Friso Kramer

Friso Kramer is the son of architect Piet Kramer.

He studied interior design at the Institute of Applied Arts in Amsterdam. In 1945, he joined the JP Kloos office. He then works with Frans Paulussen in an interior design office.

From 1948 to 1963, he worked in De Cirkel, where steel furniture was made.

In 1963, he founded Total Design with Wim Crouwel, Benno Wissing, Paul and Dick Schwarz. From 1971 to 1983, he became director of the design agency Ahrend.

Friso Kramer is among others the designer of the chairs Result, Revolt and the table Facet, which at the origin are designed as school furniture. He also designed the plastic mailbox and outdoor benches for Schiphol and NS.

One of Kramer's most famous works is the cone-shaped lamp post. This fixture was originally designed for the city of The Hague, but also enjoyed great popularity throughout the country.

Kramer also designed two luminaires for the city of The Hague, namely "Friso Kramer I" (for residential streets) and "Friso Kramer II" (for roads). Almost all have disappeared in The Hague.

In 2014, Friso Kramer, in collaboration with lighting manufacturer Lightwell, designed a new LED outdoor luminaire: the Friso Kramer LED. This lamp is manufactured in Robedrijf in Rotterdam and is used from 2015 in Venlo, Blerick, Almere, Rotterdam and Leiden.

In 1977 and 1978, a retrospective exhibition of his work took place at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and in 1991 at the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum in Rotterdam.

Kramer has been a board member of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Amsterdam Art Council.

He died in 2019 at the age of 96.