Jorge Zalszupin completed his architectural studies in Romania in 1945. He arrived in Brazil in 1949, and after a brief sojourn in Rio de Janeiro, he relocated to São Paulo, where he established an architectural firm in partnership with José Gugliota. In Brazil, he discovered the tranquility that had eluded him in Europe. In the latter half of the 20th century, Zalszupin established L’Atelier in São Paulo, embarking on the design of furniture in small series. This marked a transition from a workshop with artisanal methods to an industrial setting with serial production. The inaugural piece in this series was the “Danish” armchair, christened so by the artisans who crafted it.
In no time, Zalszupin became a notable figure in Brazilian design. In the early 1970s, he led a team of designers working for four different companies within the same business conglomerate, a remarkable and perhaps unparalleled experiment globally. The team included Oswaldo Mellone, with Paulo Jorge Pedreira and Lílian Weimberg as permanent members. These designers formed the business group known as Forsa and operated as a creative think tank.
The economic challenges of the 1980s significantly impacted the performance of companies within the Forsa group, leading to the dissolution of the design team by the end of the decade. Oswaldo Mellone and Paulo Jorge Pedreira each launched their individual practices, while Jorge Zalszupin dedicated himself exclusively to architecture, a passion he had never abandoned. Starting in 2005, the company Etel Marcenaria commenced the production of several items originally designed by Zalszupin for L’Atelier, including the “Dinamarquesa” armchair.