Architect’s Delight by Ørgreen

In the history of modern architecture, we find some of the boldest expressions of visionary design — characterized by an investigation into form and space as it intersects with functionality. Informed by an idealist ethos of stripping ornament from design, modern architecture was utopian in that it envisioned a better and more functional life by championing simplicity and purity. Its legacy lives on today, not only through many majestic architectural wonders all around the world, but via its continued influence on contemporary design, fashion, and art.

Ørgreen is pleased to announce the launch a new capsule collection of sunglasses that celebrates two of the grand masters of modern architecture: Eero Saarinen and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The German-American Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was a leader of the modernist movement, which he spearheaded both as an applied architect, designer, and educator at the famous Bauhaus School. Author of the aphorism “less is more,” he believed in a stripped-back approach to space and form. Saarinen, of Finnish-American origin, developed —in tandem with Mies van der Rohe—a specifically neo-futurist vision of modern design, embracing new technology’s effect aesthetics and applying them to industrial design and architectural projects.

Between Mies van der Rohe and Saarinen, we see a modernism’s insatiable urge to break away from the past and purify design for a better life. This ethos resonates strongly with Ørgreen, who has championed a minimalist approach to eyewear design combined with high hand-crafted quality and durability since their founding in 1997. In this collection, the spirit of these architectural masters is translated into two distinct sun styles: a rounded rectangular frame for men, and a round frame for women. Both are offered in a variety of color combinations, from monochrome frames in Mat Navy and Sandblasted Honey Gold to multicolored frame fronts, echoing the subtly sensual color-blocking of high modernist architecture. Ørgreen’s trademark Japanese titanium frames further invoke an architectural sensibility in the designs that are clean, simple, and elegant.

From the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the iconic “Pedestal Armchair”, Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen took the language of architectural modernism and gave it a futuristic twist. This style honors this playful sensibility in a pair of round sunglasses for women, offered in three bold multi-color mat fronts – from Blue and Green to Mustard and Navy.

“Less is more,” Mies van Der Rohe famously once said – and as the last director of the Bauhaus school, the architect and designer avidly championed a erce simplicity of modernist design. This style extends this sensibility into a pair of elegant sunglasses for men in rounded rectangular shape. From Mat Black and Sandblast Honey Gold to Mat Vanilla and Blue, Mies van Der Rohe is offered in two monochrome and three multi-colored frame fronts, and four different chrome lenses.