Janne Ahlin studied at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm during the 1960s, where he together with Jan Dranger, Martin Eiserman and Johan Huldt, got an internship at the furniture manufacturer DUX in Trelleborg. The students' assignment from the company was to create furniture for the young generation. The four students founded the group Dux4yra in 1967, with the aim to make modern furniture at a low price. The collaboration with DUX resulted in the sofa Multomanen, the collection Well, with pieces made of corrugated cardboard, and The Envelope, a coach made of fabric covered wooden panels that was delivered in a flat package.
After graduating from Konstfack in 1968, Ahlin studied architecture at Det Konglige Kunstakademi in Copenhagen until 1970. From the end of 1974 he created the interior design for the dancehall and kindergarten in Lunds Public park and in 1975 he started an architectural studio together with his partner interior architect Sia Johnson.
During 1977-79 Ahlin completed the construction documents for the Maria Church in Växjö together with the AKVE-group (Berndt Nyberg and Ulrich Wagner). During 1977-1985 Ahlin was connected to the architectural institution at Lunds Technical University, where he in 1988 also became professor in design.
In 1985 he published a biography on Sigurd Lewerentz and in 1988 he was appointed professor in interior architecture and furniture design at Konstafack, University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm.
Janne Ahlin died in 2022 at the age of 80.
