Hans E. Madsen

Lighting with respect for space and law

The artist Hans E. Madsen from Copenhagen is famous for his art installations with light and was asked to design unique lamps for the court rooms of Zealand. He chose to make aluminium part of the solution.

Hans E. Madsen designed the lighting concept for the shop windows of Nørgaard on Strøget in Copenhagen. He installed lights at Roskilde Festival. He is developing lamps for the construction of the Danish Metro, where the lamps during construction must light up and also be decorative. And he designed the lamps for the court rooms of Zealand:

- Everything is designed for one particular place or room, so I always go and see the place, in order to get an impression of what my lamps and installations must contribute with, says Hans E. Madsen about his work method, respecting space, surroundings and function:

- I used this method for the lamps for the court rooms and developed two large and one smaller round lamp type. The round shape reflects the architect’s idea of the court room as an ancient round thingstead, where people used to meet. I also think that a decorating artist should stay within this very stringent room, where the lighting reflects the purpose of the room.

Veneer on top of aluminium

Once a design starts to take form, it’s time to pick the right materials:

- I consider what the architect might like and has chosen for the architecture. In this case, I chose to use veneer on top of the lamps, made of aluminium. When I got the assignment, I asked some workshops about aluminium, says Hans E. Madsen, whose studio is located at Fabrikken for Kunst on Amager:

- After a short search online, I found Alumeco as a supplier of aluminium, and the company agreed to help me with this very individual project.

Inspiration for other projects

- I immediately experienced good sparring and Alumeco was quick to advise me on how to handle the project. The model I got from Alumeco, looked very accurate and I respect that.

- My starting point is often drawings made by hand. I had a graphic designer to look at them, before Alumeco took over. This way, the drawings were easy to read and we avoided any uncertainties, says Hans E. Madsen. The partnership with Alumeco gave him inspiration for other projects, on which he wants to work with aluminium:

- I want to use aluminium in combination with wood, concrete etc. Here, aluminium has other qualities than stainless steel, which tends to look ”cold”.

”Got it all together...”

Peter Zierau, Key Account Manager at Alumeco, tells about the work with the lamps for the court rooms of Zealand - and about the partnership with Hans E. Madsen:

- The aluminium is not very visible in the lamps, where it was used as an aluminium frame in three parts, carrying the transformer, lighting etc. We discussed all the details with Hans E. Madsen at a few meetings, where we talked about ideas and changes in terms of construction.  

- We used standard materials from our storage, which we sawed, rolled and welded. The project also required that we thought about different options and got it all together, which we did in cooperation with our network of subcontractors. We used their knowledge, even though our client only had to turn to one supplier - Alumeco.

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