Catellani & Smith’s U. lamp wins the prestigious Good Design Award 2021

Catellani & Smith has won its first Good Design Award for the lamp U., recognised for its innovative character, original concept and extreme functionality.
The Good Design Award, one of the most prestigious and longstanding awards in the world of design, was instituted in 1950 by the former curator of the Chicago MoMA, Edgar Kaufmann Jr, in collaboration with some of the biggest names in modern design including Charles and Ray Eames, Russell Wright, Eero Saarinen, and George Nelson.

The Good Design Award is presented by the Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, which recognizes each year’s best products in terms of innovation, form, materials, concept, construction, functionality, utility, sustainability, packaging and aesthetics. Works selected for recognition are carefully reviewed by a panel of distinguished design professionals, industry specialists and journalists, according to the criteria established by the original 1950 program.

U. is a family of minimalist lamps. It includes two floor versions, U. F Up and U. F Flex, and two wall-mounted variations, U. W Flex and U. W, all available in black or white finish with a low-voltage COB LED light source.
U. F Up features a U-shaped semi-cylindrical screen, the inside coated with gold-coloured leaf. As well as containing the light source, the screen holds a steel silhouette equipped with a magnet, projecting the image of a dancing figure.

U. F Flex is notable for its adjustable brass flex and its screen, slightly smaller than the Up model, that rotates 350° to direct light as needed. The U. W Flex wall- lamp is also characterized by a brass flex, positioned atop a rectangular base, and by the typical U shape holding the COB LED light source that creates an extraordinary golden glow. Finally, the other wall-lamp, U. W, rests on a circular base with a joint that allows the semi-cylindrical screen to rotate, casting beams of light that spread across the whole wall.