Lampe gras le corbusier biography
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La Lampe Gras – the perfect harmony of function and design
The Lampe Gras has an exceptional place in the history of the lamp.
La Lampe Gras – the perfect harmony of function and design
Originally designed and manufactured in 1921, the Lampe Gras pioneered a new type of lighting which was designed to meet the needs of both the industrial and expanding service sector.
Its creator Bernard-Albin Gras rejected ornament and instead gave the Lampe Gras a simple, robust and ergonomic design.
The functional aesthetic of the design was truly original and the lamps were designed so that they were adaptable to each user’s needs. This contributed to the lamp’s instant success. Furthermore, Le Corbusier was impressed by the Lampe Gras’ modern design and user-friendliness. He endorsed the light by using it in both his office and architectural works.
There are hardly any lamps that had been in continuous production, without any major modifications, for over 50 years. The
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In 1922 Bernard-Albin GRAS designed a series of lamps for use in offices and in industrial environments. The GRAS lamp , as it was subsequently called, was astounding in its simple, robust and yet very ergonomic design. There are neither screws nor welded joints in the basic form.
Bernard- Albin Gras was one of the most innovative designer of the 20th century. The functional esthetic of his lamps and especially the de- sign of details such as those of the arms, stems, brackets and bases were truly original and far ahead of his time. Early on Le Corbusier was seduced by the modern design and user-friendliness of the lamps and became one of Bernard-Albin GRAS’s most enthusiastic supporters using the lamps in his own offices as well as employing them in numerous architectural projects all over the world.
Others such as Robert Mallet-Stevens, Jacques Emile Ruhlmann and Eileen Gray followed this trend as well. Furthermore, such well-know artists as Sonia Delaunay and Georges Braque
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Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris, better known by his pseudonym Le Corbusier, was interested in art from a young age, eventually leading into a career in architecture. He originally studied at La Chaux-de-Fonds Art School and designed his first house in 1905. Le Corbusier was a highly influential architect, designer and painter who wanted to create order in a chaotic world through his work. His designs developed a brutalism style and he focused heavily on creating lighting that was functional.
Over the course of five decades, he designed buildings and products from Europe, Japan, India, North and South America, and 17 of his projects have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list, which describes his works as unique additions to the modernist movement.
“Our eyes are made to see forms in light; light and shade reveal these forms; cubes, cones, spheres, cylinders or pyramids are the great primary forms which light reveals to advantage; the image of these is distinct a