CLOSE AD ×

Italian architect Ferruccio Laviani imbues iconic Foscarini lamps with color

Color Me Enlightened

Italian architect Ferruccio Laviani imbues iconic Foscarini lamps with color

Released in the United States for the first time this month, the Be Colour capsule collection reworks designs from Italian lighting brand Foscarini’s catalog of decorative luminaires. The Venice-based company asked its longtime collaborator Ferruccio Laviani to reimagine some the company’s most iconic pieces. The architect chose a bold color palette to enliven classics like the compact Binic table fixture, the adaptable Magneto desk lamp, the Gregg and Bahia wall sconces, and the Twiggy floor lamp—a version of which received a 2018 AN Best of Products Awards honorable mention.

Rendering of Twiggy lamp
The Twiggy lamp (Foscarini)

“We wanted to go beyond the all over effect of a single color,” Laviani explained. “Where possible, we formulated chromatic combinations that make the shape of each lamp more unexpected.” The architect separated what were originally monochromatic totems into different geometric forms using strategic color pairing. In some cases, like the Magneto desk lamp, such an intervention helps delineate function. The fixture’s fiery-red stem deliberately contrasts with its baby-blue head to show how the lamp can be adjusted. Laviani’s interest in color is nothing new. In 1991, he developed the Orbital standing lamp for Foscarini, which was a study in the relationship between form and tone.

The release of the Be Colour capsule collection coincides with the opening of the Foscarini’s new Spazio Soho showroom. The recently-renovated Greene Street space in New York is now the Italian company’s American flagship store.


CLOSE AD ×