lamp. Bringing his experience of using pleated material to the lighting genre, he discovered that folding in mathematical curves gave the lamp shades unique, eye-catching sculptural shapes. The results remain some of the most popular Danish lighting designs of the 20th Century, which still look as heart-stoppingly beautiful today as they did almost 50 years ago.
"I believe that design is all about making the world a better place in the short-term and in the long-term too."
Poul Christiansen was born in 1947, graduating from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1973. Despite working in various architecture and design studios across Denmark in the1960s and 1970s, his most famous work by far was his whimsical mixture of origami and lighting design, particularly in products like his 172 Pendant Lamp. Bringing his experience of using pleated material to the lighting genre, he discovered that folding in mathematical curves gave the lamp shades unique, eye-catching sculptural shapes. The results remain some of the most popular Danish lighting designs of the 20th Century, which still look as heart-stoppingly beautiful today as they did almost 50 years ago.
"I believe that design is all about making the world a better place in the short-term and in the long-term too."
