Futuristic, impressive, technologically interesting – floor lamps actually are a rewarding task for designers. But not an easy one, too, because everything is visible at a glance: from the aesthetic attitude and artistic ability of the designer up to possible compromises for technical or financial reasons.

In the 60s, Italians in particular solved this task impressively: Joe Colombo for example with his ‘Spider’ and ‘Coupe’ series for lighting company Oluce or Achille Castiglioni with his famous ‘Arco’ for Flos in 1962. Ten years later Flos presented ‘Tamburo’ by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, a very modern and technically sophisticated lighting fixture, especially designed for outdoor use in patios, promenades and entryways.

Flos from the beginning focused on a high-quality and high-tech approach to lighting design. Tobia Scarpa (son of architect Carlo Scarpa) and his wife Afra began working in the Venini glassworks in Murano in the 1950s. Hence their high level of expertise in glass, its use in luminaires and its effect on light distribution and output. In 1960 the couple opened their own design studio and soon worked together with major companies such as Flos, Cassina, B&B Italia, and Knoll.

Their work ranges from glass objects to furniture and lighting, from interior design to architecture, and often use new materials and cutting-edge technology. The construction of ‘Tamburo’ (Italian for ‘drum’) ensures the best diffusion of light in different directions: upwards by a structured and translucent plexiglass diffuser, downwards directed by an internal lamella grille under a glass pane. Use it to light the sunken living room in your seventies bungalow – or to light up the gravel path around your modernist villa