Diafos and the .6mm Lamp

A cutting-edge lamp design that uses a Compasso d’Oro-winning material introduced in the 1980s.

In 2021, Abet Laminati’s design curators Giulio Iacchetti and Matteo Ragni organized a special exhibition to celebrate the Memphis Group’s 40th anniversary. Titled Super Superfici –The Spirit of Memphis (reloaded), the show featured innovative Italian designs created by eight designers. Their task? To make contemporary products that embody the avant-garde spirit of the Memphis movement while using similar materials. More specifically, laminates from the Abet Laminati collection. We previously wrote about the Beep Beep series of stools, one of the projects included in the exhibition. Now we’re happy to introduce another: the .6mm lamp.

Created by Panter & Tourron, the lamp features the innovative Diafos material. Originally launched by the Bra-based Abet Laminati in 1987, Diafos received the prestigious Compasso d’Oro that same year. The translucent laminate had a three-dimensional decoration and provided the opportunity to enhance interior design projects with a refined accent. In 2021, design studio Panter & Tourron used the same material to create a contemporary lamp for Super Superfici, the .6mm. Ideal for lighting, Diafos has a translucent surface that softens the light. Named after the thickness of the material, the .6mm lamp features a Diafos sheet that the designers converted into a capacitive surface. As a result, the user can simply touch the lamp to turn on the light.

The transparency of the Diafos sheet provides a clear view of the inner-workings of the lamp, from the LEDs to the electronic components. The lamp thus merges interactive design with technology to celebrate Abet Laminati’s heritage. Ultimately, .6mm showcases only one of the endless ways architects, designers and interior designers can use Diafos. Abet Laminati offers the material in three thicknesses, of .6mm, 1.6mm, and 5mm. Apart from the standard palette of six solid pastel colors, the company also provides a custom digital printing option. Photography© Abet Laminati.