Our most popular search topics:

THE POLITICS OF DESIGN: KAARE KLINT AND PRIME MINISTER STAUNING’S OFFICE

Introducing the story of Kaare Klint’s work for former Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning, when the designer was asked to design a very famous office

Kaare Klint was renowned for designing furniture that first and foremost served its primary, functional intention. His insistence on clean lines, the finest craftsmanship and logical design was famously apparent in his approach to the office of Danish Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning on his re-election in 1929. 

Stauning is considered one of the most admired Danish statesmen of the twentieth century. As the first - and much renowned - Social Democratic Prime Minister in Denmark, he developed the country’s social welfare state and steered the country through a period of economic depression and high unemployment. He cultivated an attitude and approach to politics that crossed the social class divides and won him mass support. 

Some have argued that it was a peculiar choice for a Social Democrat to commission such extravagant furniture for his second-term office, but Stauning was a man with a progressive outlook. Although we have no official confirmation that it was Stauning himself who commissioned Klint, there is on reflection, a certain sensibility in choosing the designer for this particular project.   

Klint, much like Stauning, was regarded as a reformer, whose approach to architecture and design broke radically with the traditions of the time and shifted the onus of design from style to function. He believed that furniture should suit the use and carefully studied the human body to understand how it could be best supported. He soon became well respected and admired for his awareness of proportion and function in design.

 

  • Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning

    Prime Minister Thorvald Stauning

  • Thorvald Stauning in his office decorated with furniture designed by Kaare Klint. Photo credits: Royal Danish Library

    Thorvald Stauning in his office decorated with furniture designed by Kaare Klint. Photo credits: Royal Danish Library

  • Kaare Klint

    Kaare Klint

We can certainly infer that Klint would have approached the design of Prime Minister Stauning’s furniture with the same exacting sense of purpose. The chairs were based on the Red Chair made for the then Danish Museum of Art & Design (today Designmuseum Danmark) but the design was adapted to introduce armrests. The original Red Chair was based on an English Chippendale chair which had, Klint declared, an exemplary frame. However, he deemed the decorative style of the traditional Chippendale chair’s backrest too uncomfortable, and so for his design borrowed from another English chair with decorative rococo legs but a simple backrest. The Red Chair Series is still in production today and has long been considered an excellent example of Klint’s contemporary yet timeless reinterpretation of classic chair archetypes. 

Of course, in Stauning’s office the workspace was the focal point. Klint designed a large desk, inspired by classical English models, next to a circular table that could be interfaced to form a combined work and conference table. 

A practical solution from the designer combined with the grand finish of polished Cuban mahogany wood. 

The sofa Klint designed for Stauning was also deliberate and functional in its design. As a traditional opulent, relaxing sofa would have been out of place in an office of power, Klint designed a high-sided sofa where those sitting would be supported but upright, rather than slouched into soft, cosy cushions. Klint divided the eight-legged sofa into three sections, each with its own crossbars that serves both an aesthetic and functional purpose. This approach ensured more room for people’s legs, and also made it easier to get up from the sofa. This, combined with the high sides, make it comfortable and easy to use. The sofa is still in production today, a testament to how Klint’s ‘politics of design’ – his functionalism – stood the test of time long after Stauning left office. 

 

walnut, oil, Leather Thor 301

Disover more stories

Story

The Architect’s Own House: Inside the house of Børge Mogensen

Børge Mogensen designed furniture for the people and often used his pieces in his own, private homes. As his home is a true embodiment of his vision, explore the house here.

The remarkable legacy of five chair designs by Hans J. Wegner has shaped the Carl Hansen & Søn philosophy for over 75 years and is a celebration of collaboration and craftsmanship.

Considered one of the most famous symbols of Danish furniture design, the CH24 is, of course, also known as the Wishbone Chair. Globally admired, its elegant, curved frame is often spotted in the world’s best restaurants and hotels as well as homes all over the world.

Dive into 110 years of iconic Danish Design, as Carl Hansen & Søn presents 13 of the most important, surprising and iconic moments in its history.

In his highly productive career, Hans J. Wegner, the world-famous furniture designer, created some of the world’s best chairs.

Danish designAuthentic experienceUp to five-year warranty*

When you choose a product from Carl Hansen & Søn, you get more than just a piece of furniture. You will become part of a long and proud tradition of beautiful and distinctive craftsmanship where nothing is left to chance. We are the world’s largest manufacturer of furniture designed by Hans J. Wegner, and we also produce furniture created by renowned furniture designers such as Arne Jacobsen, Børge Mogensen, Ole Wanscher, Kaare Klint, Poul Kjærholm, Bodil Kjær and Tadao Ando. Carl Hansen & Søn represents more than 100 years of Danish design history, and our furniture is sold worldwide.

 

* Five-year warranty on indoor furniture. Two-year warranty on outdoor furniture

Do you need help?

Sign up for our newsletter and stay updated!


Customer Service

Contact us

Terms & conditions

Delivery

Returns

Warranty

Privacy policy

Cookies

Competitions

Careers

Contact

+45 66 12 14 04

info@carlhansen.dk

Hylkedamvej 77

DK-5591 Gelsted, Denmark