A common misjudgment about industrial works is that it only applies to machines and tools used in factories. Now while this bears a bit of truth, industrial design can also be utilized to simple everyday objects as well. One example industrial which can easily blend into any home is the Wagenfeld Lampe.

As an applied art, industrial design aims to be aesthetically pleasing to the eye while being commercially viable at the same time. Both these qualities can be seen in the Wagenfeld Lampe. Termed, the famous German designer Wilhelm Wagenfeld, the Wagenfeld Lampe is a plain, geometric glass and metal table lamp. The lamp is divided into three essential parts: the flat circular base, a tube-like stand, and a globular semi-opacous glass lampshade. In addition the lamp also shows a distinctive pull cord spout design as well as a fabric pull cord with a metal ball fixed on one end.

To date the Wagenfeld Lampe is manufactured in two types. In the first version, the lamp’s foundation and stand are completed from vivid plate glass. The stand also has a steel internal core, which houses the electrical feed line and shows the lamp a unique “X-ray look”. In the second version, though, both the base and stand is finished from nickel-plated steel. Steel kind of Wagenfeld Lampe are generally less luxurous than their glass counterparts, as they are less tedious to make. What’s more, the steel Lampe is especially sought after for the elegant yellowish patina the nickel plating displays over time.

Wilhelm Wagenfeld made the Wagenfeld Lampe with Karl Jacob Jucker in 1924 during their years as journeymen at the Bauhaus school in Germany. The lamp was said to have been completed as the answer to an assignment given to Wagenfeld by his professor, the Hungarian artist Lazlo Moholy-Nagy. Because of this, the Wagenfeld Lampe is also sometimes labeled to as the “Bauhaus Lamp”.