Biography of Viggo Boesen

Viggo Boesen was a Danish architect who, in addition to architecture, was primarily active in the field of interior design. Boesen's designs can be categorized as belonging to the styles of Functionalism and Danish Modernism and are produced today by manufacturers such as &tradition and Sika Design manufactured. Design objects by Viggo Boesen are now available as licensed originals from premium interior design retailers. TAGWERC available.

Viggo Boesen was born in Copenhagen, the Danish capital, shortly after Christmas and before New Year's Eve in 1907, more precisely on December 29th. The son of a teacher, he studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, where he met Finn Juhl, who was two years younger. The young men hit it off immediately and were on the same wavelength both personally and professionally. Boesen and Juhl later collaborated on several furniture designs. But first, their private spaces served as a testing ground. They began designing Boesen's first apartment on Sortedams Dosseringen, a small street in northern Copenhagen that follows the western shore of Lake Sortedam and runs from the Nørrebrogade district to the Østerbrogade district in the south. It was here that Boesen's first armchair, a woven piece of bent rattan, found its place in the living room.

Natural materials

Viggo Boesen's love for natural materials persisted throughout his career and was reflected in all his designs. In the following years, he designed a series of modern wicker furniture pieces, which by then utilized the strength and durability of rattan, having previously been made from bamboo by the Danish company EVA Nissen & Co. However, bamboo proved more difficult to work with and was generally harder, reducing comfort. Therefore, it was later replaced by rattan.

Boesen's maxim

Viggo Boesen loves and studies nature, integrating its formal language into his designs. Like nature, which produces flowing forms and is in harmony with its surroundings, Boesen's furniture also follows this organic flow. The anatomy of the sitter is incorporated into Boesen's armchairs as a kind of passive form, gently embracing the body and providing warmth and security. Boesen's maxim: "My furniture should please the eye, but also be solid and durable."„

Design scene experts

This style is used to create armchairs like the Teddy Lounge Chair with ottoman, a footstool, or the Fox Lounge Chair. The latter won the design competition organized by the Danish Wicker-Makers Guild in 1936. While Finn Juhl became known in the USA in the late 1940s through publications in American journals and realized a number of projects overseas, Viggo Boesen remained known only to connoisseurs of the design scene for a long time. This may be because, despite some trips to France and England, Boesen lived his entire life in his birthplace of Copenhagen, and his work in the fields of architecture and interior design was realized exclusively in Denmark.

Naturalness and sustainability

This explains why his armchair and sofa '‚Little Petra‘Named after his mother-in-law, only around 30 examples of the 'Boesens design' were produced during Boesen's lifetime, and these now fetch top prices at international auctions. With the resumption of production by &tradition in 2018, Boesen's design recently achieved a major success and international acclaim, undoubtedly also due to Boesen's distinctive design philosophy, which already in the 1930s emphasized naturalness and sustainability.

Funky Style

During his lifetime, Viggo Boesen achieved some renown, at least in Denmark, when he established his 'Funky Style' with his architectural designs. As early as 1930, in his student work, Boesen had already demonstrated his own, then completely new, functionalist design approach, which gained increasing popularity in Denmark after the Stockholm exhibition and was adopted by other designers. With his designs in the 'Political Pattern House Competition' in 1935, Boesen presented an entirely new type of villa. Staggered floor plans, a large living room, a massive wooden ceiling, and a hipped roof – this architectural design, combined with natural materials, caused a sensation and established Boesen's 'Funky Style'.

Rowing club and church

Boesen's later works include the Lyngby Roklub, consisting of a building complex with white The whitewashed boathouse and a wood-clad, thatched clubhouse, or Grøndalslund Church. The latter, a brick building, is characterized by open loggias beneath a steeply sloping hipped roof, combined with a freestanding bell tower. The imposing hipped roof, one of the oldest roof forms, is typical of old farmhouses and stately buildings. When used on a church, its appearance is more reminiscent of a large manor house than a classic parish hall, creating a welcoming and cozy atmosphere.

Viggo's vision

Viggo Boesen died on a Saturday in autumn 1985 at the age of 77 – his designs from the TAGWERC Design STORE reflect the visionary and, in his time, underestimated talent. Designer to live on forever. Posthumously, he is receiving the attention he deserves, for Viggo Boesen was one of the most inspiring and imaginative designers of Denmark's Golden Age.