In May 2016, the “Júlia el desig. Ramón Casas” exhibition took place at the Círculo del Liceo in Barcelona. It was an unprecedented exhibition celebrating what would have been the painter’s 150th birthday. The design shop MINIM, sponsor of the event, asked the Goula/Figuera Design Studio to create a spotlight to illuminate the exhibition’s paintings.
“It was a big challenge in a very short timeframe, in which we had to create a piece that could project the light from many different angles. There was the added condition that we would not fix anything to the walls or ceiling and use only the floor and furniture within the space as support.”
The resulting lamp was surprisingly simple in its idea; a solid steel base, a thin rod, a spotlight, a magnet and an O-ring. The lamp, made in two different sizes, achieved its purpose to illuminate the paintings while remaining almost unnoticed.
After the exhibition, which was visited by more than 15.000 people, Pablo Figuera and Álvaro Goula, by means of GOFI, decided to bring to market an improved commercial version of the product. This decision came as a result of the great response that the piece received.
The new product is larger in scale with an improved magnetic system. It is available in a variety of colours and finishes, and is incredibly versatile. It can function as a reading lamp, spotlight, ambient light or even placed as a bedside lamp. Its name is Fa, inspired by the musical note; a tribute to the place for which it was originally designed, the Barcelona Grand Opera Theatre.