Brass and Opal Glass
Floor Lamp
Hotel Praha, 1970s

A brass floor lamp with opal-glass shade designed for the Hotel Praha during the 1970s. 

Commissioned by the Communist Party in Czechoslovakia, construction began on the Hotel Praha in 1975. Beyond hosting the communist delegation, one of the salient aims of the Hotel was to entertain and impress foreign visitors. 

Amidst a backdrop of austerity in the years prior to the Velvet Revolution, the Hotel was an architectural emblem created by some of the leading architects and designers in the former communist state. The colossal, curved building covered 9800 square-meters and  comprised 136 rooms, a restaurant, swimming pool, and bowling alley. 

This impressive floor lamp embodies the architectural ambition of this sprawling luxury complex. The round brass base and spherical opal-glass shade echo the recurring rounded emblems used throughout the Hotel's architecture and interior decoration. The height of the floor lamp, perfectly positions a diffused light above low lounge chairs, such as those seen in the numerous lounges and bars of the Hotel. 

Specifications:

Designer: Zbyněk Hřivnáč (b.1932)
Design Period: 1970-1980
Materials: Brass