In spring 2023, Louis Poulsen relaunched AJ Oxford, the table lamp that Arne Jacobsen designed for St. Catherine’s College in Oxford in the early 1960s.
The AJ Oxford table lamp was part of the total design that Arne Jacobsen created for St. Catherine’s College in Oxford, which had its official opening in 1964. One of Arne Jacobsen’s principal works of architecture, the college complex combines the traditional architecture of the English university college with a new functional approach. In addition to the building complex, Arne Jacobsen also designed the surrounding park and the interior spaces and furnishings, including a wide range of new furniture and lamps. Among them was the AJ Oxford table lamp, a further development of the AJ Eklipta wall lamp mounted on a thin, elegant stand.
Arne Jacobsen designed several different versions of the lamp. In the dining hall at St. Catherine’s College, a version of AJ Oxford mounted on a thin rod was installed in rows on the tables. Later, he developed a lamp with a base that was into production by Louis Poulsen. Now, as then, the lamp is available on a tall or a short stand and with or without the top metal shade. The lamp is also available mounted on a rod, the way Arne Jacobsen designed it for the dining hall at St. Catherine’s College, a design that is well suited for use in libraries and restaurants.