Designers of Carl F
Knud Holscher
In the Beginning
The First Decade of d line
In 1971, d line ‘s first lever, the U-shape, Ø14 mm, was manufactured. It was followed by the L-shape which firmly established the d line ethos of stalwart, minimalistic design. The overriding characteristic of these first two levers has been maintained on d line products ever since: the bent sections on all metal tubes maintain the radius of the even sections. This ensuresa well-balanced visual impression. Holscher’s work with ironmongery began in the early 1960’s when he was the supervising architect on St. Catherine’s College in Oxford and associated with Arne Jacobsen. Holscher remembers ‘thumbing through stacks of brochures to add bits and pieces together to make a scheme of ironmongery.’ As there were no coordinated series of ironmongery in the 60’s, it was a most opportune offer Holscher got on his return to Denmark. When Holscher’s architectural plan for a university in Odense won a Scandinavian competition in 1966, Carl F asked him to develop a series of high quality fittings in stainless steel for the project. Holscher still clearly remembers ‘the day when Rolf Petersen – the proprietor of Carl F – came to my office and explained that a company had offered him a ‘formula’ by means of which steel tubes could be bent very precisely. I agreed to do the design’. In 1975 Holscher’s d line programme won the first in a series of Danish design prizes: The Danish Industrial Design Prize (The ID Prize).
Establishing the Brand
d line from 1978 - 1995
d line ’s first international recognition came in ’82 with Germany’s Die Gute Industrieform Award – a distinction to be followed by a host of other European design prizes. The branding of d line was the result of a meticulous, organic process culminating in 1987 when d line was awarded The Danish Industrial Graphic Prize for its highly original graphic expression. Surrounding its product line with a consistent visual ethos since 1981, d line set the standard with the first catalogue’s white print on a deep black background. Text was scarce and product photos rustic rather than artistic. A series of display boards – each being a combination of image, text and product samples originally composed for an exhibition – ended up forming an essential part of d line ‘s graphic image. In ’78, an export department was established to keep up with the increasing international demand, and a number of distributors were appointed in the following years. In ‘93 d line™ international as became an independent member of the Carl F Group.
d line K N U D H O L S C H E R D E S I G N
In 2000, d line ’s first subsidiary company opened in Bombay, India, while d line ’s regional office in the UK was transformed into a subsidiary company, d line uk ltd . Britain was also chosen as the main seat for d line Signs, the sixth and most recent product group. d line ‘s present structure with four regional offices and three subsidiary companies became reality in 2000. In the same year, d line seized full control over its production site in Kalundborg, Denmark. For all of the expansion, however, d line remained true to its traditional design idiom; a quality which earned the company The ID Classics Prize in 1999.
ID
PRISEN
1999
When d line launched two additional product groups in ’99 – the wardrobe and handrail systems – the definitive step from traditional ironmongery to interior architecture was taken. And with the updatedcompany profile came a new international
Toward a New Millennium
The Radical Expansion of d line The second part of the 90’s was a time of radical expansion, in terms of both product range and organisation. An award-winning cup-dispenser was introduced in 1996. Two years after, it was integrated into a brand new product group, the sanitary panels. A system which soon became very popular with both users and architects under the name d line Washroom.
The Total Solution
A Philosophy of Unity Materializes
With the launch of the awardwinning washroom panels, d line Wardrobe, Handrail, and Signs in rapid succession (1998-2000), it seemed natural to divide the vast product portfolio into six distinct groups. Under the concept of a Total Solution d line was able to emphasize the comprehensive character of its hardware package. For d line and Holscher the Total Solution was an architectural philosophy materializing: 3 000 ironmongery items united by a single design concept. ar+d line Emerging Architecture Award With its product portfolio more complete than ever d line committed itself to the advancement of young creative communities. The tangible result of this enterprise Became The ar+d line Emerging Architecture Award . Developed in 1999 in cooperation with the London-based Architectural Review, The ar+d line Award is a competition for architects and designers under the age of 45. The ar+d line Award has gained such popularity that it now stands un-paralleled as the world’s leading competition for young talents. In The ar+d line Award 2003 more than 700 entries from 57 countries contended with one another.
Arne Jacobsen
Born in Copenhagen 1902
Died in Copenhagen 1971
Arne Jacobsen trained as a mason before studying at the Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi, Copenhagen, where he graduated in 1927. As a student, Jacobsen showed early promise, winning a silver medal for a chair that was exhibited at the 1925 Paris “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs”.
Between 1927 – 1929, Jacobsen worked in the architectural offices of Paul Holsoe, after which he established his own design office in Hellerup and began practising independently as an architect and interior designer. His early work was influenced by the achievements of Le Corbusier (whose “Pavillon de l’Esprit Nouveau” he had seen in Paris), Gunnar Asplund and other modern movement designers such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Jacobsen was among the first to introduce Modernism to Danish design through his projects such as “House of the Future”, which he co-designed with Flemming Lassen 1929. His first important architectural commissions were for the Bella Vista housing project, Copenhagen (1930-1934) and the Functionalist Rothenborg House, Ordrup (1930), which was conceived as a Gesamtkunstwerk. For his best-known and most fully intergraded works, the SAS Air Terminal and Royal Hotel, Copenhagen (1956-1960), Jacobsen designed every detail from textiles and sculptural furnishings, such as his Swan and Egg chairs (1957-1958), to light fittings, ashtrays and cutlery. A decade earlier, Jacobsen had also worked as an industrial designer and achieved considerable success, most notably with his famous chair designs for the furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen. His Ant chairs (1951-1952) and his Series 7 chairs (1955) are still among the most commercially successful seating programmes every produced. Jacobsen also designed lightning for Louis Polsen, metalware for Stelton and Michelsen, textiles for August Millech, Grautex and C. Olesenm and bathroom fittings for I. P Lunds. From 1956 until 1965, he was a professor emeritus and the Skolen of Brugskunst in Copenhagen. During 1960s, Jacobsen’s most important architectural scheme was St Catherine’s College, Oxford, which like his earlier work, was conceived as a wholly unfied project and as such involved the design of the site specific furniture. Jacobsen combined sculptural organic forms with the traditional attributes of Scandinavian design – material and structural integrity – to produce simple, elegant and functional designs that have a remarkable, timeless appeal.
Jean Nouvel
Born 1945 Fumel, France
Jean nouvel studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure, paris from 1966 to 1971, establishing a partnership with Francois Seigueur in 1970, and there after undertaking several architectural commissions including the renovation of the Gaiete Lyrique theatre (1977) in Paris, the renovation and extension of the Centre Medico-Chirurgical clinic in Bezons (1978) and the Anne Frank College (1979). His entry to the competition for the new Ministere des Finances in 1982 was commended and his submissions for the competitions for the development of Parc de la Villette and the Centre d’Art Contemporain et la Mediatheque in 1983 and 19984 both won second prizes. In 1985, he founded his own office, Jean Nouvel & Associates, and subsequently worked on several theatre projects with the scenographer, Jacques Le Marquest, including the Theatre de Jean-Marie Serreau, the Cartoucherie de Vincennes, the Opera house in Lyons and part of the Theatre de Belfort. Nouvel also received widespread acclaim for his Institutue du Monde Arabe in Paris, the Centre Cultural in Combs-la-Ville and the Nemausus 1 housing project at Nimes, and was awarded the Equerre d’Argent and the Grand Prix d’Architecture in 1987. During the late 1980s, he also produced a number of elegant furniture designers that, while reminiscent of Louise Cuny’s furniture of the 1920s, had the same functionalist aesthetic as his buildings. He was awarded “Carte Blanche” by VIA in 1987 to create a range of aluminium furniture, which included the BAO coffer, the IAC table and a system of extendable shelving. Nouvel has also designed furniture for knoll and Ligne Roset as well as lightning for Luceplan.