To a lot of people it will be a joy seeing it again — to others it will be a joy seeing it for the very first time — when Fritz Hansen relaunches the Swan sofa in August 2000. The Swan sofa is an extended version of the Swan lounge chair — a two-seater covered in fabric or leather resting on an aluminium shaker base.

The motivation for this re-launch is the overwhelming worldwide popularity lately enjoyed by Arne Jacobsen's lounge chairs the Egg and the Swan. They are seen everywhere, from the covers of international fashion magazines, in music videos and movies from Hollywood to international talk-shows and political panel discussions on TV. They are increasingly seen in famous public buildings such as the Sydney Opera House as well as company receptions and private homes.

The Swan sofa was designed for Arne Jacobsen's Royal Hotel building in Copenhagen in 1958. It was used together with the Egg and the Swan chairs as part of the furnishing in the hotel, e.g. in the suites and the Panoramic room on the 21st floor — the top floor.

The Swan sofa stands out — just like the Egg and the Swan — in the use of organic 3-dimensional form containing no straight lines but being based on curves.

When Fritz Hansen in 1958 produced the first Swan sofas, Eggs and Swans they were technological innovations. The use of synthetic material and aluminium in a new manufacture process made it possible for the first time to mould the inner of a chair as one coherent shell.

Fritz Hansen did not put the Swan sofa in series production until 1964 and it was discontinued 10 years after. And so, 25 years passed before we could meet the continuously increasing interest in Arne Jacbosen's designs and welcome the Swan sofa back in our collection.

Not only can the Swan sofa be used everywhere but it opens up new perspectives for the application of the Egg and Swan in the furnishing of institutions, companies and private homes. Partly because it is no longer necessary to place the group of Swans and/or Eggs in the middle on the floor; however, now the group can be placed together with Swan sofas up against a wall or in a corner.

Arne Jacobsen (1902-1971) graduated in 1927 as an architect from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. At 23 years of age he won a silver medal at the world exhibition in Paris, and the year after he received the gold medal from the Academy. Arne Jacobsen later became professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and an honorary doctor at a number of foreign universities and academies.

Arne Jacobsen has inscribed his name in the design as well as architectural history. His main works include: the Bellevue at Klampenborg, the Town Halls in Århus, Søllerød, Rødovre and Glostrup, the Royal Hotel in Copenhagen, St. Catherine's College in Oxford, The Munkebjerg school in Gentofte, Tom's Chocolate factories in Ballerup, the Danish Central Bank in Copenhagen, Novo Nordisk headquarters in Gladsaxe and in Copenhagen as well as the Town Hall in Mainz, Germany.

In 1932 Arne Jacobsen started a lifelong collaboration with the furniture manufacturer, Fritz Hansen. He designed a number of chairs which are milestones in the development of modern furniture art: the Ant (1952), the 3107 (1955), the Egg (1968) and the Swan (1958). The furniture is part of the collections in leading design and furniture museums in the world, and they are considered international furniture classics. Arne Jacobsen also designed epoch-making design solutions such as the receptacle series, Cylinda Line, in stainless steel and the Vola fitting series.