Poul Henningsen (1894-1967)

Danish architect Poul Henningsen, known by his initials, PH was obsessed with light. He is the legendary creator of the lighting series carrying his name. He can be said to be the world’s first lighting architect.

Poul Henningsen devoted his entire career to investigating the importance of light for our well being. He worked on the theory that the observer should not be subjected to direct glare from the electric light source. Henningsen used a series of layered shades to both spread the light and conceal the light bulb, thus creating a softer more diffused lighting.

Already in the 1910’s, as a student, he made his first drawings for the PH-lamp. In this period, electricity was installed in Danish homes and traditional oil lamps were abandoned.
In 1925, the first PH-lamp was shown at the World Expo in Paris. Poul Henningsen patented his shade system in 1926. From this year until the early 1930’s the PH-lighting was marked patented.

In 1958 Henningsen produced yet another classic the majestic Artichoke lamp. Based on the same principle as the multilayered shade, the Artichoke employs leaf-like elements to compose the form. With its grand size, the Artichoke creates dramatic atmospheric lighting appropriate for elegant commercial settings and larger domestic spaces.

To this day the PH lamp remains one of the finest attempts to design the perfect incandescent lamp fitting. What was perceived as a radical new way of thinking in terms of both technology and design, today still shows us what good lighting is — in a design that is still absolutely modern.