Since its creation by popular architect Walter Gropius in 1919, the Bauhaus school of design in Weimar, Germany has taught some of the 20th century’s significant designers and given birth to the Bahaus style. recognized for using the stylistic face of modernism, Bahaus-style furniture shows volume rather than mass and stresses balance over pre-conceived symmetry. However, if one were to wants a simpler meaning of what the Bahaus style is, one would only glance at the Wagenfeld Lampe design by Wilhelm Wagenfeld.

One industrial style that is said to show the purest characteristic of the Bahaus Style is the supposed Wagenfeld Lampe. Also named as the Bahaus Lamp, the Lampe is an electrical table lamp comprises of a disc-shaped base, an extensive shaft, and a half-spherical lampshade. This lamp’s plain geometric built is common in designs finished during the Bahaus period, and were produced in industrial materials such as glass and steel.

The Wagenfeld Lampe was first made in 1924 by designer Wilhelm Wagenfeld in cooperation with Karl Jucker during their training at the Bahaus. According to the story, Wagenfeld created the design for the Lampe as the answer} to an exercise assigned to him by his professor, Hungarian constructivism artist and Bahaus administrator Lazlo Moholy-Nagy. Wagenfeld’s and Jucker’s design for the Lampe was accepted positively in its release, and was praised by critics for its valuable simplicity and competent use of materials.

Nowadays the Wagenfeld Lampe is existing in two kinds: a glass and steel version. In the steel Lampe both the underside and stand is created from high quality industrial steel. The steel parts are then painted with layers of nickel plating to help stop corrosion and to give the lamp a satisfying yellowish patina over time (affordable reproductions based on the lamp design replace the nickel with chrome plating). The glass class of the Wagenfeld lamp, in contrast, shows a stand and base made from thick glass. The stand also had an interior nickel center in which the electrical feed line to the bulb is placed. Both types, however, offer a milky-white transparent glass lampshade and a notable spout on the side where the pull cord is placed.

Although it was initially designed during the early years of the 20th century, it was not until its ending years that it was actually mass produced. In 1980 Wagenfeld partnered with the Bremen-based Technolumen Company to have the Wagenfeld Lampe style put into advertising production. Now Technolumen is still the sole licensed producer of the Lampe and is one of the most well-known in its catalogue.