Giancarlo Fassina, designer of Tolomeo lamp, dies at 84

Giancarlo Fassina, the Italian engineer and designer best known for co-creating the iconic Tolomeo lamp with Michele De Lucchi for Artemide, died on March 29, 2019, at age 84. Born in Milan in 1935, Fassina earned degrees in Engineering from the University of Fribourg and Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano. He joined Artemide early in his career, eventually overseeing design organization, models, and prototypes. The Tolomeo, inspired by Adriatic fishing machines (trabucchi), won the Compasso d'Oro in 1989 and became a design classic, later expanded into various colors and sizes, including a three-meter XXL floor version with a concrete base. Fassina also contributed to other Artemide successes: the Aggregato system with Enzo Mari, and Dinarco with Carlo Forcolini. He designed lighting for exhibitions, including the 17th Milan Triennale (Il Progetto Domestico, 1986) with Mario Bellini, a Francesco Hayez show at Palazzo Reale, and the Teatro Fossati in Milan with Marco Zanuso (1985). After 2001, he collaborated with Luceplan, Nemo, Caimi Brevetti, and others on lamps and lighting systems.