Nanna Ditzel's Way of Shapes

Nanna Ditzel was strikingly ambitious and forward-looking for her time. Highly occupied with our ways of sitting, she believed comfortable furniture paved the way for new ways of thinking and living.

“Nanna was convinced that our best thoughts come when being in a comfortable position.” explains Dennie Ditzel, Nanna’s eldest daughter, as she moves around the Copenhagen studio from where she now foresees her mother’s design legacy.

Ditzel’s beliefs influenced not only her work life but also her way of creating a family home in Bagsværd outside of Copenhagen. As Dennie delves into boxes of original sketches and drawings, she remembers one episode in particular; one day in 1965, Nanna Ditzel had an idea; she wanted to challenge the traditional way of sitting and interacting. The family’s typical living room arrangement was discarded. Instead, a lounge setting occupied every inch of the floor; foam cushions of varying heights channelling a casual and welcoming atmosphere. Ditzel’s so-called ‘Stairscapes’ were a result of her idiom, a life-long need to view design as not only functional but also sculptural.