Beyond the physical realm of buildings, light surely is the most fundamental substance to the architectural profession: it has the capability to transform cold, clinical spaces into welcoming, uplifting or even moving environments with the flick of a switch. It makes sense, then, that countless architects throughout history have stepped outside of their usual disciplines to design light fixtures, delving into the art of industrial design as they seek the perfect mode of illumination for the spaces they create.
Here, we shine a light on 12 distinctive lamps designed by architects, from the classic to the highly contemporary. Be enlightened by these striking luminaries:
Via Jacksons
Beehive by Alvar Aalto
Alvar Aalto worked across a wide range of design disciplines including textiles, glassware and furniture, and his white aluminum Beehive light possesses the same careful attention to detail as the Finnish architect’s buildings.
Via Moderndallas.net
Artichoke Lamp by Poul Henningsen
Designed by Danish architect, author and critic Poul Henningsen in 1958, this iconic ceiling lamp features laser-cut copper leaves reminiscent of an artichoke or a conifer cone.
Via Colossal
Fish Lamps by Frank Gehry
While Frank Gehry’s fish-like forms are most associated with the architect’s iconic Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, he also created these elegant illuminated sculptures, first displayed in 1984 for the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles.
Via FontanaArte
Falena by Álvaro Siza Vieira
Álvaro Siza Vieira’s Falena light includes some highly architectural features: anodized aluminum diffuser “fins” work like adjustable louvers to allow the user to define exactly how the light is distributed.
Perf by Jim Olson and Tom Kundig
Olson Kundig’s minimal design celebrates the materiality in a similar manner to the architects’ built works: a 25-inch length of blackened steel is punctured by a random constellation, resulting in a subtle glow.
Via Stylepark
Vortexx by Zaha Hadid
Designed as “an endless ribbon of light,” Zaha Hadid’s Vortexx lights evoke her fluid architectural style. A recessed LED strip allows for programmable illumination sequences, combining digital interactivity with Hadid’s distinctive aesthetic.
Via FontanaArte
Three Sixty by Norman Foster
Foster + Partners’ high-tech desktop lamp features two patented joints that allow the lamp to rotate 300 degrees, while the head — a sleek chrome disk — can rotate a full 360 degrees, allowing the beam to be oriented in all directions.
Yumi by Shigeru Ban
Yumi means “bow” in Japanese, and this simple shape has been reinterpreted as a striking minimalist lamp design by Shigeru Ban. An LED sunken into the stem allows the lamp’s curved form to remain uninterrupted from top to bottom.
Via OneSolution
El Masterpiece by Daniel Libeskind
Libeskind’s “cosmic chandelier” hangs from the ceiling like a futuristic stalactite. Inspired by the 14-billion-year history of light, the chandelier weighs in at 350 pounds, stands nine feet tall and incorporates some 1,680 LEDs within its folded metal exterior.
Via Archiproducts
Kiasma by Steven Holl
A simple pair of nickel-painted metal plates are combined to form this striking wall light by Steven Holl — inspired by the American architect’s own design for the Kiasma museum in Helsinki, Finland.
Pétale by Odile Decq
As French architect Odile Decq explains, “Pétale comes from a very simple idea: to combine a sound-absorbing panel and lighting in a single object.” The resulting ceiling lights emit a soft glow through pebble-like fabric forms and are on show in Decq’s GL Event Headquarters in Lyon, France.
Via Yamagiwa
Mayuhana by Toyo Ito
Japanese architect Toyo Ito’s spherical ceiling light of woven threads is reminiscent of a cocoon, its triple shell of web-like fiberglass lending varied levels of illumination from its core to its outermost edge.
