Further Reading

The person who was the pioneer expert in lighting theory and its usage in interior design (heminredning) was Poul Henningsen. Though he had formal education in architecture, he is known more for his work with lamps. Good lighting for business workplace and homes was owing to his influence that exists even till now.

If one wants to consider his original views on using electricity for lighting, they need to begin with a review of his childhood. Born just before the rise of the twentieth century, he lived with his parents in a quality dwelling brightened by the use of gas lamps. This was far from unusual for a village of the era.

As an architect, he toured numerous buildings in which electric lights had already been installed. He found the design and functionality of the lighting fixtures seriously lacking. He was unimpressed with the quality of lighting the systems provided which made the surroundings unpleasant to live and work in. He found the light itself to be ugly, harsh, and glaring. He knew that changes had to be made.

As a result of that, he experimented with creating new lighting fixtures to obtain softer atmospheric lighting to satisfy his lighting nostalgia. In 1924, he designed his first multi-shade lamp, the prototype of what later became known as the PH-lamp. He debuted some of his designs at the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts and won first prize in the category of modern lighting. The PH5 lamp model became very popular when it went into commercial production shortly thereafter.

The PH5 pendant lamp functioned by filtering and distributing its light source through the intelligently designed lamp shades. Henningsen had made sure to experiment heavily with shades which offered him a winning combination of glare reduction and light output. The lamp shade actually helps to diffuse the light internally, and by using colors inside the shades, Henningsen helped to diffuse the harshness of that light. In the end, he was able to eliminate the large contrast differences traditionally seen in normal spherical lighting.

You can still purchase a PH5 today that has been scaled ideally for home use. You can still marvel at the beauty and simple elegance of his design. It is still composed of a series of three graduated reflector shades that serve to both soften and direct light in a uniform, symmetrical distribution. People still love how his PH 5 lampshades cover the light bulb and direct the light downward in a way that provides soft illumination for an atmosphere of ambience and relaxing comfort.

The person who was the pioneer expert in lighting (belysning) theory and its usage in interior design (heminredning) was Poul Henningsen. The louis poulsen ph5 designed by Henningsen, functioned by filtering and distributing its light source through the intelligently designed lamp shades. The lamp shade actually helps to diffuse the light internally, and by using colors inside the shades, Henningsen helped to diffuse the harshness of that light. The way this lampshade covers the light bulbs and directs the light downward, providing soft illumination for a nice ambiance of relaxing and comfort, is the reason that most people love this lampshade. These lamps can still be purchased today.