Tobia Scarpa

Tobia Scarpa (born 1935 in Venice) is an Italian architect and designer whose work spans furniture, lighting, interior architecture, and restoration. Son of the famed architect Carlo Scarpa, Tobia studied architecture at the Universita Iuav di Venezia and early in his career worked in glass and furniture before founding a design studio with his wife Afra Bianchin. His lighting designs, such as the Foglio wall lamp (1966) and Papillona for Flos, are celebrated for their sculptural simplicity, technical ingenuity, and sensitivity to material and structure. Scarpa's broader approach treats lighting as an architectural gesture - not a mere object but a means to shape space, mood, and human experience.