Arne Jacobsen. Munkegårds school desk. 1955
The belief that children were more at ease in intimate spaces affected the plan and decoration of postwar schools, and resulted in numerous low-rise schools with access to small gardens adjacent to the classroom. Jacobsen’s Munkegårds School embodied this ideal. Although the school was large (designed for a thousand students from ages seven to fifteen), it retained a sense of intimacy. Small paved courts were landscaped with different flagstone patterns and plant species. Jacobsen designed three sizes of classroom furniture, including this plywood desk on a tubular steel frame with a satchel hook, along with laminated beech chairs that were lightweight and portable.
Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild