Light Blossom

The whimsical look of Luceplan’s gemlike Agave lamps perhaps belies the precision of their design. Cocreators Diego Rossi and Raffaele Tedesco’s studies of energy-saving light sources led them to experiment with fluorescent bulbs, and the resulting ribbed radial structure of Agave optimizes distribution of that sort of light. “The first goal in designing the Agave prototype was to find a way to effectively transmit fluorescent light throughout an acrylic fixture,” Rossi explains. “After the prototype was finished, we realized that the entire system could be made with injection molding. This helped to create a modular system, allowing the user to change the lamp’s shape as well as remove the elements for easy cleaning.” Modularity also allowed for colored gel inserts that further empower the user to mix and match lighting schemes for any given mood. Here Rossi and Tedesco discuss the finer points of Agave.

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The suspension lamps come in three shapes. The spherical one was designed first, to distribute light evenly over a room. The second, narrower shape is influenced by a traditional form in Venetian blown glass commonly used as an alternative to the classical sphere. And the third, flower-shaped one is designed to diffuse light over a tabletop.

The modular ribs are carefully designed to get thinner toward the ends so that we don’t use any more material than is necessary.

The name Agave comes from the similarity of the lamps’ shapes to the flowering agave plant. Also, agave is the main ingredient used in distilling tequila, which has the same crystalline, liquid look as this acrylic material.