How Arne Jacobsen built a whole design universe

Few designers have shaped both the skyline and the domestic landscape as profoundly as Arne Jacobsen (1902–71). The Danish architect and designer is remembered not only for modernist landmarks such as Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel but also for furniture, lighting and objects that have become part of everyday life, from chairs to cutlery. More than half a century after their debut, Jacobsen’s designs continue to define the language of modern living – quietly radical in their time, yet still relevant today.

His design philosophy, centred on the concept of total design – a harmonious integration of architecture, furniture and interior elements, was guided by functionalism and simplicity, ensuring that it was accessible and enduring. He believed that form follows function, and that good design is essential to a good quality of life, emphasising proportion and the seamless combination of materials to create unified, human-centred environments. Now, as Prestel launches a new monograph exploring his work, we reflect on Jacobsen’s career and the events that shaped it.

Between architecture and design: who was Arne Jacobsen?

Jacobsen's early life and education

Born in 1902 into a middle-class Jewish family in Copenhagen, Jacobsen originally dreamed of becoming a painter. His father, a wholesaler, persuaded him to pursue the more stable path of architecture. After a stint as an apprentice stone mason, he enrolled at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1924, where he produced his first pieces of furniture. His professors included Kaare Klint, regarded as the father of Danish modernism, and Kay Fisker, one of Denmark’s leading functionalist architects, who instilled in Jacobsen a disciplined approach to proportion and material.

In 1925, aged just 23, Jacobsen worked with Fisker on the Danish pavilion for the Paris World Fair, where he won a silver medal for a wickerwork design known as the Paris Chair – an early example of his natural flair for sculptural form.

Family and travels

Two years later, Jacobsen married Marie Jelstrup Holm, with whom he had two sons, Johan and Niels. He established his own studio in 1929 and began to explore the idea of total design. Travels with Marie across Europe proved to be a rich source of inspiration: everywhere they went, Jacobsen painted watercolours and took experimental photographs, capturing the nature and architecture around them. These studies would continue to inform his practice throughout his career.

Civic commissions and ‘total design’

In the early 1940s, Jacobsen completed two significant public buildings: Aarhus City Hall, designed with Erik Møller, and Søllerød Town Hall, in collaboration with Flemming Lassen. In both, the architects took responsibility for the interiors as well as the architecture – designing everything from furniture and lighting to bathroom fittings, door handles and signage. This holistic approach cemented Jacobsen’s reputation as a designer of complete environments.

It was during the Søllerød commission that Jacobsen met his second wife, Jonna Møller, a textile printer who produced fabrics for the project. They married in 1943 and developed a creative partnership, with Jonna helping to translate Jacobsen’s botanical studies and watercolours into textile patterns.

Jacobsen the botanist

That same year, as a Dane of Jewish descent, Jacobsen was forced to flee Nazi-occupied Denmark. He and Jonna lived in exile in Sweden until 1945, where their creative collaboration deepened. Jacobsen continued to paint botanical studies, many of which Jonna adapted into textiles that were put into production by Swedish department store Nordiska Kompaniet.

After returning to Denmark in 1945, the couple eventually settled at Strandvejen 413 in Klampenborg (1951), a home and studio Jacobsen designed for the family, complete with a botanical garden containing more than 300 plant species. His lifelong passion for botany inspired him to create buildings where architecture and nature are symbiotic, such as the Munkegaard School (1957), where every classroom opens onto its own garden, and St Catherine’s College in Oxford (1964), where he personally selected many of the trees and plantings to complement the modernist buildings.

Arne Jacobsen's legacy

Jacobsen’s influence extends far beyond his lifetime. His architecture and furniture continue to be reissued, studied and celebrated as milestones of modern design. The Arne Jacobsen Foundation preserves his archive and supports research into his work, ensuring his philosophy of total design remains visible to new generations. More than half a century on, Jacobsen’s creations still shape the way we live – proving that clarity, simplicity and a respect for human experience never lose their relevance.

SAS Royal Hotel

Jacobsen’s international breakthrough came with the SAS Royal Hotel in Copenhagen (1958–60), the world’s first design hotel. Commissioned by Scandinavian Airlines to symbolise postwar modernity and international travel, it was conceived as a 'gesamtkunstwerk' – a ‘total work of art’. Jacobsen designed not only the building but also the interiors, furniture and fittings – from the famous Egg and Swan chairs to cutlery, door handles and even ashtrays. While much of his interior scheme was later removed, Room 606 remains intact as a rare glimpse into his holistic vision, embodying his belief in complete, cohesive environments.

Other works by Arne Jacobsen

Beyond the SAS Royal, Jacobsen left his mark on education, housing and civic buildings. Early residential projects such as the Bauhaus-inspired Bellavista housing complex north of Copenhagen (1934) showcased his embrace of clean lines, light and sea views, bringing functionalism into everyday life. The Søholm housing development (1951–55) in Copenhagen’s Klampenborg suburb further demonstrated his skill at designing humane, light-filled homes. At Rødovre Town Hall (1952–56), one of his first major public commissions, he refined his modernist vocabulary into a civic context, with a focus on details that bear the hallmarks of industrial manufacturing.

At Munkegaard School in Copenhagen (1957), he balanced architecture with landscape, weaving courtyards and gardens into the learning environment. At St Catherine’s College, Oxford (1964), his first major project abroad, he created a modernist campus where buildings, furniture, textiles and planting formed a seamless whole. Finally, the National Bank of Denmark in Copenhagen (1961–71) revealed the same rigour on a monumental civic scale, with refined proportions and meticulous detailing. His approach consistently blurred the line between architecture, interiors and nature.

7 Arne Jacobsen designs to know (and own)

Further reading