LASVIT, the renowned Czech glass manufacturer, and ANDRÉ FU LIVING have started a unique collaboration to create ‘The TAC/TILE’ Collection, a lighting collection for the home which will be launched at Milan in April. The collection celebrates Fu’s signature language of relaxed luxury, and is conceived to explore the materiality of glass – an ode to a truly tactile material that embodies religious, institutional and monumental architecture.
The design journey began when Fu researched the history of glass used in an urban context – most recognizably in the Maison de Verre in Paris, built in 1932 or similarly in the tradition of Czech metropolitan passageways. Fu admired its architecture for its honesty of materials, adoption of the machine aesthetic, and its rejection of ornamentation. For Fu, glass blocks possess a unique sense of boldness, yet remain distinctively translucent unlike any other material.
Fu drew inspiration from traditional Chinese tiled roofs, as well as the triangular form of the distinctive Flatiron Building. The notion to reinvent the modernist glass block then came to mind, and Fu came up with a purist triangular profile as the core form of this lighting series.
Working closely with the Lasvit team, the desire to challenge the typical glass block construction became crucial to escalate the uniqueness of the lighting series so a distinct technique was adopted.
This involves taking the best form quality glass and mixing the contemporary blending technology with old traditional craft approaches in combination with advanced fusing glass techniques.
These bespoke ‘glass tiles’ were then adapted to a spectrum of applications - from table lamps, floor lamps, reading lamps, to wall sconces and suspended pendants. The extent of offerings is in sync with Fu’s original vision to create a lighting collection that could cater for all activities in the residential context. The key also is to create a collection that is pragmatic in its functions.
The expression of the collection is further enhanced with the introduction of metal. Fu has juxtaposed the glass tiles with brushed champagne gold and anodized bronze as a genuine expression of urban life.