BEO.ZONE

Cecilie Manz

“I work with things that have a meaning to me. My general idea is always to have a clear argument legitimising the designs that I make. Function is essential, and if I cannot formulate a good reason for a new product, it is better to refrain from making it”.

Born in 1972 in the Odsherred region of Denmark, on the island of Zealand, to artistic parents, Cecilie Manz has always had design form part of her life, even from a very early age. It was therefore natural that she have chosen design for her future employment when she began studying at the Danish Design Schoolin Copenhagen in 1992. She subsequently went to Helsinki as an exchange student, studying at the Finnish School of Art and Design, graduating in 1997. She worked briefly in Professor Yrjö Wiherheimo’s studio in Helsinki before returning to Copenhagen where she founded her own Manz Lab in 1998.

Her strong feeling for functionality and insistence on quality make Cecilie Manz an obvious choice for Fritz Hansen. Cecilie Manz has exhibited all over the world and is permanently represented in the exhibitions of MOMA and the Danish Design Centre. She has lectured and has been awarded several significant prizes for her conceptual design.

More recently she has worked with Bang & Olufsen designing the functional but retro-looking BeoLit 12 for the company.

She is considered one of the leading Danish furniture deisgners of her generation (Source)

Awards & recognition

2004: three years’ work grant, Danish Arts Foundation
2004: Danish Design Award
Forum +1 Award
2007 iF product design award
2007 Finn Juhl Prize
2008 Danish Design Award

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