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Bill Lam

Bill Lam, an MIT-trained architect and designer, who operated his design workshop in Boston in the early 1950s. Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study Houses, earned MoMA Good Design Awards and were featured in the best-practice design journals from the period. His light diffusers and lamps were among the first commercial products made from fiberglass-reinforced plastic.

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Style: Mid-Century Modern
Creator: Bill Lam
Rare Mid Century Modern FIBERGLASS REFLECTOR DESK LAMP! BILL LAM STUDIO 1950s
By Bill Lam
Located in Peoria, AZ
A PURIST'S DREAM. MID CENTURY MODERN MOLDED FIBERGLASS ARTICULATING SHADE REFLECTOR DESK LAMP! Attributed to Bill Lam Workshop 1950 (DIMENSIONS: 14" wide by 14" deep by Approxim...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bill Lam

Materials

Metal

Bill Lam Molded Fiberglass Lite Table
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
Drum-shaped lite table of molded fiberglass mounted on three solid birch legs, designed and produced circa 1950 by Asian/American architectural lighting designer Bill Lam. William M....
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Materials

Fiberglass, Birch

Rare Glass + Wood Adjustable Coffee Table by Bill Lam
By Bill Lam
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Designed by Honolulu-born Bill Lam. Unique wood accents, stainless steel and glass compliment each other to create this sleek design. Folding legs can be arranged two ways to create ...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Bill Lam

Materials

Stainless Steel

Bill Lam Table Lamp with Tiltable Fiberglass Reflector
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
Table lamp composed of an enameled steel tube with a tiltable Fiberglas reflector shade, designed and produced by Asian/American designer and educator Bill Lam in 1952. William M.C. (Bill) Lam (1924-2012), a pioneer in architectural lighting, was born and raised in Hawaii, entering MIT in 1941 and graduating with a degree in architecture in 1949 after serving as a pilot in the Army Air Corps in WWII. Influenced by Alvar Aalto and Charles Eames, both visiting professors at MIT, Lam established a small atelier, Lam Workshop, outside Boston in the late 1940’s, producing a series of his own lighting designs and a two-level cocktail table that gained widespread recognition in the national design press, earning MoMA Good Design selections in 1950 and 1951 as well as inclusion in close to 50 museum collections and exhibitions throughout the United States and distribution through Lightolier, Richards-Morgenthau (Raymor), Bloomingdale’s, Carroll Sagar, and numerous other showrooms and shops offering and promoting modern furnishings. His designs were merit specified for California Art & Architecture’s Case Study House program in 1950, featured in the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art’s Current Design quarterlies and in Furniture Forum, and chosen by General Electric and Westinghouse for model homes to demonstrate how to use light to best advantage. Lam would cease producing these designs in the later 1950’s, shifting his attention to the design and manufacture of prefabricated architectural lighting systems along with consulting, teaching, and writing—he taught lighting design at Harvard and MIT and authored two influential books for the lighting design profession. His 1950 drum-shaped lite-table was one of the first consumer products made of fiberglass reinforced plastic—it was shown alongside the Eames/Evans plastic shell chair in period ads for the material. He designed a fiberglass clip-on light diffuser fixture around the same time; it appeared in the Winter 1951/52 issue of Current Design with a date of design of April 1951. With a 14” diameter, it was pitched as a ceiling fixture or sconce and was intended to be “almost unbreakable and absolutely washable.” This element was then included in two pivoting armature wall lamps—one a Good Design selection--and a gooseneck floor lamp. All these designs emphasized functionality, flexibility, and economy and emitted light with a soft intimate glow. The present design was clearly to be part of this series—a steel cylinder using the fiberglass fixture to diffuse and throw light. The lamp was included in a lighting survey in Interiors in June, 1952. The description—"a tiltable Fiberglas reflector on a steel tube in enameled white, black, red or gray”--suggests that the lamp was intended for serial production and indicates that the tilting mechanism was integral to the design (the tilting finial on the lamp shows a patent date of 1942). Tilting the fixture through a range of motion to change how light is thrown locates the lamp in dialogue with several winning entries in the MoMA 1951...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Materials

Steel

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Previously Available Items
Fiberglass Table Lamp by Bill Lam
By Bill Lam
Located in Sagaponack, NY
A Mid-Century Modern molded fiberglass shade supported by three (3) brass legs. Designed by Bill Lam, manufactured in the USA, 1950s. Model 'LL-130'.
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Materials

Brass

Rare Case Study Tripod Lamp by Bill Lam, circa 1950
By Bill Lam
Located in Costa Mesa, CA
Rare table lamp of extruded metal with original woven fiber shade and birch ball pull. Model is the tripod lantern in the Lam Workshop catalog, it is a low-production design from an MIT trained architect and designer who operated his own design workshop in the early 1950's. Working condition, original wiring. Bill Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study...
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1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Materials

Iron

Molded Fiberglass and Birch Table Lamp by Bill Lam
By Bill Lam
Located in Dorchester, MA
Supported by a trio of birch legs, this light-diffusing "lamp-table" is an example of MIT-trained designer Bill Lam's experiments in the early 1950s with fiberglass-reinforced plastic.
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1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

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Metal

Pair of Molded Fiberglass Light Tables by Bill Lam
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
Pair of table lamps (or lamp-tables) in molded fiberglass with birch legs by Bill Lam, an MIT-trained architect and designer who operated his own design workshop in Boston in the early 1950s. Bill Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study...
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Metal

Bill Lam Wall-Mounted Fixture
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
A rare wall (or ceiling) mounted lamp of molded and cut plywood with a metal base by Bill Lam, an MIT-trained architect and designer who operated his own design workshop in Boston in the early 1950s. Bill Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study...
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Bill Lam Wall-Mounted Fixture
Bill Lam Wall-Mounted Fixture
H 7 in W 37 in D 6.5 in
Tripod Lamp by Bill Lam
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
Rare table lamp of extruded metal with vintage woven shade and birch ball pull, produced c. 1952. Called a tripod lantern in the Lam Workshop catalog, it is a low-production design from an MIT-trained architect and designer who operated his own design workshop in Boston in the early 1950's. Bill Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study...
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Tripod Lamp by Bill Lam
Tripod Lamp by Bill Lam
H 37.5 in Dm 10.5 in
Bill Lam Studio
By Bill Lam
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Fiberglass Lamp Shade with Wood Legs
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1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Bill Lam Studio
Bill Lam Studio
H 14 in Dm 14 in
Bill Lam Table Lamp
By Bill Lam
Located in New York, NY
Rare table lamp of extruded metal with original woven fiber shade and birch ball pull. Called a tall tripod lantern in the Lam Workshop catalog, it is a low-production design from an MIT-trained architect and designer who operated his own design workshop in the early 1950's. Bill Lam's designs were specified for California Case Study...
Category

1950s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage Bill Lam

Materials

Birch

Bill Lam Table Lamp
Bill Lam Table Lamp
H 25.5 in Dm 9 in

Bill Lam furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Bill Lam furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of plastic and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Bill Lam furniture, although brown editions of this piece are particularly popular. Many of the original furniture by Bill Lam were created in the mid-century modern style in united states during the mid-20th century. If you’re looking for additional options, many customers also consider furniture by Mole Richardson Company, Reglor of California, and Gilbert Watrous. Prices for Bill Lam furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $3,200 and can go as high as $12,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $4,525.

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