Le Lune d’Acqua is an innovative ambient lighting lamp inspired by the water moons orbiting Jupiter and Saturn. Designed in collaboration with Artemide, the project blends science, technology, and cosmic inspiration, transforming the beauty and mystery of celestial bodies into a refined and innovative lighting object.
Rethinking The Future Awards 2025
First Award | Furniture Design (Built)
Project Name: Le Lune d’Acqua – Lamp for Artemide
Category: Furniture Design (Built)
Studio Name: Benedetta Tagliabue EMBT + Ersilia Vaudo
Progettazione in collaborazione con Artemide 06.2022 – 02.2024
Design Team:
Project Director: Sara Manfredini Taube
Collaborators: Gabriele Rotelli, Valentina Nicol Noris, Sofia Dini, Diao Qianwen
Area:N/A
Year: 2024
Location: Barcelona – Italy
Consultants:
Photography Credits: Artemide
Render Credits: N/A
Other Credits:
Concept and Design
At the heart of the design is a luminous sphere, suspended within two reflective rings that support it and allow it to rotate. This structural system creates a dynamic interplay of reflections and movement, evoking the lightness of celestial orbits and the fluidity of water. The lamp utilizes Artemide’s patented Discovery optical principle, reinterpreted through a complex surface that comes to life with light.
When turned off, the sphere appears transparent; when illuminated, it reveals a three-dimensional geometry through the diffusion of light on its finely engraved surface. The result is an enveloping and vibrant glow that recalls the hidden oceans beneath the icy crusts of the Solar System’s moons.
Technology and Innovation
Le Lune d’Acqua merges aesthetics with technological advancement. The ring encasing the sphere integrates a LED system that projects light onto the internal concave and convex surfaces, transforming them into a luminous source with diffused emission. This technology creates an effect of weightlessness and transparency, giving the illumination an ethereal and ever-changing character.
The inspiration originates from astrophysical explorations suggesting the presence of vast oceans beneath the icy crusts of Jupiter and Saturn’s moons. This phenomenon is interpreted in the design through a lighting effect that disperses and refracts, mirroring water’s perpetual transformation between solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
Symbolic and Poetic Value
This lamp is not just a functional element but an evocative object capable of conveying deep meanings. Its spherical form and reflective play evoke the infinity of the universe, inviting exploration of new perspectives on light and space.
As Benedetta Tagliabue states, “The incredible beauty and simplicity of a marble inspire the translation of fluidity into these Water Moons, a small object that, in every child’s imagination, becomes a cosmos to interact with.”
Ersilia Vaudo adds, “Le Lune d’Acqua conjure the magic of the Solar System’s ice moons—liquid worlds hidden beneath frozen shells, privileged places for life. The light becomes liquid, an enchantment recalling gravity and cosmic balance.”
Application and Versatility
The modular design allows Le Lune d’Acqua to function both as a floor and suspension lamp, adapting to various settings and configurations. The rings surrounding the sphere create an effect of lightness and suspension, evoking the absence of gravity and the sinuous paths of celestial orbits. The lamp integrates seamlessly into sophisticated spaces, offering a poetic and technologically advanced lighting solution.
A work that narrates cosmic explorations, light dynamics, and liquid transformations, bringing the mystery of water moons into our homes through sophisticated and evocative lighting.
