Verner Panton (1926-1998)
Verner Panton trained at a technical school in Odense as an architectural engineer and then at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He worked in Arne Jacobsen's architectural office from 1950-52. In 1955 he opened his own Design Office.

By the late 1960s and early 1970s Panton was experimenting with a series of radical upholstered environments. He wanted "to encourage people to use their imaginations and make their surroundings more exciting," to this end he created in 1963 the "Flying" chair and the "Upholstered Seating System."

In 1968 "Pantower," an upholstered unit with several levels, and in 1974 the upholstered "Sitting Wheel." These designs was inspired by Panton's philosophy that furniture should interact within itself as "a kind of chair landscape, which refuses to be just functional."

Panton’s other great contribution to mid-century design was his ceaseless experimentation with lighting amongst which are his Panthella table and floor lights for Louis Poulsen.

Panton recgognised the movements that would become Pop, and later Postmodern Design. This foresight can be seen in some of his earliest work and give an insight why his ideas have been a source of inspiration to other designers and artists since.

The interiors, furniture, lighting and objects designed by Verner Panton remain among some of the most forward thinking experiments in design.