Sanremo Poltronova

For eight years, Italian architecture and design studio Archizoom Associati challenged modernism and aligned itself with what we now call Radical Design, an avant-garde art movement established largely in Florence that produced exuberant conceptual furnishings and objects that were neither practical nor very commercial. Through iconic works like the Sanremo floor lamp and the Mies lounge chair, Archizoom and other proponents of the movement protested functionalism and explored form, color and material in a way that countered the existing social order.

Founded in 1966 by University of Florence students Andrea Branzi, Gilberto Corretti, Massimo Morozzi and Paolo Deganello, Archizoom questioned mass consumerism and the validity of rapid postwar modernization in their native country. In their architecture initiatives, interiors, installations, furniture and more, Archizoom's members were pioneers of postmodernism — future Memphis Group cofounder Ettore Sottsass was also part of the Radical Design movement — and alongside likeminded collectives such as Superstudio, Ziggurat and UFO, Archizoom drew on Pop art, Minimalism and Arte Povera to expand upon the expressive potential of design. Branzi and his peers were also deeply influenced by the visionary work of London architecture collective Archigram — so much so that the group’s name is inclusive of Zoom, which is the name of a zine published by the British collective.

In Archizoom’s No-Stop City — an unbuilt architecture project — the urban area is stripped bare, a featureless monochromatic expanse that sees built structures meeting nothing more than the basic needs of human existence. The group’s Mies lounge chair — a tribute to early modernist architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe — was developed for Poltronova and hardly resembles a chair at all. It is not until one sits down that the detached bench seat combines with the backrest and becomes a full seat. The human body bonds the pieces together to make a chair that is surprisingly functional — and even compact.

The Radical Design movement is experiencing something of a renaissance, and Archizoom Associati’s works featured prominently in 2020’s “Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985” at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The collective’s designs were given a global stage in the classic 1972 exhibition “Italy : The New Domestic Landscape” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, but most of the groups associated with Radical Design dissolved by the mid-1970s. The Mies lounge chair is held in MoMA’s permanent collection. 

Find vintage Archizoom Associati seating, lighting and tables on 1stDibs.

The modern floor lamp is an evolution of torchères — tall floor candelabras that originated in France as a revolutionary development in lighting homes toward the end of the 17th century. Owing to the advent of electricity and the introduction of new materials as a part of lighting design, floor lamps have taken on new forms and configurations over the years. 

In the early 1920s, Art Deco lighting artisans worked with dark woods and modern metals, introducing unique designs that still inspire the look of modern floor lamps developed by contemporary firms such as Luxxu. 

Popular mid-century floor lamps include everything from the enchanting fixtures by the Italian lighting artisans at Stilnovo to the distinctly functional Grasshopper floor lamp created by Scandinavian design pioneer Greta Magnusson-Grossman to the Paracarro floor lamp by the Venetian master glass workers at Mazzega. Among the more celebrated names in mid-century lighting design are Milanese innovators Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, who, along with their eldest brother, Livio, worked for their own firm as architects and designers. While Livio departed the practice in 1952, Achille and Pier Giacomo would go on to design the Arco floor lamp, the Toio floor lamp and more for legendary lighting brands such as FLOS. 

Today’s upscale interiors frequently integrate the otherworldly custom lighting solutions created by a wealth of contemporary firms and designers such as Spain’s Masquespacio, whose Wink floor lamps integrate gold as well as fabric fringes. 

Visual artists and industrial designers have a penchant for floor lamps, possibly because they’re so often a clever marriage of design and the functions of lighting. A good floor lamp can change the mood of any room while adding a touch of elegance to your entire space. Find yours now on 1stDibs.