Studio B.B.P.R. for Arteluce Ceiling or Wall Light

Studio B.B.P.R. for Arteluce, ceiling or wall light, model ‘2045/p’, lacquered aluminum, acid-etched prismatic glass, Italy, 1962

This playful ceiling or wall light is designed by Studio B.B.P.R. for the Italian lighting company Arteluce. A composition of different sized round light pendants is arranged in an asymmetrical manner; One large-sized lamp, a medium-sized lamp and one smaller lamp. The mount is executed in black lacquered aluminum, so is each individual lamp. The frame of the lamps is constructed with an eye for detail; the rounded raised edge emphasizes the softness of its design even though the use of the hard metal material. Each lamp contains a frosted glass diffuser with a visible yet subtle square grid. As a result, this pendant offers a soft and warm light partition that will illuminate the space beautifully.

Studio B.B.P.R. was an Italian architectural partnership founded in Milan in 1932 by Gianluigi Banfi (1910-1945), Lodovico Barbiano di Belgiojoso (1909-2004), Enrico Peressutti (1908-1976) and Ernesto Nathan Rogers (1909-1969) who had studied at the Politecnico di Milano. B.B.P.R. was thus an acronym formed from the first letters of their family names. The architects found each other in their opposition to fascism in Italy in the 1930s and 1940s during Mussolini's autocratic regime. The architects therefore believed in developing a style that would have no references to contemporary politics. During the Second World War, they all joined the resistance. However, Rogers, a Jew, fled to Switzerland and both Belgiojoso and Banfi were deported to the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, where Banfi died in 1945. Despite the immense loss of Banfi, their architectural practice continued in the same name as before after the war. Especially during the 1950s, they created many of their great projects. With their designs, they strongly reacted against the International Style with its rectilinear forms and taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation. Instead, the group enriched their buildings with medieval references. For B.B.P.R., their philosophy on art and architecture is somewhat between tradition and modernism; their use of post-beam structures and modular elements parallels with the constructive thinking of modern architects. However, as modernism rejects the existence of historical forms, B.B.P.R. reinterprets history's heritage and continues with respect for the work of their predecessors. Ernesto Nathan Rogers referred to it as “preesistenze ambientali” (the pre-existing environment) and adopt a “caso per caso” (case by case) interpretation to work with, instead of against, the surroundings. One of their well-known designs is the creation of the Torre Velasca in Milan, with strong references to medieval architecture. The architects were also frequently employed to create interior spaces altogether with furniture designs.

Please note that the price is per item.

VAT within the EU: When buying or delivering an item within the EU, VAT usually applies and will be added.