Tangible Legacy – Euroluce Launches Arco K 2022 Limited Edition in Celebration of 60 Years of Classic Castiglioni Designs

Celebrating 60 years of iconic design by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Flos launches the Arco K 2022 Limited Edition. Available through Euroluce, the anniversary launch sparks an examination of the designers’ history, including their impact on Italian craft.

Sons of famous Italian architect Giannino Castiglioni, Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni spent their lives immersed in the world of design. Achille, an Italian industrial designer, joined Pier Giacomo in 1944 at the design firm of their parents. The pair boldly pushed the limits of materiality, together crafting over 150 products and achieving nine prestigious Compasso d’Oro awards. Both as individuals and a working team, the brothers adopted an innovative approach to design, creating products that fulfil genuine human needs and yet are uplifted by an element of humour. Their tangible legacy gives greater meaning to the ‘Made in Italy’ label and speaks compellingly to the designers’ observational skills, insight and imagination.

In 2022, classic Castiglioni designs Toio, Taccia and Arco turned 60 years old, inspiring the release of Arco K 2022 Limited Edition.

In 2022, classic Castiglioni designs Toio, Taccia and Arco turned 60 years old, inspiring the release of Arco K 2022 Limited Edition. The original Arco lamp is a modern overhead piece. Combining the illuminative capacities of a pendant light with inherent mobility, the lamp transfixed the design industry from its first presentation. The product features a weighty marble base, chrome ball shade and long, curved steel arm that enables light to be projected from on high, mimicking the effect of a chandelier. A hole drilled into the base allows for simple movement of the lamp from one place to another using a broomstick. The detail exemplifies the exciting blend of practicality and light-heartedness for which Castiglioni designs are renowned.

Embracing its formal heritage, Arco K 2022 Limited Edition presents as a reimagination of the signature lamp. The rejuvenated piece sees a lead-free crystal base replace the marble original, nodding towards a contemporary aesthetic enhanced by a sense of brightness. The new base supports a spun aluminium reflector via a curved, adjustable stainless-steel stem, allowing the lamp to offer both direct and indirect light. Improving upon the broom handle method, Arco K 2022 Limited Edition is shipped in a special wooden box containing a wooden support, resembling a rolling pin. The central part of the piece is covered with an anti-scratch layer to avoid the risk of damaging the crystal in transit. In other areas, Arco K 2022 Limited Edition is the mirror image of its predecessor – its stem is a metal profile with a U section, adjustable in three positions; its light source is a light bulb with a semi-silver cap, albeit LED. The shell is made up of a solid and a perforated part, designed by the Castiglionis to allow the heat developed by the light source to escape and create a striking ceiling decoration.

Embracing its formal heritage, Arco K 2022 Limited Edition presents as a reimagination of the signature lamp.

Revolutionising Italian craft, Castiglioni designs are well-deserving of their modern-day relevance. Alongside existing works of collaboration such as Snoopy, Gatto, Luminator, Parentesi and Parentesi 50, Euroluce champions new release Arco K 2022 Limited Edition, presenting the edition as the apt celebration of a legacy like no other.