Flos OK: A Modern Take on a Classic

The Flos OK LED lamp is a surprise: In collaboration with Konstantin Grcic, the Italian manufacturer has released a reinterpretation of the legendary Parentesi lamp from the 1970s. Back then, when designing their Parentesi, Achille Castiglioni and Pio Manzù had a bracket in mind—which is what the name means in Italian: The lamp & “clamps & ” onto the steel cable secured between the floor and ceiling, allowing it to be moved up and down along the cable. In OK’s reinterpretation, this principle remains intact: Just like its predecessor, the OK “ Flos ” glides up and down along the steel cable to which it is attached. Thanks to this simple yet unusual mechanism, the range of adjustment is completely unrestricted. The major difference from the classic from the 1970s: In Grcic’s reissue, the form and technology are contemporary. “The design of a light fixture today is not limited solely to the object that surrounds the light source: it means designing the light source itself &,” says Grcic. That’s why the German designer had much greater freedom in choosing the form than Castiglioni and Manzù did in the 1970s.

Dimmable, warm-white light

While the overall lines of the “ Flos ” OK lamp are now very clean, it illuminates the room using LED technology: This is not only energy-efficient but also enables the luminaire’s ultra-slim design. With its round shape and slender silhouette, it resembles a pocket mirror, while it can be adjusted to serve as either a direct light source or an upward-facing light, depending on the setting. Thanks to its dimmability via a soft-touch switch and warm white light (2700 K), the “ Flos ” OK creates a cozy atmosphere in the room. It is also the round luminaire that contributes to the new name of Konstantin Grcic’s lamp: & “O & ” stands for the round light source, while & “K & ” alludes to the designer’s first name. Of course, the name can also be interpreted differently: Thanks to the redesign of the original, Flos ’s lamp is still more than “OK” in 2013.