Lamps are easy to take for granted, because most lighting is petty dull, at best. But it doesn’t have to be! These bulb-beauties by Italian designer Gino Sarfatti don’t look 60 years old—in fact, they look gorgeously futuristic.
Sarfatti was an aeronaval engineer before he started designing lamps, and it shows—each unit looks like it could be a gliding through the stars (or at least part of some fancy space engine). Some of them look a little more Captain Kirk than others, but none of them look retro—just visions of a neon and incandescent future that didn’t quite pan out. CoDesign has a look at the pieces as manifestations of Nuclear Age worries—a question you can take up personally if you find yourself in Paris, where they’ll be on display at Galerie BSL.
Otherwise, just stare at them and drool like me. [CoDesign]