Design archive
Gae Aulenti
Italy
1927 to 2012
Architect, Furniture designer, Lighting designer
Italian modernism, Postmodernism
Why the work matters
Gae Aulenti trained as an architect in Milan at a time when very few women did, and she moved between buildings, exhibitions and single objects without treating any of them as smaller work. She turned a disused railway station into the Musée d'Orsay and, along the way, drew one of the most recognised lamps of the century.
The Pipistrello from 1965 takes its name from the bat: a stem that rises from a lacquered base and opens into curved wings of opal methacrylate. It reads as sculpture when it is off and as a soft pool of light when it is on. Martinelli Luce has kept it in production without redrawing it.
The work
Icons, seen properly.
Dimensions and variants come from the current maker. Prices are a dated regional snapshot, not a promise. Always confirm the final configuration, delivery and total before ordering.
Table or floor lamp · 1965
Pipistrello 620
The telescopic steel stem lets the opal shade move between table-lamp and low floor-lamp height. The four-part diffuser gives the lamp its bat-wing outline.
| Maker | Martinelli Luce |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 55 cm diameter x 70 to 86 H cm; 8.8 kg; 245 cm total cable length. |
| Models | Full-size bulb and integrated-LED versions; Pipistrello Med; Mini; Mini Cordless; dimmable and tunable-white editions. |
| Materials and colours | White opal diffuser with brown, polished black, gloss white, agave green, satin brass or matt bronze structure finishes. |
| Price | Dealer price. Martinelli Luce publishes configurations and specifications but no direct regional retail price. |
Outdoor armchair · 1964
Locus Solus Armchair
Painted tubular steel traces the frame in one continuous gesture, with removable cushions that make the piece usable outdoors.
| Maker | Exteta |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 100 W x 72 D x 82 H cm. |
| Models | Armchair, chair, loveseat, sun lounger, stool and tables within the current Locus Solus collection. |
| Materials and colours | Gloss-painted steel with Exteta outdoor fabrics; a Jacquemus edition uses an off-white frame with striped or contrast-stitched cushions. |
| Price | Dealer quote. Exteta does not publish a direct online retail price. |
Explore the current Vestados maker file for Martinelli Luce.
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