The Story Behind The Arco Lamp

The Castiglioni Arco Lamp replica is a reproduction that follows all of the specifications of the original lamp created by the Castiglioni brothers, save for its non-adjustable arch. A trailblazer to overhead lamps, the Arco lamp is a magnificent piece of lighting. It is both quirky, due its unusually long arch and bulb-like hood, yet elegant, with its marble base and stainless steel body. It challenges the standard floor lamp design and adds beauty to any room. The Arco Floor lamp also carries a design ideology rooted in a passion for the idiosyncratic and the need for utility worth telling.

The Arco lamp comes from the minds of brothers and designers Archille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, two Italian designers that have designed over 150 products since the mid-twentieth century. Archille Castiglioni was a professor of Industrial Design at Politecnico di Milano. He would come to class with a bag full of random objects he collected — things like galoshes, colanders, and, famously, a milking stool. This hobby showed how the Castiglioni brothers werefond of taking simple, everyday objects and reinventing them for interior design.

Archille had a specific approach to design, one which mandated that it was the responsibility of the designer to act as the problem-solver of a project, ie, to fix all the issues that may come from something, even if it was oblivious to the consumer. The Arco lamp was a testament to both this philosophy and the Castiglioni brothers’ ingenuity.

The intent behind the Arco lamp was to make light shine upon a desk or table with no complications. That is, without having to haul an electric chord over the table/desk or without the need to drill holes into the ceiling. The Castiglionis identified this hurdle, as not all tables stand in the center of a room, while most electrical outlets for hanging lamps were placed in the middle of the ceiling. Thus, it was a problem and their creation of their arched floor lamp was created to specifically address this problem.

The Arco lamp was designed with space and ease of use in mind, therefore its arch is over 6.5 feet or 2 meters from the base. It allows for lighting to be reached beyond the base and was built to illuminate by fitting a table and chairs underneath it without clashing with the lamp. The arch is supported with the weight of the sturdy, rectangular marble base. The round hole in the base is not for aesthetic value, but serves in handling the lamp. The Castiglioni brothers included a hole big enough to fit a broomstick, so that two people can hold it at each side, making it easier to lift the arch lamp.

The Arco lamp is lucidly the combination of quirkiness and practicality that the Castiglioni brothers have envisioned for all of their design works. The Arco lamp’s construction was inspired from a street light and incorporates geometric shapes, various materials, linear and curved segments, elegant marble and common broomsticks. It is the manifestation of idiosyncrasy. The Arco lamp came to fruition in 1962, when the Castiglioni brothers invented it for the FLOS lighting company. With over 50 years elapsed since the Arco lamp’s release, it continues to withstand the test with its ever-growing popularity.

The Manhattan Home Design Arco floor lamp replica pays meticulous homage to the Castiglioni Arco lamp, implementing the same shape and dimensions. It is a beautiful reproduction that is as strong and as useful as the original, but for a much lower price. If you desire midcentury masterpieces, the Arco lamp replica is for you.