Børge Mogensen

Børge Mogensen (1914–1972) was born in Aarhus, Denmark. He trained as a cabinetmaker, studied furniture design at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and then architecture at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy, where he was taught by…

Biography

Background

Børge Mogensen (1914–1972) was born in Aarhus, Denmark. He trained as a cabinetmaker, studied furniture design at the Copenhagen School of Arts and Crafts and then architecture at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Academy, where he was taught by Kaare Klint; he graduated in 1942. From 1942 to 1950 he led the furniture design studio of the Danish cooperative FDB, and in 1950 he opened his own studio.

Signature Style

Mogensen believed furniture should be honest, functional and free of unnecessary ornament, made in natural materials and built to last for generations. He continued Klint's evolutionary approach but explored classic cabinet-maker typologies in ways suited to mass production. In his own words, his goal was "to create items that serve people and give them the leading role."

Notable Works

J39 chair (1947)
Spanish Chair for Fredericia (1958)
Boligens Byggeskabe storage project with Grethe Meyer (1954) and the Øresund shelving series (1955–1967)

Legacy

From 1955 until his death in 1972 he was Fredericia's founding designer, working with owner Andreas Graversen. He received the Eckersberg Medal (1950), the C.F. Hansen Medal (1972) and was made an Honorary Royal Designer for Industry in London (1972). Alongside Arne Jacobsen and Hans J. Wegner he helped win international recognition for Danish furniture design.