A Slice Of Danish

THE MAYOR SOFA BY Arne Jacobsen and Flemming Lassen was ripe for revival: we’ve seen all things Scandi win acclaim in recent years, be it on our TV screens or in our interiors. But how to make a classic work for now, and how to ensure that this 1930s design is suited to modern living?

Danish design company &tradition, whose portfolio of furniture and lighting stretches from the 1930s to the present, knows just how to answer these questions. Established in 2010, its founding principle is to unite tradition with innovation, something elegantly achieved with the revamping of this classic design.

Jacobsen and Lassen, who were both architects and designers, came up with the design of the Søllerød City Hall, just to the north of Copenhagen, in 1942. They also designed its chairs, desks, lamps and textiles and a wedding room in whose waiting room the original three-seater Mayor AJ5 could be found (proof, if needed, that modernist designs need not be bereft of romance). In fact, this prolific pair took a very human approach to modernism and focused on making spaces as liveable as possible.