Balance is essential. In architecture,
painting, movement, thinking,
and in life. Politically as well as
personally. Becoming unbalanced,
losing balance, being thrown out of
sync, losing focus, everything is
set in motion when there is a lack of
balance. At the start of the 20th
century, many things were set in
motion. There were years of unrest,
innovations, certainties that had
lost balance. The yearning for order
grew. Architects like Le Corbusier or
Walter Gropius met the turbulence
of the Golden Twenties with
an objective and functional style;
painters like Klee, Kandinsky or
Mondrian met it with clear lines,
organised planes, while Alexander
Calder moved the line into the
room, designing that which was in
motion and seeking balance.
Engineer Édouard-Wilfrid Buquet
interpreted the search for balance in
his 1927 lamp as a shifting of
weight. He objectively describes this
poetic shifting of light in his patent
specification as a “directional
light fixture with jointed arm”.
Practically, this design enables the
lamp head to be moved in virtually
any conceivable position through
small shifts in the weight – sliding
rather than pushing the centre
of the light. The fact that the EB 27 is
more than just one of many ways
to light up a desk, was not only
recognized by the MoMA in New
York, which presented a specimen of
Buquet's “La Lampe Equilibrée” in
the “Recent Acquisitions:
Architecture and Design” exhibition
in 1979, together with works by
Marcel Breuer. Artists, painters and
architects like Le Corbusier also
appreciated the lamp and used it in
ateliers as well as exhibitions.
In addition to the table lamp,
Buquet also developed other models,
designing a wall lamp as well as a
floor lamp following the same
principle. However, although
the Bauhaus assigned lamp from
the French designer was met with
enthusiasm around the world,
as well as being mentioned in many
publications and being held in
high regard, very little is known
about Buquet and his work. Perhaps
it was due to the increasing material
prices in the 1930s that the lamp
disappeared from the books.
Or because of the necessary
meticulous handwork that was
required to produce the individual
parts, especially the joints, and
to balance the weights. However, to
this day, serial production is
not possible due to the perfection
required by the design.
TECNOLUMEN still produces the
EB 27 with precise, detailed
craftsmanship. For this purpose the
light has only been minimally
adapted to current technical
requirements.
The wooden base was replaced
by metal, in order to give
the transformer a secure spot, the
narrow reflector outfitted with
a contemporary frame. Everything
else has remained the same
as the patent specifications that
Édouard-Wilfrid Buquet submitted
to the Paris Ministry of Industry
over ninety years ago. And so,
“La Lampe Equilibrée” is a lamp that
still combines fascinating, technical
perfection and poetic ease to
this day. Reduced to the essentials,
with a timeless, clear vocabulary
of shapes that still bring everything
into balance.
EB 27 WL
EB 27 StL
EB 27
In February 1927, engineer Édouard-Wilfrid Buquet made
a patent application for parts of his famous table lamp,
including the exceptional joints.
Not much more is known about the man who came
from the Paris suburb of Montrouge. He was and still is
akin to a phantom in design history.
EB 28
7
