Journal

Behind The Design | The Lampe Gras N°304 by DCW éditions

A wall light designed in 1921 for workshops and drawing offices, still made in France without a single screw or weld.

"A benchmark in the world of lighting." DCW éditions, on the Lampe Gras N°304

Lampe Gras N°304

$685

Lampe Gras Bathroom N°304

$760

Lampe Gras Outdoor N°304

$1,080

Lampe Gras Outdoor N°304 XL

$1,845

The Lampe Gras N°304 began, like the rest of the Gras range, as a working lamp. In 1921 the French engineer Bernard-Albin Gras designed a family of articulated lights for industry and drawing offices, built without screws or welds, and it was not long before Le Corbusier was using them in his own office.

The N°304 is the wall light of that family and still made in France today, with a round or conic shade that turns to put the light exactly where it is needed.

A range of DCW éditions is on display at our Armadale showroom, including selected models from the Lampe Gras series and every available finish.

No Screws, No Welds

Every Gras lamp is held together without screws or welds, a construction DCW credits for the range's exceptional robustness and its ease of use. The parts that make the lamp work are left on show, so the bracket, the joint and the shade are as much a part of its character as its silhouette.

The N°304 is made in steel on a black base. Its shade, round or conic, comes in a wide palette that runs from black and white through red, yellow and blue to chrome, brass, and both polished and raw copper.

The Designer: Bernard-Albin Gras

Bernard-Albin Gras was an engineer from Saint-Raphaël in the south of France. His lamps were first designed for industry rather than the home, giving them a functional aesthetic that shows most clearly in their bases and connecting rods.

The range won Gras the Concours Lépine, France's long-running competition for inventors, and when the manufacturer Ravel acquired the patent in 1927, production expanded into the many models that followed.

Le Corbusier was among the first to adopt the lamps, installing them in his office and using them in projects around the world. Robert Mallet-Stevens, Eileen Gray, Sonia Delaunay and Georges Braque followed, and DCW notes that the Gras was the first lamp to move between workshops, houses and apartments alike.

About DCW éditions

DCW éditions is a Paris house that describes itself as "un éditeur d'objets", a publisher of objects, and works to a simple credo: well thought out, well drawn, well made. It holds the exclusive rights to the Gras range and continues to make the lamps in France, alongside reissued classics such as the Mantis lamps.

Lampe Gras N°122

$755

Lampe Gras N°214

$1,150

Lampe Gras N°222

$905

Lampe Gras N°302 Double

$1,755

Living with the Lampe Gras N°304

The N°304 has a way of finding its place. Beside the bed it is the light you read by, its shade angled onto the page, and at a desk it does the work Gras intended a century ago, lighting exactly what is in front of you.

It sits just as naturally in a bathroom or by the front door, ready to welcome you home, and in offices and workplaces as readily as at home. Mounted on the wall, it leaves every table and shelf free.

Lampe Gras N°304 Sizes and Versions

The N°304 measures 15.3 cm wide, 32 cm deep and 15 cm high, with a 14 cm shade. The same design comes in several versions.

Lampe Gras N°304, the original wall light.

Lampe Gras N°304 L40 and Lampe Gras N°304 L60, with the shade on a longer arm.

Lampe Gras Bathroom N°304, made for the bathroom.

Lampe Gras Outdoor N°304 and Lampe Gras Outdoor N°304 XL, made for outdoors, the XL at a larger scale.

Choosing Your Lampe Gras N°304

Selected models from the Lampe Gras series are on display at our Armadale showroom in every available finish, where our team can talk you through shade forms, finishes and lead times. You are also welcome to call us or get in touch online.