103
Caboche
Gregg
Binic
Plass
Buds
Nile
Filo
Madre
Gioia
Chiaroscura
Foscarini
Chap. 2 — The defi nition of an identity
Details of the Chiaroscura
lamp in the two colour variants,
dark red and titanium.
Chiaroscura /2021 — design Alberto and Francesco Meda
On the occasion of the exhibition Alberto
Meda, Tension and Lightness, dedicated to the
great Italian designer by the Triennale Milano in
2023-2024, Foscarini has created a site-specifi c
installation for the grand staircase featuring
custom-made Chiaroscura lamps.
The joint design work of Alberto and
Francesco Meda resulted in the
reinterpretation of the classic luminator –
modernist archetype of the fl oor lamp with
indirect up light – to be considered a
concurrently shape-related and a technical
challenge. In Chiaroscura, instead of being
emitted only from above, the light entirely
shines through the body of the lamp on
three sides, so the body is both illuminated
and not just illuminating. Simultaneously
understated yet packed with character,
Chiaroscura is a discrete presence that
masks a concealed technical complexity,
in true Foscarini spirit. Manufacturing
technologies, materials and shape
defi nition were all guided by this precise
goal. The slender rod with triangular
cross-section is made by composing an
extruded PMMA prism for ambient light
diffusion, with three aluminium segments
derived from a single extrusion for the
matt parts.
The alternation of materials and the
game of transparency and opacity lightens
the visual impact of the shape, especially
when the lamp is on. The multifaceted
silhouette is also characterised by the use
of colour (dark red or titanium) where the
special aluminium surface treatment
creates a perceptible texture along the rod.
In terms of lighting technology, the lamp
casts both a powerful indirect light,
originating from the LED inserted at the top,
as well as an indirect light on the wall or
diffused into the room depending on how
the lamp is adjusted, thanks to the LED
strip housed inside along the full height of
one of the extruded aluminium components.
Chiaroscura can undoubtedly be defi ned
as the complete representation of a
balanced synthesis between a lamp with
technical requirements and appearance and
one with a more ambient lighting purpose.
About shedding light
103
Alberto and Francesco Meda
