marco de masi designs a floor lamp inspired by the burning mirrors of archimedes

it is said that during the siege of syracuse between 212-213 BC, greek mathematician and inventor archimedes used ‘burning mirrors’ as a weapon against marcus claudius marcellus and his roman fleet. millennia later, this ancient technology serves as inspiration to rome-based designer marco de masi and his new lighting design.

archimede floor lamp
all images by @iamshape/@alineritania, courtesy of marco de masi

archimede by marco de masi is a contemporary floor lamp composed of a calacatta marble base and a hinged steel mirror. the light source is fixed within the marble base, from where it projects to the mirrored part of the design. just like archimedes and his burning glass, the light from the base is reflected and refracted by the mirror. through the double finish of the mirror – in both brushed and polished steel – the lamp creates two different effects, either a direct or a scattered light.

archimede and its reflected light

calacatta marble base

brrushed steel mirror

polished steel mirror

archimede floor lamp concept

project info:

project name: archimede

design: marco de masi

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lynne myers | designboom