Piet Hein, Bruno Mathsson and Arne Jacobsen

The rational idealist. Piet Hein was neither an architect nor a furniture designer - but a philosopher, poet, mathematician etc. He created the Superellipse as a new oval shape for the Sergel's Square in Stockholm. In cooperation with the Swedish designer, Bruno Mathsson, he later used the shape for the Superellipse Table Series which Fritz Hansen put in production in 1968. Arne Jacobsen was born on February 11, 1902 in Copenhagen. His father, Johan Jacobsen, was a wholesale trader in safety pins and snap fasteners. His mother, Pouline Jacobsen, was trained as a bank clerk and often painted floral motifs in her spare time. The family lived in Claessensgade, Copenhagen in a typical Victorian style home. Maybe that is why Arne, as a child, painted the coloured wallpaper in his room white, as a contrast to his parents’ overly decorated taste. Bruno Mathsson – Swedish and internationally recognized designer and architect. He was an advocate of simplicity, beauty and elegance in form, which also applied to the furniture he designed. Mathsson's furniture was innovative in technique as well as design, his production methods included the bending of laminated wood. Although his designs are from the 30s and 40s, his furniture is among the classic furniture of our time. In Denmark he designed the PH Superellipse Table Series in cooperation with Danish designer Piet Hein in 1968.