Iconic pendant from legendary modernist architect is now available.
Originally designed by Danish architect Vilhelm Lauritzen in 1956, the VL 56 pendant light is now being re-released thanks to Louis Poulsen.
Slight changes have been made for the re-release, but the lamp is essentially the same as the one Lauritzen created. The lamp comes in two variants and is available in both chrome and brass. Around the opening at the bottom of the pendant, there is a radial hole pattern that ensures a softer transition between light and darkness and a soft and beautiful light pattern on the shade and around the lamp.
VL 56 was originally designed for Folkets Hus in Vesterbro, Copenhagen, which was a meeting place for the labor movement. Folkets Hus was inaugurated in 1956 and closed in the 1990s, after which the building was converted into the venue Vega, which music lovers who have visited Copenhagen will no doubt be familiar with. The building was a complete work of art, with Lauritzen designing everything - door handles, staircases, electrical outlets, furniture and lamps. If you visit the venue Vega today, you will still see the VL 56 pendants hanging over the bar next to the concert hall.
Vilhelm Lauritzen was one of the most important figures in the spread of modernism in Denmark. The architect, responsible for a number of iconic buildings in Copenhagen and even the Danish Embassy in Washington D.C., was awarded the Eckersberg Medal in 1941, the C.F. Hansen Medal in 1954 and the Academy Award. Hansen Medal 1954 and the Danish Architectural Association's Medal of Honor. He was the Danish representative of CIAM - an architectural association for modernist architects that included names such as Walter Gropius, Hendrik Petrus Berlage and Le Corbusier - and he is responsible for some of the most unique buildings of his time, including Daells Varehus, Radiohuset in Frederiksberg and the old terminal buildings at Copenhagen Airport.
With a VL 56 lamp, you're not just buying a piece of lighting - you're buying a piece of Danish design history.
Buy VL 56 in both brass and high glass chrome plated here!Note: the brass lamp is untreated and will therefore patinate gracefully over time .