Mogens Koch

Danish architect and professor Mogens Koch (1898–1992) was a legendary pioneer of systematic functionalism and modular design. A devoted disciple of Kaare Klint at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Koch dedicated his life to mathematically proportioned architecture, typography, and furniture. Koch achieved design immortality in 1928 with the invention of the Koch Bookcase—the world’s first truly modular square-unit shelving system, manufactured today by Carl Hansen & Søn. Constructed with visible finger joints in solid oak and mahogany, the system allows infinite configurations. In 1932, he designed the iconic Folding Chair (MK99200), an ergonomic masterpiece of beech, brass rings, and canvas.