For one of Denmark’s most celebrated designers Verner Panton spent considerably little time in Denmark; and many most of his celebrated works were realised abroad.

That said Copenhagen is full of reminders of Verner Panton, his life, his work and his passions.

And so during our brief visit to the Danish capital we took the opportunity to meet up with one his Vitra Panton Chairs for a guided tour of Verner Panton’s Copenhagen.

The Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole, Copenhagen Verner Panton's alma mater

Our tour began, as did Panton’s association with Copenhagen, at the “Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole” - the Architecture School of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

Following completion of his architectural engineering studies at Odensee Techical University, the 21 year old Verner Panton enrolled in the architecture school of the Royal Danish Academy in 1947. In Copenhagen he met Tove Kemp, the stepdaughter of designer, critic and architect Poul Henningsen, and the two married in 1950. Although the marriage to Tove was only short lived, Panton’s relationship with Henningsen was to be much more long-lasting.

On the one hand in Henningsen Panton found a mentor and teacher from who he could develop his light design concepts. In the course of his carear Verner Panton not only designed some 60 lamps, but light and shadow played important roles in his various installations and room design projects.

413 Strandvejen Copenhagen, Arne Jacobsen's house and studio

A secondly, through Henningsen Panton was introduced to Arne Jacobsen and in 1950 began working in Jacobsen’s studio, located in the cellar of Jacobsen’s house at 413 Strandvejen.

Through observing the studied and uncompromising manner in which Jacobsen worked not only did Panton’s interest in furniture design develop, but he also acquired a preference for experimenting with materials and taking risks with his designs - characteristics that were to be critical in the development of his approach to design.

In addition, while working for Arne Jacobsen Verner Panton made his first contact with Fritz Hansen.

But everything in turn.

In 1951 Jacobsen was commissioned to design a canteen chair as part of a project with the company Novo, and from this project arose a cooperation with Fritz Hansen to develop a multi-purpose chair from bent plywood. And Verner Panton was assigned the task of making the initial prototypes for possible designs. The final result was to be the 3100, Myren or Ant Chair - and although the final design is largely Jacobsen, the experience of working on the Ant Chair helped shape Pantons future work.

Tivoli Gardens Copenhagen, site of one of Verner Panton's earliest commissions.

Panton graduated in 1951, left Jacobsen in 1952 and established his own studio. Initially he spent his time undertaking extended European tours in his VW camper van; tours during which in addition to designing he also made contact with designers, producers and retailers.

In 1955 Pantons’ relationship to Fritz Hansen developed further when they brought the very first commercial Verner Panton product onto the market; the Bachelor chair, quickly followed by the “Tivoli Chair” - so named because it was initially developed as part of a commission for a restaurant in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen.

In the late 1950s Panton left Denmark, living and working in Norway, Teneriffe and subsequently Basel, from where he developed his Panton Chair in collaboration with Vitra.

Cirkusbygningen Copenhagen, one of Verner Panton's last public projects in the city

Settling in Basel Verner Panton’s relationship with Copenhagen became increasingly limited to visits, either private or to receive numerous prizes and honours. In 1984, however, Verner Panton was commissioned to develop a new colour scheme for the Cirkusbygningen - a theater and cabaret venue near Tivoli Gardens - a project that he developed in his own inimitable style.

In the 1990s Verner Panton shared his time increasingly between his Villa near Basel and his flat in Copenhagen. Verner Panton died in Copenhagen on September the 5th 1998, aged 72 years.

Strolling through Copenhagen with Vitra Panton Chair and listening to its Verner Panton anecdotes we couldn’t help thinking what a shame it is that the city doesn’t do more to honour the likes of Panton or Jacobsen - or at least make the sites of their work and inspiration more visible and accessible.

The Little Mermaid and the Panton Chair - two of Copenhagen's most important landmarks

For most people naming Swiss designer furniture producers is as much of a challenge as naming famous Belgians or happily married English footballers.

USM Haller being the equivalent of Belgium’s Hergé.

However the Confoederatio Helvetica has a lot more to offer than Fritz Haller’s genial system. And a lot more to offer than modular steel and chrome.

One of the greatest contrasts to USM Haller is the cabinet maker Röthlisberger.

Founded in 1928 Röthlisberger’s first contact with the global furniture market came in 1957 when they starting producing furniture on behalf of Knoll International. In 1975 the cooperation with Knoll International ended and in 1977 Röthlisberger introduced their own products onto the market under the name “Röthlisberger Kollektion”

Currently featuring products by designers such as Tomoko Azumi, Hanspeter Steiger or Susi and Ueli Berger the “Röthlisberger Kollektion” combines the companies experience in traditional Swiss carpentry with modern technology and approaches

In Milan (smow) caught up with Röthlisberger Kollektion boss Jürg Scheidegger and discussed the development of new products, the role of the Internet in the designer furniture industry - and the persuasive powers of Swiss chocolate.

Anna Castelli Ferrieri (1920-2006)

August 6th marks the 90th anniversary of the birth of the Italian architect, designer and Kartell co-founder Anna Castelli Ferrieri.

Despite initial flirtations with modernism, including a trip to Paris to visit Le Corbusier, the young Anna Castelli Ferrieri was drawn ever more to the Italian neo-rationalism  - especially that practiced by Franco Albini.

And although Kartell products may not be physically reminiscent of the work of Albini, the ethos behind the company and its approach to design are clearly rooted in Albini’s mix of traditional Italian design combined with modern approaches and affordable materials.

In addition to helping establish the golden era contemporary Italian design in the 1960s and 1970s as characterized by the likes of Joe Colombo or Ettore Sottsass,  Anna Castelli Ferrieri also contributed to the Italian design canon with her 1969 Componibili modular storage system; a system that remains a classic of contemporary Italian design.

From 1976 until her retirement in 1987 Anna Castelli Ferrieri served as artistic director by Kartell and oversaw the establishment of Kartell at the forefront of the development and utilization of modern plastics in product design.

Anna Castelli Ferrieri died on June 22nd 2006 aged 87.

Componibili by Anna Castelli Ferrieri for Kartell

On several occasions in the past month we have repeatedly seen a similar scene.

A scene that has made us cry.

Lovely houses, truly wonderful, carefully considered constructions in idyllic locations - and then in the garden, furniture that the owners have obviously bought, possibly as an after thought, from their local garden centre.

Just looking at some of the chairs made our upper thighs go numb from discomfort.

And as for that recliner yesterday in Berlin!!!!

People, gardens are there to be enjoyed.

Gardens are there to serve as dens of tranquility from the harsh realities of life.

Gardens should not cause injury, far less resemble a middle ages torture chamber.

Good quality designer garden furniture is available. And isn’t hard to find.

Here is our top five for summer 2010.

Tivoli Chair by Verner Panton

Tivoli chair by Verner Panton

Panton’s fist commercially successful product may owe much of its success to Verner Panton’s father installing it in his restaurant; but that is not to detract from the the quality of the Panton’s design nor that of Montana’s construction. Available in a wonderful range of colours Tivoli chair by Verner Panton is guaranteed to brighten up any garden or terrace.

S 43 teak by Thonet

S 43 teak from Thonet

Mart Stams classic steel tube chair in an outdoor version. Available with or without armrests the S43 teak from Thonet allows you to take your Bauhaus living and dining room out into the garden.

Vegetal from Vitra

Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec

Four years of development with all the resources an established designer furniture company such as Vitra can provide has to produce something a little extra special. Despite appearances to the contrary Vegetal by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec is a delightfully comfortable seat: comfortable as in terms of seating comfort and comfortable as in terms of stability.

Shadylace by Chris Kabe

Shadylace by Chris Kabel

Although, curiously not available in oranje Shadylace by Chris Kabel for droog is one of the better ways to ensure that you always have a shady corner from which to spy on your neighbours and envy their garden architecture talents.

Cobb Grill

Cobb Grill

And once you’ve got the furniture you need to be able to cook: otherwise you’ll need to go back indoors. With it’s cool outer walls and large range of accessories the Cobb grill is not a classic barbecue grill but a complete enclosed cooking system. With which you can also grill. Or cook pizzas. or bake a cake.

Knowing that they needed to defeat Fritz Haller’s stable and flexible USM Haller system in order to advance the Italians choose to stick with Antonio Citterio for this all or nothing encounter.

Setting quickly to work Antonio Citterio rolled out a succession of office chairs; including the Oson CE, Axess and T-chair for Vitra. However regardless of what Antonio Citterio tried, Fritz Haller always found a combination to match and ultimately took a 1:0 lead with a beautifully finished Haller Table.

Undeterred Citterio kept producing the office chairs and was eventually rewarded when his Vitra Skape sneaked in to make the final score 1:1

It was, however, very much a case of “too little too late” and so Switzerland and Fritz Haller advanced to the semi-finals.

The Group A table and all Group A results can be found here.

Following Verner Panton’s red card against Fritz Haller, Denmark were forced into a change and so Arne Jacobsen lined-up against Maarten Van Severen.

And although this was never going to be a high-tempo encounter the crowd in Johannesburg did become somewhat impatient at the incredibly slow pace of the competition.

With both designers endlessly reworking and perfecting their pieces it was well into the second half before the first attack developed: a neat Ant Chair from Arne Jacobsen giving the old master of Danish design the slight advantage. Arne Jacobsen extended his lead with an Egg Chair and seemed to be heading for a clear victory before Maarten Van Severen salvaged a draw with a late .07 and Kast combination for Vitra.

The Group A table and all Group A results can be found here.

Although the majority of Ron Arad’s work could squash most of Isamu Noguchi’s, he played fair and held back from producing a Well-Tempered chair, preferring instead to work on variations in plastic.

Despite some good Infinity Bottle Rack, Lovely Rita and Bookworm work for Kartell, Isamu Noguchi’s constantly high standard Akari lamp variations held the Israeli at bay and the final 0:0 was a just result.

The Group C table and all Group C results can be found here.

After the strenuous match against Alexander Girard, France decided to rest Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for the match against Eero Saarinen.

Their replacement, the enfant terrible of contemporary French design Philippe Starck however failed to match the old Finnish master; too often Philippe Starck strove forward with fairly predictable and poorly considered approaches.

Eero Saarinen was able to make use of the gaps produced by Philippe Starck to good effect scoring with his Tulip Chair and a pedestal table for a thoroughly deserved 2:0 victory

The Group D table and all Group D results can be found here.

Philippe Starck failed to get the better of Saarinen's Tulip Chair through Knoll International

Charles Rennie Mackintosh was greatly influenced by Japanese design and this encounter against Isamu Noguchi quickly developed into a masterclass of subtle, self-confident, organic design.
Charles Rennie Mackintosh took an instant lead with his complete interior ensemble for the Willow Tea Rooms. In particular the Willow Chair seemed to distract Noguchi through its familar, yet foreign narrative.
Isamu Noguchi recovered however and drew level with his Freeform Sofa and Ottoman before moving ahead with his Coffee Table.
2:1 for Japan

The Group C table and all Group C results can be found here.

Despite the rumours flying around ahead of this match, England stuck with Jasper Morrison rather than pitting Tom Dixon against Ron Arad.

Whereas many would have relished the opportunity to have witnessed the two masters of “real” industrial design going head to head the Morrison/Arad encounter was every bit as entertaining.

Unmoved by Ron Arad’s Bookworm, Jasper Morrison concentrated on his chair work and took the lead with his Basel chair for Vitra; a simple move that produced the deserved result.

Ron Arad responded with a Vitra Tom Vac, but it was too little to late and a quick Trattoria chair for Magis and a Monopod chair for Vitra sealed another runaway success for Jasper Morrison.

The Group C table and all Group C results can be found here.