The PK52A Student Desk was designed by Poul Kjærholm for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, while he was a member of the academic staff. The cleverly constructed table highlights Kjærholm’s signature ability to unite traditional craftsmanship and industrial design. The simple shape embodies the lightness and geometric elegance that Kjærholm became renowned for – his pioneering role in designs such as the PK52A Student Desk also helped place Danish design on the world map. The PK52A is available in a larger version as the PK52 Professor Desk. Both desks can effortlessly serve as dining tables as their tabletops are reversible, making it possible to use each side for its own purpose. The tables also have an optional drawer as a beautiful storage solution.
Poul Kjaerholm was born in 1929 in Øster Vrå, Denmark. He finished his apprenticeship as a cabinet maker with Grønbech in 1948 and graduated at the School of Arts and Crafts in Copenhagen in 1952 with a.o. the PK 25 chair that is still produced by Fritz Hansen.
Poul Kjaerholm was very articulate and with natural authority he started an outstanding career as an educator in the same year (1952) but continued to study with Prof. Erik Herløw and Prof. Palle Suenson.
From 1955, the year he did the famous PK 22, for which he received the Lunning Award in 1958, he became assistant at the Royal Danish Academy of Arts in Copenhagen and lecturer in 1959. He became head of the Institute for Design in 1973 and finally professor in 1976 until his premature dead in 1980. Over all these years he designed dozens of chairs, long chairs, and tables that became landmarks for Danish furniture design, including the famous PK 24 long chair. Most of his furniture was initially and until 1982 produced by his friend E. Kold Christensen in Hellerup.
A wide selection of that production has been part of the Fritz Hansen collection since.
Inspiration
Hee Welling x HAY Designer talks. In conversation with Hee Welling
Hee Welling x HAY Designer talks. In conversation with Hee Welling
Hee Welling x HAY Designer talks. In conversation with Hee Welling
Hee Welling x HAY Designer talks. In conversation with Hee Welling
