A glimpse behind the façade of one of Denmark's most famous designers

Børge Mogensen was one of the pioneers of Danish design. When the family sold the house, a piece of design history was lost.

Photo Espen Grønli Words Marianne Lie Berg

"Jeg vil helst ikke sitte der, det var der far alltid satt når han ble fotografert," sier Peter Mogensen (68). 

Han er designer som sin far, Børge Mogensen, en av Danmarks største formgivere gjennom tidene – og arbeider fortsatt i hans gamle tegnestue i underetasjen i villaen i Gentofte, nord for København.
Røyken henger tykt i luften, nesten ingenting er forandret siden faren døde i 1972. Men noe bilde ved arbeidspulten vil han ikke være med på. 

"Det var her han prøvde ut alle sine design før de ble satt i produksjon. Dette var hans laboratorium, sier Peter Mogensen. 

"I'd rather not sit there, that's where my father always sat when he was photographed," says Peter Mogensen (68). He is a designer like his father, Børge Mogensen, one of Denmark's greatest designers of all time – and still works in his old studio on the ground floor of the villa in Gentofte, north of Copenhagen.

The smoke hangs thick in the air, and almost nothing has changed since his father died in 1972. But there is one picture by the work desk that he does not want to be in.

"This is where he tried out all his designs before they went into production. This was his laboratory," says Peter Mogensen.

Utstillingsvandring

Tremmesofaen, Spanske-stolen, spisestuestolen J39, Shakerbordet og Ambassadesofaene. En vandring gjennom huset er en vandring gjennom designhistorien. Det er spesiallagde løsninger overalt. Ikke en millimeter uutnyttet plass. 

Huset sto ferdig i 1958. Børge Mogensen var selv med på å tegne det, sammen med arkitektene Arne Karlsen og Erling Zeuthen Nielsen, og flyttet inn med kone og sine to sønner. Den 1,3 mål store tomten i det attraktive villaområdet med store eiendommer, skråner nedover mot et skogholt. Huset på 126 m2 boareal, med tegnestuens 104 m2 i underetasjen, strekker seg ut som en avlang boks. Det var Børge Mogensens hjem før han fikk hjernesvulst og døde 57 år gammel. 

The soul of a house

The wooden sofa, the Spanish chair, the J39 dining chair, the Shaker table and the Embassy sofas. A tour of the house is a tour through design history. There are custom-made solutions everywhere. Not a millimetre of space is wasted.

The house was completed in 1958. Børge Mogensen himself helped design it, together with architects Arne Karlsen and Erling Zeuthen Nielsen, and moved in with his wife and two sons. The 1.3-acre plot in the attractive villa area with large properties slopes down towards a forest. The house, with a living area of 126 m², including the 104 m² studio on the ground floor, extends out like an oblong box. It was Børge Mogensen's home before he developed a brain tumour and died at the age of 57.

Videreføring

Da hans enke, Alice Mogensen, døde i 2011 og ingen av sønnene hadde mulighet til å kjøpe barndomshjemmet, raste debatten i dansk presse. Mange mente at huset burde fredes og åpnes for publikum, på lik linje med husene til arkitektene og designerne Finn Juhl og Arne Jacobsen. I desember 2012 ble huset – med inventar – solgt for 7,1 millioner kroner til Ole Paustian, grunnlegger av møbelforretningen Paustian, og hans kone, som kjente Børge Mogensen godt – men som var uvitende om debatten rundt huset. 

"Der var en som skrev til meg at han håpet at vi ville overdra huset til en fond. Men det har vi altså ikke tenkt oss. Det blir kun åpent for våre venner. Men vi vil behandle det nennsomt," sier Paustian til Berlingske Nyhedsbureau. 

Passing on

When his widow, Alice Mogensen, died in 2011 and none of his sons were able to buy the childhood home, a heated debate erupted in the Danish press. Many believed that the house should be preserved and opened to the public, in the same way as the homes of architects and designers Finn Juhl and Arne Jacobsen. In December 2012, the house – complete with furnishings – was sold for DKK 7.1 million to Ole Paustian, founder of the furniture store Paustian, and his wife, who knew Børge Mogensen well – but were unaware of the debate surrounding the house.

"Someone wrote to me saying that they hoped we would transfer the house to a foundation. But we have no intention of doing that. It will only be open to our friends. But we will treat it with care," Paustian told Berlingske Nyhedsbureau.

Fortiden røper

Børge Mogensen ble født i Ålborg 13. april 1914, som den mellomste av tre søsken. Faren Niels Mogensen og moren Else Kristine Katrine Mogensen ga sine barn en kristen oppdragelse med søndagsskole og salmesang. Det veide imidlertid ikke opp for det som skjedde bak lukkede dører. I boken «Et fuldt møbleret liv» (2004) skriver hans andre sønn, Thomas Mogensen: «Gang på gang går farfar Niels aldrende arrigskap ud over Børge.» En håndverksutdannelse ble fluktruten hjemmefra. 

I 1934 begynte han på Kunsthåndværkernes Møbelhøyskole i København, i dag Danmarks Designskole, der han møtte Hans J. Wegner, en av de store danske møbeldesignere. Sammen fortsatte de å studere på Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole, og Børge Mogensen vervet seg aldri til krigen. For ham besto kampen i å overvinne datidens tunge danske møbeldesign. 

Historical influence

Børge Mogensen was born in Aalborg on 13 April 1914, the middle child of three siblings. His father, Niels Mogensen, and mother, Else Kristine Katrine Mogensen, gave their children a Christian upbringing with Sunday school and hymn singing. However, this did not compensate for what happened behind closed doors. In the book Et fuldt møbleret liv (A Fully Furnished Life, 2004), his second son, Thomas Mogensen, writes: ‘Time and again, Grandfather Niels' ageing anger was taken out on Børge.’ An apprenticeship in craftsmanship became his escape route from home.

In 1934, he enrolled at the Kunsthåndværkernes Møbelhøyskole (Craftsmen's Furniture School) in Copenhagen, now the Danish Design School, where he met Hans J. Wegner, one of Denmark's great furniture designers. Together they continued their studies at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, and Børge Mogensen never enlisted in the war. For him, the struggle was to overcome the heavy Danish furniture design of the time.

I 1942 ble Mogensen ansatt som kreativ leder i FDB Møbler og bestemte seg for å lage hverdagsmøbler: Ting som tilpasset seg mennesket, og ikke motsatt. Arne Jacobsen, Poul Kjærholm, Hans J. Wegner og Poul Henningsen delte denne tankegangen, og det som internasjonalt blir kalt «Danish Design» ble etablert. 

In 1942, Mogensen was hired as creative director at FDB Møbler and decided to make everyday furniture: things that adapted to people, not the other way around. Arne Jacobsen, Poul Kjærholm, Hans J. Wegner and Poul Henningsen shared this way of thinking, and what is internationally known as ‘Danish Design’ was established. Industrialisation brought efficient production processes and functional furniture that everyone could afford.

Med industrialiseringen kom effektive produksjonsprosesser og funksjonelle møbler alle kunne ha råd til. 

"De vokste opp på det riktige tidspunktet, da man gikk fra snekkerarbeid til industrialisert produksjon," sier Peter Mogensen. 

"Børge hadde Ikea-tanken, med den forskjell at han ville at møblene skulle holde resten av livet." 

Industrialization brought with it efficient production processes and functional furniture that everyone could afford. 

"They grew up at the right time, when there was a shift from carpentry to industrialised production," says Peter Mogensen.

"Børge had the Ikea idea, with the difference that he wanted the furniture to last a lifetime."

Den indre kampen

Designeren slet med å balansere privatliv og kallet etter å tegne møbler. Kona Alice Mogensen var en etablert klesdesigner da hun møtte ham, og de to frekventerte flittig Københavns kulturliv de første årene. 

"Børge levde av henne i mange år. Det var hennes klær som tjente penger i starten,” sier Peter Mogensen. 

Etterhvert som karrieren tok av, ga Alice Mogensen avkall på sin for å varte opp celebre gjester fra inn- og utland i villaen i Gentofte. Hun ble det stabile elementet i familien, mens ektemannen slet med grensene mellom arbeid og sosialt samvær.

The struggle

The designer struggled to balance his private life with his calling to design furniture. His wife Alice Mogensen was an established clothing designer when she met him, and the two were frequent visitors to Copenhagen's cultural scene in the early years.

"Børge lived off her for many years. It was her clothes that made money in the beginning," says Peter Mogensen.

As her career took off, Alice Mogensen gave up hers to serve celebrity guests from home and abroad in their villa in Gentofte. She became the stable element in the family, while her husband struggled with the boundaries between work and socialising.

“Formen er fullendt og stolen perfekt. Selv ligger han døddrukken under bordet med en pude under nakken, som jeg har ventet hele aftenen på at anbringe der. I morgen begynner det hele forfra med en ny stol, et nytt tomrom som ingen, hverken møblerne, vennerne, utstillingene eller flasken kan utfylde,” skriver Thomas Mogensen i sin bok. 

“Min bror har fått det til at han drakk mye, men jeg opplevde det ikke sånn. Han var en levemann og likte «en lille en» og en sigar,” sier Peter Mogensen. 

Drikkingen endte med fyllekjøring, som sendte ham i fengsel i tredve dager i 1967. Oppholdet fikk ham til å tegne en serie med gamlehjemsmøbler som ble satt i produksjon av Federicia Furniture i 1968. Demonene som herjet i hans indre bar han med seg til det siste. 

“The shape is perfect and the chair is perfect. He himself lies dead drunk under the table with a pillow under his neck, which I have been waiting all evening to place there. Tomorrow it all starts over again with a new chair, a new void that no one, neither the furniture, friends, exhibitions nor the bottle can fill,” writes Thomas Mogensen in his book.

“My brother has made it seem like he drank a lot, but that’s not how I saw it. He was a bon vivant and enjoyed ‘a little drink’ and a cigar,” says Peter Mogensen. 

His drinking ended in drink driving, which sent him to prison for thirty days in 1967. His stay there inspired him to design a series of old-fashioned furniture, which was put into production by Federicia Furniture in 1968. He carried the demons that ravaged his inner self with him until the end.

Fanget i en arv

Peter Mogensens har ikke foran- dret mye i farens gamle tegnestue i løpet av snart 40 årene som har gått siden Børge Mogensen døde. Bokhyllene er fortsatt fylt med gamle ringpermer, bøker og magasiner, og på veggene henger originaltegninger av de gamle klassikerne. En umontert Tremme-sofa står i et hjørne. 

Det eneste som skiller seg ut, er noen bilder av et rockeband, hengt opp med knappenåler. Hippien med pannebånd på bildene er Peter Mogensen, som var trommis i det politiske bandet Røde Mor på 1970-tallet. 

“Det var vanskelig å livnære seg som musiker, og jeg utdannet meg til bygningsarkitekt. Fordi jeg hadde hengt i skrivestuen til far siden jeg var liten, ble det naturlig at han lærte meg opp,“ sier Mogensen. 

Caught in an inhenritance

Peter Mogensen has not changed much in his father's old drawing studio in the nearly 40 years since Børge Mogensen died. The bookshelves are still filled with old ring binders, books and magazines, and original drawings of the old classics hang on the walls. An unassembled Tremme sofa stands in a corner

The only thing that stands out are a few photos of a rock band, hung up with thumbtacks. The hippie with the headband in the photos is Peter Mogensen, who was the drummer in the political band Røde Mor in the 1970s.

“It was difficult to make a living as a musician, so I trained as an architect. Because I had hung out in my father's study since I was a child, it was natural for him to teach me,“ says Mogensen.

Da Børge Mogensen døde 5. oktober 1972, fikk sønnen som 28-åring ansvaret for de 4000 tegningene faren etterlot seg. 

“Det var ikke gøy. Det var masse ting som skulle gjøres ferdig, og jeg spilte musikk ved siden av.“

Han kan ikke nekte for at han har følt seg fanget av arven etter faren. 

“Jeg prøvde å rive meg løs da jeg ble 40 og gjennomgikk en skilsmisse. Jeg søkte meg inn på filmskole og ble tonemester, jobbet litt med det, men fikk tinnitus og måtte slutte,“ sier han. 

When Børge Mogensen died on 5 October 1972, his 28-year-old son was left with responsibility for the 4,000 drawings his father had left behind.

"It wasn't fun. There were lots of things that needed to be finished, and I was playing music on the side.“

He cannot deny that he has felt trapped by his father's legacy.

“I tried to break free when I turned 40 and went through a divorce. I applied to film school and became a sound engineer, worked a little with that, but got tinnitus and had to quit,“ he says.

Satte spor

Uten arbeid gikk turen tilbake til tegnestuen i Soløsevej i Gentofte. Siden har Peter Mogensen forvaltet farsarven. For hver ny oppgradering sjekker han at nyproduksjon stemmer overens med de originale tegningene. 

"Jeg har hele tiden designet egne møbler ved siden av, men dem er det ingen som vil ha. De har ikke det riktige navnet,,“ sier han og ler. 

I stuen står en lenestol han har designet. Broren hans beskriver den som «Peters fint følte varation over Børges grundtema». 

"Han satte spor etter seg, den gamle,,“ sier Peter Mogensen. 

"Det har ikke vært lett å komme etter ham. “

Left his mark

Without work, he returned to the drawing office in Soløsevej in Gentofte. Since then, Peter Mogensen has managed his father's legacy. For each new upgrade, he checks that the new production matches the original drawings.

"I've always designed my own furniture on the side, but no one wants it. They don't have the right name," he says with a laugh.

In the living room stands an armchair he designed. His brother describes it as ‘Peter's finely felt variation on Børge's basic theme.“

"He left his mark, the old man,’ says Peter Mogensen.

"It hasn't been easy to follow in his footsteps.“

BØRGE MOGENSEN

• Danish furniture designer.

• Born 14 April 1914, died 5 October 1972.

• Designer of a number of Danish classics, including the Tremmesofa sofa and the Jaktstolen chair.

• Trained as a cabinetmaker, studied architecture. Worked at a number of design studios in Copenhagen and was head of FDB's furniture design studio from 1942 to 1950.

• Revolutionised attitudes to furniture design: design should not be reserved for an elite, but should be accessible to everyone.

• Established his own design studio in 1950.

• Began collaborating with Federicia Furniture AS in 1955, which today produces several of his classics.

• Received the Eckersberg Medal in 1950, the Furniture Prize in 1971 and the C.F. Hansen Medal in 1972.

• Appointed honorary member of industrial design at the Royal Society of Arts in London (1971).