LYFA Sundowner pendant 175, brass

Lyfa’s Sundowner pendant light, designed by Jørn Utzon in 1948, is characterized by an elegant construction that not only reflects its time but also many visual and technical features typical of Utzon’s work. The lamp’s metal shade consists of four opposite-facing shells whose shape might make you think of another famous work by Utzon: the Sydney Opera House.

Although Utzon is best known as an architect, light and lighting were constant sources of inspiration for him throughout his life. He actually began his career by producing his own lighting designs by hand, and later implemented many of the principles he had learned during that time into his architecture. Sundowner is one of the designs Utzon created years before the Sydney Opera House, which eventually became his most famous and celebrated work.

The name Sundowner evokes images of warm summer evenings and the last rays of light before the sun sets below the horizon. The pendant light is designed to provide pleasantly soft lighting that mimics and prolongs the ambience of sunset, whatever the season and geographical location. Sundowner’s light is mostly directed downwards, making it ideally placed over a dining table, but some light also escapes through the gaps between the shells illuminating the top and bottom shades – as if the sun was just dipping below the horizon.