House of Copenhagen

Børge Mogensen
Børge Mogensen (1914-1972) was born in Aalborg, Denmark and studied furniture design at the College of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen from 1936-38, and then at the Furniture School of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1938-41. He worked in the office of Kaare Klint, and as his assistant at the Royal Academy.

Sofa Model 2213
Børge Mogensen designed the 2213 sofa in 1962 for his own home. Since then, the model has been used in government buildings, embassies, executive offices and private homes all over the world.


The Spanish Chair was designed in 1958. It was inspired by the Spanish army chiefs chair. The wide armrests on the chair works as a good base for a cup or a glass. The frame is made in oak and the seat and back is made from natural leather. These materials and the construction gives the chair a very characteristic appearance.		The Spanish Chair From his time with Klint, Mogensen fostered a deep commitment to producing classical, simple and highly functional furniture. He also became interested in researching people and their trends in order to develop domestic objects that were customized to their specific use.
Sofa Model 2213 and 2212


Sofa Model 2192 Børge Mogensen designed this model in 1971 – inspired by the Hall Porter Chairs from Britain. The distinctive shape generates a cozy atmosphere by embracing the heat from an open fireplace.		Continuing Klint's innovative studies in how the size and proportion of objects should influence their design, Mogensen, collaborating with Grethe Meyer, produced a project called the Boligens Byggeskabe in 1954, which introduced the idea of building shelving and storage units as part of a room, rather than purchasing and placing them in the space. Mogensen did studies to determine the standard measures for common objects, like cutlery and shirts, and how many of each item the average person owned. With this information, he developed a set of figures for the base width and depth of drawers and shelves, and his information tables were published as a manual on building storage systems.


Mogensen appeased them with his classical designs, but also, in the beginning of his career, subtly began to incorporate new ideas into his revisitation of traditional forms. He designed a sofa in 1945 with leather ties for dropping down the sides. A 1949 chair, claimed by critics to be "a model for future chairs," used a curved, slightly sloping backrest, cutout along the spine in an organ dewdrop shape.		Chair Model 2202 The Wing Chair was designed in 1963. The distinct idiom and tight lines round off in consummate style the legacy of the great architect and designer Kaare Klint.


Sofa Model 2214 Børge Mogensen designed this solid upholstered sofa in 1946. Easy chair 2215 matches the sofa.		A 1951 interior for the Cabinetmaker's show combined Danish oak with leather upholstery and slate tiling in a way that articulated a new grouping of materials. "This is Where We Live, " a family room set he designed in 1953, dealt with the new concept of a living room that would contain a workbench and a sewing table, encouraging members of the family to take part in several activities simultaneously.


By the end of the decade however, Mogensen had re-embraced a more straightforward functionalism that Klaus Meedom, writing about the Cabinetmaker's exhibit, said was "so strict that he has to violate his own rules to be able to breathe freely." A redesigned "Spanish" chair in 1959 was praised for its elegance and materials. He designed a set of simple, sturdy and modest furniture for a seaside cottage in 1959, a very traditional oak table and chair set in 1960 and a set in pine to furnish a "husband's study" in 1962. Mogensen also collaborated extensively with weaver Lis Ahlmann on textile designs, and, after Klint's death in 1954, succeeded him as designer to the Museum of Decorative Arts in Copenhagen.		Chair Model 2229 The Hunting Chair was designed in 1950 for the Copenhagen Cabinetmaker's Guild’s Autumn Exhibition. The exhibition theme was “The Hunting Lodge”. The frame is in oak – the seat and back is in butt leather with adjustable clips.

Sofa Model 2333
Børge Mogensen designed this timeless model in 1971. The shape is a natural culmination of Børge Mogensen’s desire to achieve clearly defined simplicity.

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