Jo Niemeyer, Tubo, Belux 1984

With its restrained and elegant proportions, Jo Niemeyer’s Tubo lamp is the ultimate expression of minimal simplicity combining an economic use of materials with elements of physics, mathematics and geometry. Designed in 1984, the lamp was produced by Swiss manufacturer Belux after Niemeyer’s design won first place in a competition with a jury that included Achille Castiglioni. Niemeyer, a German artist, reduced all the constituent parts of a lamp into a single chrome-plated steel tube, with an aperture at one end for the light source and perfectly weighted switch at the other end to act as a counter-balance and stop the lamp from tilting over. A triangular bracket allows the height of the lamp to be easily adjusted and freely rotated on its own axis to control the direction of light, while a three-position switch allows for different intensities of illumination.

This example of the Tubo is Niemeyer’s original design from 1984. Belux still produce the lamp but have altered the design significantly to house an LED light source that runs along 2/3 of the tubular rod.

The lamp is in excellent condition and working order and is fitted with a GY6.35 35W halogen light source.