Louis Poulsen PH 3/2 Pendant Light
PH 3-2 PENDANT LIGHT
PH 3-2 PENDANT LIGHT
Designed by Poul Henningsen
The fixture is designed based on the principle of a reflective three-shade system, which directs the majority of the light downwards.
The shades are made of mouth-blown opal three-layer glass, which is glossy on top and sandblasted matt on the underside, giving a soft and uniform light distribution.
designer
POUL HENNINGSEN
The very influential Danish designer, architect, writer, and cultural critic, Poul Henningsen (1894-1967), has had a huge impact on Danish thinking and design. His legacy is an integrated part of Louis Poulsen’s endeavor to shape light.
Poul Henningsen was born in Copenhagen in 1894 as the son of the Danish writers Agnes Henningsen and Carl Ewald. He started practicing traditional functionalist architecture, but over the years his professional interests changed to focus mainly on lighting, which is what he is most famous for.
He also expanded his field of occupation into areas of writing, becoming a journalist and an author. For a short period at the beginning of WWII, he was the head architect of the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen. But like many other creative people, he was forced to flee Denmark during the German occupation but soon became a vital part of the Danish colony of artists living in Sweden.
His lifelong collaboration with Louis Poulsen began in 1925 and lasted until his death. To this day, Louis Poulsen still benefits from his genius. Poul Henningsen was also the first editor of the company magazine “NYT”. The CEO of Louis Poulsen at the time, Sophus Kaastrup-Olsen, gave the magazine to PH as a gift because he had been terminated from the Danish newspaper he worked for (his opinions were too radical).
Poul Henningsen's pioneering work concerning the relations between light structures, shadows, glare, and color reproduction—compared to man’s need for light remains the fondation of the lighting theories still practiced by Louis Poulsen.
information
BRAND
Louis Poulsen
PRODUCT TYPE
Pendant Light
PRODUCTION
Made in
DESIGNER
Poul Henningsen
APPLICATION
- Retail
- Hotel
- Cultural
- Educational
- Residential
DIMENSIONS
- Width : 285 mm
- Height : 242 mm
- Length : 285 mm
USE
Artificial lighting
LIGHT SOURCE
Light source 1x75W E27
CANOPY
Yes Cord length: 3 m Cord type : Black fabric
WEIGHT
1.4 kg
LAYER
Opal three-layer glass
DOWNLOADS
↓ Mounting instructions
↓ Light source
SUSPENSION TYPE
Cable 3x0,75mm²
CABLE LENGTH
3 m
MATERIAL
Shades in mouth-blown white opal glass with the suspension unit in black metallised brass.
CHARACTERISTICS
Three-shade system, various materials available, downwards directed light, uniform light distribution
COLORS
- Black metallised
- Brass metallised
- Highlustre chrome plated
HISTORY
THE STORY BEHIND THE PRODUCT
Poul Henningsen designed the three-shade system back in 1925-1926. The first lights using the system were designed by PH in cooperation with Louis Poulsen for an exhibition in Paris.
This partnership continued up until his death in 1967. Throughout his life, PH sought to create glare-free light, direct light where it was most needed, and create soft shadows, using incandescent bulbs as a light source. The PH 3/2 Pendant is a member of the three-shade family which numbers 30 lights today, including three for outdoor use. Thus PH did not just design a light, but an entire system – around a thousand different models have been produced over the years.
This wide selection consisted of table, floor and wall lamps, as well as a number of different chandeliers, which were very popular in the 30s for lighting private homes from high ceilings. There were countless combination options.The lights were available in different colours, as well as a range of sizes.
The first shades were made of metal with a painted underside, such as white, gold or silver – depending on whether diffuse, warm or cold light was desired. Glass was later introduced for the three-shade system.
In addition to the downward-directed light, glass lamps illuminated the room. PH was the first person to pursue a scientific approach to light and use the logarithmic spiral as a basis.
By using a design based on the logarithmic spiral he achieved even distribution of light over the entire curve of the shade. This even light distribution, together with the diffuse reflection through the glass, made it possible to control glare and shadow.
Each shade reduces the amount of light equally, due to their distance from the light source.The PH light model numbers refer to the shade size. Each top shade had a corresponding set of middle and lower shades. In the ‘pure’ models, such as the 2/2, the top shade has a size of about 20 cm, with corresponding lower shades.
The PH 3/2 Pendant consists of an approximately 30 cm top shade, but uses lower shades from the 2/2 model. These ‘hybrid’ models were introduced due to the desire to hang the pendants at lower heights.