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DOLMEN
DOLMEN 1996
Ferruccio Laviani
180 cm tall and 40 cm wide, Dolmen is
a narrow and lightweight parallelepiped
designed to lean against walls, stand
up or lay down, or hang on the ceiling
in multiple installations. Essential in
its constituent parts, it is composed of
an aluminum “box” which contains and
amplifies the effect of the two
fluorescent (energy saving) light
sources through two screens in
polycarbonate lexan, white in the front
and transparent in the back.
The four holes are of equal diameter,
and characterize the frontal plane,
generating an alternation of opaque
and luminous surfaces which discreetly
diffuse the light. The back screen
fulfills the task of lighting, exploiting
the walls of the room as a reflecting
surface. Even the superficial treatment
of the shell, coated in epoxydic powder
paint in the orange version (no longer
in production), brushed and anodized in
the natural aluminum version,
emphasizes the graphic matrix of
Laviani’s project, a constant feature of
his design. Dolmen embodied
Foscarini’s idea of a flexible lamp
which could be adapted to many
different types of use, especially in its
original lean-on-the-wall configuration;
an interesting and early approach
towards the multi-functionality of the
object, which has undoubtedly become
one of the central issues of
contemporary design. Just as
significant was the return to the
linguistic and visual spirit of the
Sixties, which would arouse
considerable interest.
across:
rendering, studio Laviani, 1996
at top:
details of Dolmen, 1996
