Birger Dahl

Birger Dahl was a Norwegian interior architect and industrial designer , and professor at SHKS.

Dahl was educated at the Norwegian School of Arts and Crafts , originally in drawing. In 1947 he became head teacher at SHKS, and in 1985 became professor.

As an industrial designer, he worked as chief designer for Sønnico 1945–57, and designed lamps. The string pendant "Dokka" received a 1954 gold medal at the Triennale in Milan, and another lamp, "The Girl", received a similar distinction three years later. He also designed electric ovens, door fittings and wallpaper patterns. As an industrial designer, Dahl was involved in a turning of the subject from only applying to the aesthetic to also including "the production-related and the functional and ergonomic. From a design historical point of view, it is interesting to note how little Dahl's work is marked by stilts. Rather, they have acquired their logical form as a result of an internal pressure inherent in the very concept of the products; how they were to be produced and used. They are excellent examples of the 'form follows function' ideology.” Dahl became the first chairman of the Association of Interior Architects when it was founded in 1945, and was also one of the founders of the Association of Industrial Designersin 1955.

He has received the Mark for good design six times, five times for electric ovens and once for a door fitting. He received Oslo City's scholarship in 1966 and the Jacob Prize in 1968. He became an honorary member of the Norwegian Association of Interior Architects and Furniture Designers in 1995.

As a pensioner, in 1994 he wrote the book Venezia, a cultural historical adventure.