Verner Panton

Verner Panton (1926–1998) studied architecture at Denmark's Kunstakademiet – the prestigious Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts – graduating in 1951. After working at Arne Jacobsen's architectural practice for a couple of years he set off in his Volkswagen van to explore Europe. He returned to Denmark full of ideas, and in 1958 undertook a commission to redesign and extend the Komigen Inn, which was run by his parents on the island of Fyn. The result was a sensational expression of the futuristic, colour-saturated geometric styles that came to characterise Panton's work through the 1960s and into the 70s, with five shades of red in the interior decor to give it warmth, and rooms divided into smaller units with a flexible system of bold geometric fabrics. Panton worked with Swiss textiles company Mira-X to produce many of his fabrics and favoured Danish lighting company Louis Poulsen for his lights.