Jørn Utzon

The Danish architect Jørn Utzon (1918-2008) is one of the most famous architects in Denmark. After studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, he worked with renowned Finnish designer Alvar Aalto. The inspiration for his later work dates from this period. His work is dominated by organic forms and characterized by the respect towards nature, humans and environment. The most famous work of Jørn Utzon is the Sydney Opera House, an icon of modern architecture. His first lamp Concert pendant for Lightyears reminds of Utzon's architectural masterpiece, having the same organic shapes as the Opera House in Sydney. Utzon saw many parallels between music and light and it was important to him that light is able to create different moods in the room: cosiness, specific purposes or pure inspiration. Jørn Utzon was awarded numerous prizes, for e.g. 1967 the C. F. Hansen Medal, 1973 the RAIA Gold Medal from the Royal Australian Institute of Architects, 1978 the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, 1980 the Daylight and Building Component Award, 1982 the Alvar Aalto Medal, 1987 the Nykredit Architecture Prize, 1992 Sir John Sulman Medal,1992 the Wolf Prize, 1998 the Sonning Prize, 2003 the Pritzker Prize, etc.