Flos Stories issue number nine - EN

Ninth edition: Ten years of IC. A feast of Michael Anastassiades’ balancing marvel, as it turns gold to mark its tenth anniversary; a visit to Puglia’s Masseria Moroseta where light and sky magically come to life, and the industrial poetry of Emi by Erwan Bouroullec.

GOLDEN HOUR

Michael Anastassiades and Flos mark 10 years of IC, with a 24 carat gold collection that includes a supersized interpretation of the design.

A magical balance of sphere and baton is the essential formula of IC, Michael Anastassiades’ ultimate exercise in aesthetic purity – photographed by Daniel Riera at Barcelona’s Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion. In 10 years, IC has evolved as a family of lights that build on the composition’s effortless equilibrium, including floor, ceiling, wall and table, as well as outdoor. Here, in his own words, Anastassiades tells us about IC, and its universe.

To honour its first decade, the design appears in 24 carat gold, a finish chosen to symbolise eternity, as a celebratory trio of table, floor and suspension versions. The collection expands further with a new maxi IC, defined by a supersized sphere with a 45 cm diameter. Also in gold, the floor, suspension and table iterations of this giant marvel offer a surreal approach to the design’s lightness.

‘This collection explores balance. There is a series of lights: table lights, wall lights, ceiling pendants and ceiling mounted lights which take as their basic form a sphere that is perfectly balanced on the edge of a rod.’

—Michael Anastassiades

‘The initials IC come from the codes that English police use to define the perceived ethnicity of a person they stop in the street when reporting back to the station. IC1 means white person or Northern European type, IC2 means Mediterranean European/ Hispanic, IC3 indicates an African/Afro-Caribbean person, and so on, so this is a playful story to define the different designs.’

—Michael Anastassiades

‘From a design perspective, I believe that familiarity is at the basis of the appreciation that IC has been enjoying. There is nothing more recognizable than a sphere and a straight line. While the somewhat mysterious balancing act that engages both, captures a moment of stillness within a hypothetical movement that anyone can relate to.’

—Michael Anastassiades

‘Since its launch, the IC Collection was perceived as an archetype. A design that is hard to place in a specific time. A lamp that exists today but you know will be contemporary tomorrow and forever: after all spheres have always existed, brass is an ancient material, and balance is an intriguing concept.’

—Michael Anastassiades

This issue is about celebration. As Michael Anastassiades’ IC turns ten, we look back at this incredible design and its many iterations: against the backdrop of Barcelona’s Mies Van Der Rohe Pavilion, the essential balancing act of the design feels as iconic and powerful as its surroundings. The gravitas around IC has been evident from the start, as Anastassiades told us. ‘Since its launch in 2014, the IC Collection was perceived as an archetype. This perception was key to its success, which I believe owes a lot to the instant familiarity feeling that the collection exudes: after all spheres have always existed, brass is an ancient material, and balance is an intriguing concept.’

Several variations make up the IC family, with different floor, ceiling, wall and table versions, as well as iterations for outdoor – a true statement of the design’s enduring versatility. There is something very special about the story behind how Anastassiades chose the design’s name. ‘The initials IC come from the codes that English police use to define the perceived ethnicity of a person they stop in the street,’ he says. This says a lot about Anastassiades’ approach, equally sophisticated and elevated in its visual language as it is rooted in reality.

To mark the first decade of this timeless icon, Flos released a special, numbered edition, the IC 10 Anniversary, in which three versions of the design are rendered in 24 carat gold. ‘Inspired by the idea of ancient ornaments that we admire as cultural testimonies, we chose a gold finish for the Special Edition as a symbol of eternity, rather than luxury,’ said Anastassiades.

To further celebrate this icon, we asked 10 artists to interpret the design. Working in photography, illustration, and even poetry, the group of artists expanded

the perception of IC, mixing fine art, irony, mundanity and elegance in a celebratory portfolio that expresses the strength of Anastassiades’ vision. A different kind of simplicity is also conveyed by Erwan Bouroullec, who let us into his Burgundy escape to explore Emi, his latest (and first solo) design for Flos. An exercise in industrial poetry, Emi is reduced in its design gesture, but impactful in its lighting effect; a distillation of his design ingenuity and Flos’ ability to reinvent light with every project. ‘Lighting design has always been the most emotional part of my personal practice and the studio,’ he said, discussing the impact of light on people and spaces. ‘People remember a light much more than they remember a table, because a light is crucial for the tuning of a room, it creates experience.’

And speaking of experience, the Flos team travelled to Puglia, in the south of Italy, to see a group of lights in action at legendary Masseria Moroseta. A niche hospitality establishment turned into a cult gastronomic destination, Masseria Moroseta opened its doors to us, so that we could experiment with the space and light to showcase Flos designs, from Ronan Bouroullec’s Céramique to Vincent Van Duysen’s Gustave. A conversation with Masseria Moroseta owner Carlo Lanzini and chef Giorgia Eugenia Goggi offered fascinating points of view on illumination, as they spend their lives in a place dominated by sky and light. Talking to them it is evident the power of light, both natural and artificial, and its impact on an environment and the people who inhabit it. ‘There are many moments when the light is pure, it seems truly suspended, almost mystical,’ says Lanzini. ‘It is the light itself that creates the energy in these spaces.’

Cover Golden Hour: Michael Anastassiades and Flos mark 10 years of IC ↓

62 Light and sky at Masseria Moroseta ↓

ERWAN BOUROULLEC’S EMI

INDUSTRIAL POETRY

Interview by Rosa Bertoli

Imagery by Studio Bouroullec

The trajectory of Erwan Bouroullec’s work, both as part of Bouroullec Studio and more recently as a solitary creative, has always combined a distinctive aesthetic approach with a fascination for the industrial mechanics of creativity. His first solo lighting design for Flos, Emi, follows the paradoxical concept of ‘light from shadow’. A collection that blends technology and design, Emi features a trio of light modules encased within a triangular pole, its powerful but gentle lighting emitted from a body that remains nearly invisible. In this interview, Bouroullec tells us about his concept and the process of creating (and naming) Emi.

ROSA BERTOLI The first thing that stands out when looking at Emi, is the repeated circular motif that is also a recurrent element in the work of Studio Bouroullec. You have used this composition in partition modules, vases – it is a Bouroullec signature. Can you tell me about first creating this motif and how it has followed you throughout your work up until applying it to this design?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC Bouroullec Studio has always been building work around units that would be composable. And the circle is probably one of the most geometric and extreme entities that you could find. Because the circle is also the absence of verticality and horizontality, it gives much more freedom. By getting a little bit older in my career, I believe that there is a time in which you have access to something more and more universal. The circle can be incredibly simple to look at, but very quickly it can become a structure that can be read in many ways, it's a very powerful unit. In my work, I'm always obsessed with 3D modelling. I also believe in geometry. I believe in the way one line is going to be parallel to another and then getting aligned to another one. Building with geometry is a very big part of my work.

ROSA BERTOLI How does this apply to the design of Emi?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC I don't have much theoretical background about what is a good shape versus what is a wrong shape. But in my making, I can see when there is a much more beautiful geometry. In Emi, due to the light source, it was very natural to use a triangle instead of a circle, a square shape. And the triangle became an interesting exercise, because the triangle is not a very usual structure in daily life. It's a pattern that most of the time belongs to structure; you find it in roof carpentry, it's a mechanical element that helps stabilise a shape. And so, at some point this has been a very easy decision process of saying, okay, let's do everything around the triangle. Don't fight it, just accept it, because it will nourish the project.

ROSA BERTOLI So you were guided by geometry in a way.

ERWAN BOUROULLEC Yes. And I'm often guided by geometry, that’s the language I'm using, like somebody writing a book uses words.

ROSA BERTOLI The concept of light from shadow defines this design. Can you tell me more about it?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC It's very simple. Emi is using a light source developed by Flos Architectural that has the ability to emit light from a very deep cone, so that you don't see the light source. You don't know that the light is actually coming from this lamp. It's a paradox, and I find it quite interesting. When I had to name it, I asked ChatGPT, ‘Could you describe a source of light coming from shadow?’ And ChatGPT just said, ‘No, it doesn't exist. It's not possible’. And it was funny because I was expecting AI to be more open-minded.

ROSA BERTOLI And in the end, how did you get to the name Emi?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC It refers to ‘emitting’, short for ‘emitting light’. So it’s short for that. But it also sounds like ‘aim’, which I liked. The idea of these lamps is that you could use them like a spot, direct the light, and aim has a meaning of goal, direction, something you want to achieve. I am always looking for ways to describe the function of the design.

ROSA BERTOLI Emi is an example of a great industrial design as a tool, it disappears when it's not in use, but then its power emerges when illuminated.

ERWAN BOUROULLEC It could be understood as something very industrial with a cool presence in the room. It has a very strong light source. You can illuminate a space very quickly and dim it to create a more intimate lighting. And then there’s the fact that you don't exactly see the light source, so in essence the light is made by the walls reflecting it. It’s not filtered by a shade, and will take on the qualities of the room: if you have a blue room, the light will become blue, for example. And because your eyes don't see the source, it is part of a mystery, the final effect is of a very natural light coming from the walls.

ROSA BERTOLI We talked about modularity earlier in our conversation. This piece exists in several versions: suspended, ceiling suspended, ceiling mounted. There are a floor and a table version. How does the design adapt and how does the experience of Emi change with these versions?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC The light depends on where you position it in the room. The best thing for me is that it's a powerful tool, you get a lot of light from it, but the light is always diffused by the wall, giving a softness to the room itself. You can place many of them across a large room, or along a long corridor, because it has this very cool but limited language that makes your eyes understand them and at the same time forget about them. It is also important to me that Emi was developed through Flos Architectural. Architectural lighting often belongs to the world of tracks, it is designed to disappear. With Emi, we can still play with architecture and provide a very high quality of light, but with more visible elements. It sits between an architectural system and a lamp for a domestic landscape.

ROSA BERTOLI How did you develop this lamp with Flos?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC Flos is mastering light. Something which is so pleasurable with a Flos light is that when you turn it on, you get a super cool quality of light. The source was a given, so we just needed to play with the team in Valencia and place them in the right position. I never contradicted the nature of the light source, because I knew it had been done with all the knowledge that Flos has been acquiring for many decades.

The joy of manufacturing is a big part of design, and I had really interesting and powerful discussions with Flos; there is a common interest for the things we do. There is no hierarchy, we share ideas and respect each other.

ROSA BERTOLI How do the materials impact the light’s design?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC Emi is made of an aluminium body and a cast iron base. This was an interesting development, as using iron is an old technique for lamp bases that has now disappeared from contemporary manufacturing. Contemporary design has developed towards shapes that are more detailed, so going back to cast iron felt like going back to old technology. What’s good about it is that it’s pure iron, it’s easy to recycle, but it’s also very heavy, and by nature it’s always a bit grainy, it’s lively. I really think we should let materials express what they are. Iron is a straightforward metal that forced me to achieve a positive austerity with this design.

ROSA BERTOLI In all these years working in lighting, what has lighting design taught you?

ERWAN BOUROULLEC Light has a very sculptural value for two reasons. Most of the time, lights are placed on the ceiling, usually a very empty spot even in the fullest of rooms, so the light becomes an important visual presence. But light can also be sculptural by the nature of light itself; it can create volume in a space. Light is very important, It brings a very strong symbolism in the room. People react to lighting devices in a way they don’t react to furniture. So lighting design has always been the most emotional part of my personal practice and the studio. People remember a light much more than they remember a table, because a light is crucial for the tuning of a room. It creates experience.

Light and sky at Masseria Moroseta

Interview by Rosa Bertoli

Photography by Iris Humm and Anastasia Pavlova

Masseria Moroseta is an exercise in creative hospitality. Nestled among the olive groves outside Ostuni, Puglia, the contemporary structure was conceived by architect Andrew Trotter and the Masseria is led by entrepreneur Carlo Lanzini. Arriving at Masseria Moroseta sets the tone for a unique experience: driving through the Apulian landscape that has so much to offer visually and sensorially, one is welcomed by a grid of cacti framing the stark, discrete architecture. Set in a tone of white that brightly contrasts with the nature and sky, the building is a contemporary interpretation of traditional local architecture codes. Every space is defined by its relation with its surroundings, from the meditative courtyard at the entrance to the guest spaces facing the olive groves and sea in the distance. Defined by an essential geometry, the building features a limited aesthetic language that effortlessly translates into a space suspended between space and time.

Thanks in part to a unique culinary offer developed over the years by Milanese chef Giorgia Eugenia Goggi, who made Puglia her home and embraced the locale’s peculiarities, the Masseria has become a cult location. The Masseria’s offering combines southern Italian ingredients and traditions with a contemporary, multicultural twist. Goggi’s work started with catering for guests’ breakfasts, but soon transformed the Masseria into a culinary destination that is a heaven of food creativity, while working towards a mission of restoring heritage species through a series of well-tended vegetable gardens and preservation initiatives.

This blend of architecture, nature and gastronomy celebrates local traditions while establishing a new standard for the region. We speak to Lanzini and Goggi to discover how Masseria Moroseta came to be, and how light helps define its spaces.

ROSA BERTOLI What did Masseria Moroseta look like when you arrived?

CARLO LANZINI When I first started coming to Puglia, I was exploring ideas for something to do here. Then I found this land, with a small ancient building, a tower with a nineteenth-century oven, and a room where I lived for the three years in which I built the Masseria.

ROSA BERTOLI So the Masseria didn't exist yet.

CARLO LANZINI There was practically nothing here, but I was attracted by the possibility of doing something in a contemporary way. With Andrew [Trotter] we worked to recreate the modernism of the Apulian vernacular which is slowly disappearing from the territory. We had never been to Puglia, so we gave ourselves carte blanche.

ROSA BERTOLI So you learned the language of the Masseria while being here.

CARLO LANZINI We had an idea of the Masseria of the past and how it was used, and they were completely empty spaces. There were no furnishings other than very simple benches and a fireplace. But that minimalism, that essentiality that is found in our farm is disappearing because the new generations tend to contrast the style of the past and fill the spaces, until they become baroque. For us, who were somewhat ignorant of the architectural history of the region, the most beautiful thing about the masseria was precisely their essentiality, which we tried to recreate in our own way.

ROSA BERTOLI And how did the rest evolve?

CARLO LANZINI It was born somewhat spontaneously. I wanted to do a bed and breakfast, which for me had to be a very comfortable bed and an amazing breakfast, and we involved Giorgia. It has since become a somewhat hybrid reality, because at the beginning the food offering was not even taken into consideration in the slightest, we have created an ephemeral restaurant that appears four evenings a week, and then disappears again.

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI For me working at the Masseria was a great liberation, it gave me the opportunity to move away from the world of restaurants and finally find that meeting point between my passion for creativity and love for food.

ROSA BERTOLI How would you define the gastronomic offer at the Masseria?

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI There is an underlying honesty, and our guests understand it and enjoy it, for example they joyfully welcome the idea of the shared table. I arrived when the Masseria was still in its infancy, and I immediately felt a natural attachment to the places, the ingredients, the atmosphere, and the type of people who surrounded us. And then I had to actually figure out how to apply my spontaneous and experimental creative language to this.

ROSA BERTOLI What is your formula?

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI We start from a great respect for the raw material, especially our own production. The vegetable gardens have evolved, expanded, we involve guests in what we do, we organise dinners in the garden to reflect this mix between the final product and its origin.

We are guided by the land, by our respect for the location, by a gratitude towards a place that has been very generous to us.

Perhaps one of the things that has defined our approach is the fact that having grown up elsewhere, we are still extremely amazed by what surrounds us. The strength of nature, its scents and colours, is a huge source of inspiration for what we do, because this place is a microcosm.

ROSA BERTOLI Over the years you have also become a point of reference for a network of local producers and artisans who have started working with you on creative projects that have contributed to its evolution. In particular, your ceramics are produced by local workshops, such as Antonio Fasano and Franco Fasano, and the entire creation of the Masseria was developed in collaboration with local workers.

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI Our collaborations with local artisans began when we had to finish parts of the building, furnish it and look for decorative and functional elements, so it was a search based on necessity. However, when we started doing this research we realised that our requests were out of the ordinary, quite far from the sleek luxury that many craftsmen were used to producing for local clients. But our unusual requests gave way to a series of creative exchanges, and over time we learned to understand each other, we amazed each other, and the results were really surprising.

ROSA BERTOLI How would you define the aesthetic identity of the Masseria?

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI I’d say the first thing that comes to mind is respectful: of the place, of what surrounds us, of the light that characterises this place, respectful of the origins. It’s not just a blank canvas on which to develop an abstract idea. But it is also very contemporary, it is a very dynamic, multicultural reality.

ROSA BERTOLI Let's talk about light. Due to its position, the Masseria is dominated by the sky and the atmosphere that surrounds it. How do your spaces respond to the evolution of natural light, and when does it stand out the most?

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI Spring is a magical time, it feels like a miracle. It is an extremely expressive moment, characterised by colours and scents, the days get longer, the sky is defined by these beautiful warm lights that contrast with the darkness of winter. And while in winter things slow, spring is the moment in which we begin to open the Masseria to the outside. This relationship between nature and our work is very beautiful, we follow the seasons in a totally natural way. Then, Summer is a time when the light has moments in which it is truly impressive, sharp.

CARLO LANZINI There are many moments when the light is pure, it seems truly suspended, almost mystical. At the beginning and end of the day there are soft, beautiful lights, thanks to the particularly lucky position of the Masseria. Light helps to create a beautiful synergy with our guests, moments in which it is the light itself that creates the energy of these spaces.

GIORGIA EUGENIA GOGGI We think of the Masseria as a place dominated by white, in reality white becomes a co-protagonist – the real protagonists are the sky, the sea you see on the horizon, this chromatic stratification of olive trees, blue sea and blue sky. The choice to be so essential in aesthetic choices and leave the spaces unadorned was made to make what surrounds us truly the protagonist of our space.

ROSA BERTOLI And how does it change in autumn?

CARLO LANZINI From the end of September, when the days get shorter, from November there is a strong perception of change, it's a very different feeling. Our work also slows down, and so for us it is an opportunity to rediscover elements of the Masseria that we had lost sight of, focus on the magic of light, and reconnect with the place.

ROSA BERTOLI How do you illuminate the Masseria, what role does artificial lighting have in its spaces?

CARLO LANZINI I inherited some 1970s Flos lamps from my parents and so when I opened the Masseria, I couldn't wait to use those historical pieces that remind me of my childhood, like the Arco in the main hall, or the Parentesi in the guestrooms. For me it was like integrating what was mine, because at the beginning I lived here like it was my home. The light here always has an extremely scenographic effect. Although the environments are so simple, the light changes so much that the same angle can be very dramatic, sharp, with very strong shadows, or extremely poetic and evocative.

ROSA BERTOLI Flos illuminated the spaces of the Masseris with a new contemporary light intervention. How did these pieces fit into your spaces, for example Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec's Horizontal Light?

CARLO LANZINI It's an incredible piece. The first few days, not being used to its presence, we observed her, we had to actually understand its role in the space. And then there was one evening when we organised a dinner in this room, and it immediately created a new atmosphere – it has this suspended, mysterious aspect. At the same time it is also extremely multifunctional, we used it both to change the atmosphere of the space and to work, it adapts perfectly to different moments of the day and situations.

ROSA BERTOLI The strong contemporary spirit of these elements also contribute to the unique atmosphere of the Masseria.

CARLO LANZINI It might sound a bit mystical, but you really have the feeling that this place has a soul, a history, that it is a place that is not simply beautiful, but also alive. It has its own energy, created by the people who work here and by the wonderful people who come to visit us and let the Masseria come alive every day. It’s as if there were a soul that attracts a strong energy and makes things move in the right direction – as if everything was part of a great flow, which starts from here.

Contributors

The work of Barcelona-based photographer Iris Humm has an intimate quality. She traveled to Puglia, to document Flos’ lighting designs across the minimalist spaces of Masseria Moroseta (p. 62).

In Puglia, Anastasia Pavlova explored the visual richness of the surroundings, as the Milan-based photographed captured the Flos designs around Masseria Moroseta (p. 62).

Daniel Riera’s dreamy shots of Michael Anastassiades’ IC, shot across Mies Van Der Rohe’s Pavilion in Barcelona, offer a plethora of points of view on the timeless design (p. 1).

CREDITS

Acknowledgements

Facu Aguirre

Michael Anastassiades

Marcello Benzoni

Valentina Benzoni

Erwan Bouroullec

Ángel Cánovas Celdrán

Py Cha

Marc de Miguel

Giorgia Eugenia Goggi

Fundació Mies van der Rohe

La Cápsula

Carlo Lanzini

Sora Leo

Yozo Novak

Victor Sanchez

Philippe Thibault

Concept and Creative Direction

Apartamento Studios

Managing Editor

Rosa Bertoli

Graphic Design

Apartamento Studios

Flos Team

Barbara Corti

Rosaria Bernardi

Elisa Bodei

Silvia Delaini

Donatella Matteoni

Francesco Funari

Diletta Dincao

Paola Arici

Translations

Team Agiliz@ tu gestion

Printing

LOGO srl Borgoricco (PD)

March 2024

IC 10 Anniversary

Materials: steel, brass

Power F1/ T1 Low: MAX 60W HL (75W US version)

Power S2: MAX 205W HL (150W US version)

Voltage: 220-240V (120V US version)

Light Source F1/ T1 Low: LED 8W E14 900lm 2700K/ LED 9W E14 900lm 3000K (1xMAX 75W G9 US version)

Light Source S2: LED 15W E27 2000lm 2700K/ LED 18W E27 1900lm 2700K/ LED 18W E27 2000lm 3000K (1xMAX 150W E26 US version)

1350 mm / 53,14''

ø200 mm / 7,87''

ø275 mm / 10,82''

F3173044

358mm/14,09''

358 mm / 14,09''

2700 mm / 106,29''

702 mm / 27,63''

ø300 mm / 11,81''

ø200 mm / 7,87''

Michael Anastassiades, 2014-2024 IC T1

176mm/6,92''

ø176 mm / 6,92''

253 mm / 9,96''

New Finish: 24K gold USA USA

FU317344 USA

F3176044 FU317644

F3171044 FU317144

381 mm / 15''

IC3

Michael Anastassiades, 2024

Materials: steel, brass

Power F3: HL 205W (150W US version)

Power S3: 30W LED/ 205W HL (150W US version)

Power T3: 25W LED/ 150W HL (100W US version)

Voltage: 220-250V (120V US version)

Light Source F3: 1xMAX 250W E27 HL (1xMAX 150W E26 US version)

Light Source S3: 1xMAX 205W E27 HL / 1x MAX 30W LED E27 (1xMAX 150W E26 US version)

Light Source T3: 1xMAX 150W E27 HL / 1x MAX 25W LED E27 (1xMAX 100W E26 US version)

Available in: 24K gold, brass

- Available on demand 524 mm / 20,62'' ø450 mm / 17,71'' 2078 mm / 81,81'' ø450 mm / 17,71'' ø570 mm / 22,44''

532mm/20,94'' 482 mm / 18,97'' 1028 mm / 40,47'' ø450 mm / 17,71'' 2800 mm / 110,23''

IC F3

IC S3

IC T3

Discover more on our website flos.com by scanning the QR code below and join to our Newsletter to stay up-to-date.