Asymmetrical and sculptural: a new chandelier that plays with lightness and presence, the softness of the textile cables and the rigid geometry of the arms.
Allumette by Francesca Lanzavecchia is a project that focuses on the theme of the traditional chandelier with arms, redefining its aesthetic parameters, with the desire to transform light into emotion, creating connections of empathy between people and objects.
The project, stemming from a technical and structural approach, is that of a family of chandeliers for placement at the centre of a room, playing with the vivid contrast of the materials with concepts of asymmetry and balancing of opposites, moving between lightness and presence, rigid geometry and soft lines. Their form is only apparently static and conclusive, as it has been conceived to never be definitive: from every angle it reveals a different image, the result of ongoing pursuit of a compositional equilibrium.
To create Allumette Francesca Lanzavecchia softens the formal rigor of the chandelier and obtains a new balance, returning to the classic structure but liberating it from symmetry: a sculptural but dynamic composition in which a series of asymmetrical arms of different lengths and geometric lines are grafted onto the central body, in an unpredictable arrangement. In juxtaposition with the solidity of the metal structure, the softness of the textile cables contributes to the dynamism of the design. Starting from the base of the central post, the cables generate a fluid form shaped by the force of gravity, rather than a rigid pathway.
Allumette means “matchstick” and suggests the idea of a light that is delicately released. The luminous pipes at the ends of the arms have been developed to create an effect of suspension in space, applying the concept of light guide.
“For Allumette I followed a different inspiration, built on the idea of the original light source, the candle, and the triangulation of the arms, whose geometry and variable lengths permit a shifting of the barycentre. Its asymmetry is one of the most important keys of interpretation: it has been envisioned as choreography, a presence that changes depending on the angle of observation. Then there is a magical moment when the light crosses the lamp and transfigures it completely. The light source is composed of transparent tubes, fastened to the arms. The LED light runs inside them, igniting their extremities, like small flames suspended in space. The result is a sense of discovery, an unusual object that nevertheless transmits an intimate familiarity.”
Francesca Lanzavecchia
/ Designer
