Scandi design genius

By ADRIAN TAHOURDIN

We���ve all become familiar with the concept of Scandi noir. But let���s not forget Scandi design, something else for which the Nordic countries seem to have an especial talent ��� and I���m not just talking of the crowd-pleasers Ikea.

The Times earlier this week ran an obituary of Jacob Jensen (below), who has died at the age of eighty-nine. Jensen was a designer who worked for the Danish firm of upmarket manufacturers of music systems, Bang & Olufsen ��� ���By appointment to the Royal Danish Court���. The obituarist described Jensen as ���arguably the greatest exponent of Scandinavian slick-tech���, which is nicely put. 

Speaking as one who inherited a 1970s Bang & Olufsen music system I can concur. They are things of beauty (and I regret that I simply don���t have the space at home to set it up; there it sits in the loft, unused, for me to occasionally go and gaze at and purr with pleasure). The combination of wood with a black metal front (dazzlingly lit up when switched on) is striking in its simplicity; minimalism as an art form (as in the image at the top of this post).

But Jensen didn���t just design hi-fi systems. ���Over half a century, [he] would design more than 500 products in his Jutland retreat, including the first touch-button telephone . . . which has been cited as a timeless, and much plagiarised, design classic.��� I���m thinking also of his alarm clocks ��� simple, utilitarian objects, but beautiful too.

An interesting fact Jensen���s obit revealed was that the Nazis burnt down the Bang & Olufsen factory ���in an act of revenge because of its refusal to co-operate with the occupiers���. The factory was rebuilt after the war, initially producing electric razors before moving on to more sophisticated products.

I sense that the hi-fi systems the firm brings out now are too minimalist and space-age to please the eye to the same extent, as well as no doubt being eye-wateringly expensive ��� I've only looked briefly. Maybe the 70s were Bang & Olufsen���s heyday. Either way, I feel very fortunate to have one.