It is more than 60 years ago that one
of the world’s most well-known and
popular lamps first saw the light of day.
In 1958, the designer Poul Henningsen
completed work on the PH 5 pendant,
which in many ways marked the
pinnacle of his long career. Since
then, PH 5 has been an icon of Danish
design, and a much-loved lamp that for
generations has illuminated countless
dining tables around the world.
added two smaller shades to prevent unreflected light rays from being
emitted by the lamp. Moreover, he incorporated an upwards-facing top
shade, which distributed the light directly upwards in order to better
illuminate the whole room.
PH was particularly aware of the qualities of illumination, and under-
stood the importance of shadow as a necessary contrast to light.
He defined four types of illumination which must be there for a light
fixture to be effective, and which he designed most of his lamps to emit.
A PH 5 hanging above a dining table must firstly illuminate the table
well so that you can see the food or read the newspaper. The second
type of illumination is weaker, and is directed more diffusely out
towards the perimeter of the table, so that the people sitting at the
table are illuminated by a soft and pleasant glow without any hard
facial shadows. The third type of illumination gently lights up the
space beyond the table, so that you can see the floor. Finally, the
fourth type of illumination helps to illuminate the room with a little
uplight. PH 5 provides all four types of illumination to perfection,
and therefore produces extremely comfortable and functional
lighting, which largely explains the lamp’s enduring popularity.
PH worked out that the best way of creating soft shadows and
illumination which gradually faded the further away from the lamp
you moved was by giving the lamp’s shades a curvature that followed
a logarithmic curve. In this way, the light is reflected differently the
further away from the light source it hits the shades, thus avoiding
harsh transitions in brightness. PH had also observed that the light
being emitted by the incandescent lamp was yellowish, which he
compensated for in the PH 5 by painting the internal parts in shades
of red and blue. This finesse has no bearing on the colour of the
outer side of the shades, as it is only the colours on the inside of
the fixture housing which influence the colour of the illumination.
Unprecedented Influence on Danish Design
PH’s functionalistic approach and inherent common sense have had
a huge impact on all areas of Danish design – from furniture and
architecture to fashion and lifestyle. The Danish fashion designer and
clothing manufacturer Mads Nørgaard once said: “Inside any Danish
designer is a PH lamp.” In other words, the Danish fashion industry
is influenced by PH’s bold innovation, and his determination to
deliver good and simple design at affordable prices. These are ideals
which have helped to secure Danish and Scandinavian design the
international success and attention it has been enjoying for decades.
There is no question that this is a design heavyweight which is
celebrating a landmark anniversary. For 60 years, the PH 5 has
maintained its popularity, and is today the best-selling Louis Poulsen
lamp ever. It has won countless international design awards, and
design aficionados all over the world continue to seek out this simple
yet distinctive lamp when looking for comfortable and functional
lighting for their homes. The PH 5 is enjoying renewed interest following
the introduction of a mini-version in seven new colours in spring 2017.
In 2018, we will build on this success by relaunching the classic PH 5
in the same exquisite colour shades.
PH was a self-taught architect, and was particularly well-known for his
lamps and his system of constructing lamps and shades to shield the
electric light. Over more than 30 years, PH developed a wide range of
lamp designs in close collaboration with Louis Poulsen, which still has
the pleasure of manufacturing and marketing a large number of PH
lamps PH also designed houses and furniture, was head architect at
the Tivoli amusement park in Copenhagen, wrote numerous op-eds,
and became widely known in Denmark as the author of many popular
and socially critical revue songs.
Poul Henningsen, otherwise known as PH, had a mission: He wanted
to create an electric lamp with pleasant, glare-free light. Taking this as
his starting point, he developed a lighting philosophy and numerous
lamps that would go on to become known worldwide. The first models
were designed for the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative
and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1924 in cooperation with Louis Poulsen.
PH revolutionised the way in which lamps were conceived by allowing
the shades to shield the light while directing it to where it was needed.
His work culminated in 1958 with the launch of the PH 5, which soon
became a huge success. But what was it that made this particular
model so popular?
Good Light Rather Than Beautiful Lamps
PH’s main focus was not designing beautiful lamps, but creating the
best, the most pleasant and the most functional lighting. In developing
many of his early models, he came a long way in achieving his original
mission. In particular, he developed the famous three-shade system,
which from the very beginning in 1926 was designed so that you did
not see the lamp’s incandescent filament from any angle. PH adopted
a scientific approach, and the crystal-clear light source made it easy
to follow the rays of light, and adjust the shades so that only indirect,
reflected light was emitted by the lamp.
In the 1950s, PH ran into a temporary technical challenge: A new type
of opaque incandescent source overran the market, replacing the
original clear glass light source. This meant that the light no longer
came from a single point in the lamp, but was instead emitted diffusely
by the light source, making it harder to calculate the paths of the rays,
and control the light so that it was glare-free. PH struggled with the
problem for many years, and passionately argued in favour of the
outstanding qualities of the original light sources. But with little effect.
So, in connection with the launch of the PH 5, he wrote: “For ages, I’ve
believed that what consumers want and common sense would prevail,
but now I’ve become a fatalist. I yield to fate, and with Louis Poulsen’s
permission have designed a PH lamp which can take any sort of light
source – a glow-worm, a Christmas candle or a 100-watt metal filament
bulb. However, a fluorescent tube in its present form is too long.”
Three-shade Fixture, Version 2.0
In the mid-1950s, PH started to work on the design of a new lamp
which would become the PH 5, and after a couple of years of
development, it was launched in 1958. The first and most famous
model was the pendant, which was followed a short while later by
some of the less well-known versions, among others a 200-watt
pendant for hanging from high ceilings as well as a desk lamp. With its
five visible concentric shades, the PH 5 was a successful development
of the three-shade lamps, combining good, downward lighting with a
top shade for illuminating the surrounding space. In order to achieve
the ideal solution of glare-free lighting in the PH 5, Poul Henningsen
Technical info p. XXX
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