Welcome to Design R-evolution, the column that each month will take you on a fascinating journey to discover revolutionary objects that have changed the way we live and transformed design into a timeless art. Are you ready to immerse yourself in an extraordinary journey through different eras and styles, to discover authentic gems and be enchanted by the genius and vision of their creators?
Tolomeo Lamp by Michele De Lucchi
The Tolomeo is not only an iconic designer lamp but a true symbol of success and excellence in lighting production. Its fame has been such that it has become the best-selling lamp of all time: around half a million pieces are made every year, to satisfy the demand of an ever-growing public.
The story of the Tolomeo began in the 1980s, when the Italian lighting company Artemide decided to launch an innovative, functional and aesthetically pleasing new product on the market. The project was entrusted to the young Italian designer Michele De Lucchi, who skilfully combined functionality and aesthetics, creating a lamp with an elegant and clean design, characterised by essential and minimalist lines.
In a beautiful 2013 interview, De Lucchi himself recalls the origin of the lamp. It was 1986 and the young designer had already collaborated and designed some lamps for Artemide.
In one of the meetings with Ernesto Gimondi (owner of the lighting company) Michele had his inseparable notebook with him, in which he jotted down and sketched unique ideas and visions. Among the many sketches was the lamp that would represent the turning point in his career as a designer: a lamp with a movable and extendable arm, designed specifically for himself, to meet the needs of those who spent hours and hours drawing and designing on the drafting table.
At the time, he used the famous Naska Loris lamp, the progenitor of all spring-balanced table lamps (best known for being the mascot of the famous Pixar production company). But the main problem was that the Naska Loris was not his creation! Hence his idea for a lamp that would develop and improve on a similar concept
At that meeting, Gismondi, faced with numerous proposals, sniffed the great potential of that very lamp and decided to turn this idea into reality.
Thanks to his collaboration with Giancarlo Fassina and the company’s in-house research centre, De Lucchi was able to perfect the tension mechanisms inserted in the different arms of the lamp and ensure precise lighting control. The following year, the lamp was already on the market.
“Tolomeo was not yet called that at the time, because the name was decided the night before it was presented at the Salone del Mobile. Ernesto (Gismondi, editor’s note) made a list of names every year and Ptolemy seemed to us to be the most suitable character to represent the lamp, because he was an astronomer, a mathematician, in short, he was the one most suited to the idea of a scientific mentality,” says De Lucchi in an interview that appeared in Artemide’s Magazine on the occasion of the lamp’s 30th birthday.
The main feature that makes this lamp unique is its flexibility: thanks to a system of flexible aluminium arms, joints and springs, the lamp can be oriented and adjusted in different positions and heights, allowing the user to focus the light where he or she wants.
In little more than thirty years, Artemide’s Tolomeo has become an icon of modern design, receiving several prestigious awards, including the Compasso d’Oro in 1989, and its versions have been displayed in major museums and exhibitions around the world. In addition, Artemide has created several variants of the lamp, including table, wall, ceiling and pendant versions, to suit different needs and furnishing styles.
If you want to renovate a room with elegance and functionality click 👉🏻 http://www.mwa-architecture.ch here you will find a team of talented architects who will help you create unique and timeless spaces with sustainability and glamour
Ig – @fairness_mag
