Visiona 2, 1970
 
Danish designer Verner Panton’s dreamy colorful interiors are completely antithetical to the Scandinavian modernism that dominated contemporary design in the mid 50s. Panton, who was primarily an architect at the time, used to pack up his models in a Volkswagen and travel across Europe in hopes of finding a designer or manufacturer willing to produce his work on a mass scale. It was his famous cone chair in 1959 that really made his reputation as a groundbreaking designer—in New York police ordered it be removed from the display window, since the spectacle was causing an obstructive crowd on the sidewalk. From there his work advanced and matured into some of the most radical interior design on the 1960s. 

In addition to highly experimental ideas on housing (plastic, cardboard, and collapsible were all concepts he explored), Panton was known for designing absolutely everything—from futuristic light fixtures to conceptual furniture to loud fabrics. Though his work is still quite prized today, folks usually pick out a single Panton chair or lamp as a bold accent piece. It’s when he was given free reign to design a room from scratch though, that he was able to create these otherworldly spaces. Panton’s rooms—or environments perhaps—are certainly jolting, but they’re also cohesive, balanced and exotically beautiful.
 

Visiona 2, 1970
 

Visiona 2, 1970
 

Visiona 2, 1970
 

Spiegel publishing house waiting area, Hamburg, 1969
 

Spiegel publishing house swimming pool, Hamburg, 1969
 

Varna restaurant, Aarhus Denmark, 1971
 

Private apartment in Copenhagen, 1994-1999
 

Living Sculpture, 1972