The well-known functionalist architect, Vilhelm Lauritzen designed the VL 56 Pendant for Folkets Hus, in Vesterbro Copenhagen. Originally designed and built for the Danish Labour Movement, the building opened in 1956 and is now used as a concert hall, called Vega. The building is a gesamtkunstwerk, meaning that Lauritzen designed everything in the building, from doorknobs, staircases and power outlets, to furniture and lamps. The VL 56 Pendant is one of the lamps Vilhelm Lauritzen designed for Vega, and to this day it hangs above the wood-panelled bar, adjacent to the concert hall. Both the chrome and brass variants were reintroduced in 2023, with slight adjustments and improvements.
Vilhelm Lauritzen
Vilhelm Lauritzen (1894–1984) is one of the most significant architects in the history of Denmark; he was the trail-blazing figurehead of Danish functionalism. A number of his buildings – Nørrebro Theatre (1931–32), Daells Varehus department store (1928–35), Radiohuset (1936-41) and the first airport built in Kastrup (1937–39) – represented the concentrated essence of contemporary life. Other significant buildings to stem from Lauritzen’s drawing board include Folkets Hus (1953–56) better known today as the Vega concert venue, the Shellhuset (1950–51) building and the Danish embassy in Washington (1958–60). In particular the Radiohuset building and the earliest version of Kastrup Airport – both listed today – are considered peerless monuments to modernism in the European genre of construction.