Peter J. Lassen
Peter J. Lassen came to furniture from the Danish navy, moving into the industry in 1954. Over the following decades he worked alongside Arne Jacobsen, Jørn Utzon, Piet Hein and Verner Panton — an unusually direct line into the generation that defined Danish modernism.
He founded Montana in 1982 in Hårby, on the island of Funen, and designed the shelving system that carries the company's name. The square module, the rounded corner and the strong colour were all unexpected at the time, and the system was taken up quickly.
The idea was never a single piece of furniture. Thirty-six base modules in four depths, finished in more than forty colours, are meant to be combined by whoever owns them. Lassen put it as a requirement rather than a style: good design demands honesty and respect.
