Perhaps there is no other material of such universal application for constructive, decorative, and an endless variety of other purposes, as “Wood”; or that affords occupation to so large a number of persons.
Life, with the major portion of my readers, is too short for a full and exhaustive study of wood in its living state as a tree, or in its dead state as timber; the one embracing Botany and Arboriculture, and the other general construction, in which latter the architect, the civil engineer; the clerk of works, the timber convertor, and the builder play an important part. (more…)
If ordinary applied art has a personal stamp, this means that it is incomplete. The artist has not gotten past his mistakes or arrived at the typical solution that is just as ordinary and natural in form as a Yale lock, a fountain pen, a bicycle, a scythe, a shovel. Imagine if a bicycle bore the mark of the artist who had designed it!
— Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), Danish author, architect and critic
“By making this chair five times as expensive, three times as heavy, half as comfortable, and as quarter as beautiful, an architect can very well win himself a name.”
— Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), Danish author, architect and critic, in Kritisk Revy, December 1927
Kaare Klint’s introduction to his class on draftsmanship for joiners at the Copenhagen Technical Society’s School (1920-1921 school year):
As you might know, the school is quite new; we have only had one winter’s evening classes as a basis. I must consequently tell you a bit about our results from last winter.
We began, as we will now, with surveys of old furniture, first of all to see whether pupils had a complete understanding of ordinary projection drawing and whether they were able to work precisely, and secondly, to arouse their interest in old furniture traditions and culture….
Last year we began by surveying two different groups of furniture. One comprises the forms that were created by important artists. I consider furniture in the other group (of furniture pieces) that, through the work of several people, and through evolution over a period of time, have achieved the simplest utilitarian form….
(This) other form, the one that was created over a long period of time and for ordinary use, is the one that we will be especially concerned with this year here at the school. You need not the distinctive, but the common and exceedingly utilitarian form.
From days past, we have furniture to which experience has given a form that has not been significantly changed over the ages and can be used to full advantage this very day.
The beauty of this furniture depends on its perfect, simple structure and utility. Although the pieces come from different periods, they have this in common….
We will find the best of old constructions and with recent experience seek to create furniture with the best possible craftsmanship.
— excerpt from the “Kaare Klint” monograph by Gorm Harkaer, a production of the Klintiana project.
