Glass and light. Suspension lamp design in Italy between 1930 and 1969 in the magazines

Consistent with the theme of the antifragility of glass, understood as the material’s ability to cope with crises by developing innovations, the contribution proposes a reconstruction between the early 1930s and the mid-1960s of the evolution of a particular category of lighting fixtures: glass pendant lamps. The methodology adopted refers to evolutionary theses applied to families of objects, in which the “archetypes” are transformed while maintaining their matrix in the scenario contemporary to them. The research is carried out using the typological method aimed at modern design studies, through the perusal of some of the leading design and architecture magazines. The result is a jigsaw puzzle of types that, in addition to its documentary and aesthetic value, demonstrates its resilience by adapting, in a balance between tradition and innovation, to the transformations of different contexts in the sign of the mastery and elegance of glass design.