Franco Buzzi for O-Luce Wall Light in Brass and Aluminum

Franco Buzzi for O-Luce, wall light, model 'B3', enameled aluminum, enameled steel, brass, Italy, 1949

This exceptional Italian wall-mounted wall light is the B3 model designed by Franco Buzzi for O-Luce. The spherical-shaped counterweight in brass enables the user to adjust the height of the light source and keep the pendant in place. The lampshade is decorated with perforated slots through which the light escapes. The design highlights the lamp's mechanical components, giving it a raw yet sophisticated look. The B3 wall light is one of Buzzi's first designs for O-Luce and a widely appreciated design.

Franco Buzzi was an Italian architect, furniture and lighting designer. Buzzi is particularly known for his postwar lightning designs and his collaboration with fellow Italian designer Giuseppe Ostuni. Born in 1912 in Milan, Buzzi studied at the Politecnico di Milano. After his graduation in 1937, he worked as an architect and interior designer in Milan. In a short period of time, Buzzi 's interiors, with its warm and soft tones, were highly appreciated. Furthermore, Buzzi was appointed Assistant Professor for Interior Design at the Milan Polytechnic from 1939 to 1942. A few years after the war in 1949, Buzzi opened an architect studio in the Brera district in Milan, which was a popular neighborhood for artists and intellectuals. Here he met Giuseppe Ostuni whom he became friends with and soon Buzzi started to create his first lamps for Ostuni's company‘O-LUCE’, which was established in 1945 and nowadays Italy´s oldest design studio. One of the first models are the ´Faretto´ lamp, the B 2 headlight and the B 3 wall arm lamp. Different variants of the B 3 occur, such as the pendant model. Buzzi´s lighting designs became a prime example of good taste and sophisticated furnishing.