06.11.2026
Relaunch of the Tongue
Arne Jacobsen designed the Tongue in 1955 as part of his total design for the Munkegaard School, where architecture, furniture and interiors were conceived together. Its lightweight construction made it practical for everyday school life, and a version with a cut-out handle in the back made the chair even easier for children and adults to move.
In 1958, the Tongue was included in the exhibition Formes Scandinaves (Scandinavian Forms) in Paris, where Arne Jacobsen presented the furniture he had designed for the rooms at the SAS Royal Hotel. The Tongue was not actually used in the hotel rooms but was adapted as a leather-upholstered barstool for one of the hotel bars.
Classroom at the Munkegaards School, approximately 1957.
Photo: Aage Strüwing © Jørgen Strüwing.
The bar at the SAS Royal Hotel with the Tongue used as a barstool, 1960.
Photo: Aage Strüwing © Jørgen Strüwing.
The design of the Tongue combines a moulded plywood shell with a steel base. Arne Jacobsen developed this simple formula in collaboration with furniture manufacturer Fritz Hansen in the early 1950s. Unlike the Ant and Series 7, its silhouette has no narrow waist, giving the seat and back a single, continuous outline.
Today the Tongue is being relaunched by Fritz Hansen through an exclusive collaboration with Japaneese ACTUS.
Photo: Fritz Hansen.