Mid-Century Icons: Castiglioni’s Toio Lamp
Achille, Pier Giacomo and Livio Castiglioni have been certainly within the most important designers of the Mid-Century era. While Livio left the Castiglioni office, Achille and Pier Giacomo worked closely to many products, always concentrating on the same task at the same time instead of dividing the workload.
The Toio lamp, in particular, has been designed by Achille and Pier Giacomo as part of a series of so-called “Ready-Made” objects in 1962. The basis of these industrial products had to be found and not branded engineered objects. The goal was to achieve an innovative design, far from the too modern look of the 1950s and 1960s.
The Toio lamp is constructed almost entirely from ready-made components: a 300-watt car reflector bulb, attached to a metal stem that is weighted by the transformer at the bas pedestal. The electrical wire is pinned to the stem by fishing-rod screws. Products such as this one and the Mezzadro and Sella stools, both from 1957, celebrate the ingenuity of the mundane or everyday object, with the minimum of intervention.
The Castiglionis’ approach to design was at the same time functional, thought-provoking and wit. They were probably inspired by the Italian Rationalist movement that predicted a functionalist approach to design. Specially the lightnings were an experiment of objects obtained from scarce resources but that proved a strong awareness of the end user’s necessities.
The Toio lamp is featured in major museum collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Mid-Century has been one of the most creative age for design that influenced the interior decors of the last decades. To discover everything about it , check Mid Century Home now!


June 19, 2011
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Posted by Mark Jennings
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