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Andre Rotte
Raak Four Sons Of Aymon flush mount – De Vier Heemskinderen – 1982 catalogue picture
Raak Four Sons Of Aymon flush mount – Pendant lamp version – De Vier Heemskinderen – 1982 catalogue picture
Vintageinfo – Other Raak lamps
Many thanks to Andre Rotte for al the help and info.
Many thanks to Frank from nullviernull raum+kommunikation for the pictures. You can find his shop over here on Pamono.
Raak Four Sons Of Aymon Flush Mount
Materials: 3 round white painted metal discs. White painted metal rods & parts. White painted metal ceiling mount. Hand-blown tubular white opal & clear (incamiciato) glass lampshade/diffuser. Porcelain E27 socket.
Width: ∅ 50 cm / 19.68”
Height: 28 cm / 11.02”
Electricity: 1 bulb E27, 1 x 100 watt maximum, 110 /220 volt.
Any type of light bulb can be used. Not a specific one preferred. But for white glass it is best to use frosted or white bulbs.
Period: 1970s, 1980s – Mid-Century Modern.
Designer: Andre Rotte.
Manufacturer:Raak, Aalsmeer, The Netherlands.
Other versions: The Raak Four Sons of Aymon flush mount also exists as a pendant lamp.
Translated text from the catalogue: “Four metal discs in four different sizes embrace the opal glass cylinder in a harmonious whole.”
Design of these lamps – André Rotte
I do not remember the exact year in which this lamp was designed, but it must have been sometime between 1977 and 1980, when I was working with Paul Driessen in Driessen-Rotte Industrial Design.
I came into contact with Carel Lockhorn, I believe through Benno Premsela, where Paul Driessen’s wife worked, because he was looking for new design talent.
Paul Driessen and I made many design proposals, of which only a few went into production. Lockhorn and his staff were very demanding.
It took at least a year before a producer for the opal glass shade was found in the Czech Republic and production could begin.
The lamp was originally designed only as a pendant lamp, but at their request I also made a ceiling version. At a certain point, RAAK was sold and I lost contact.
The name of these lamps is derived from the medieval story of the magical horse Bayard, carrying the Four Sons of Aymon on its back. The glass shade symbolizes the horse, while the four discs of decreasing size represent the four brothers seated on it.
Appropriately, my youngest and fourth child was born when the catalogue was published in 1982, which gives this lamp a special place in my memory.
André Rotte
André Rotte was born in 1947 in Vught, The Netherlands.
After graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven as a product designer, André worked at the Eindhoven University of Technology as a technical assistant on the design of an electric city car, the ESFA project.
He later led, for several years, the design practice of Driessen & Rotte, Bureau voor Industriële Vormgeving (Bureau for Industrial Design), and afterwards that of Buro IV, where he was senior partner together with Prof. A. Marinissen and ir. F. Neger.
Assignments were carried out for companies such as Fokker Aircraft Industries, Exxon Oil The Netherlands, Grasso Cooling, Bronswerk Airconditioning, Minks Marijnen Refrigerators, Savelkouls Holding, Raak Lighting, and many other smaller companies in The Netherlands and Belgium.
In addition to designing a considerable number of successful products, André soon developed a role as a design strategist and manager rather than working only as a product designer. Design, in its many forms and disciplines, as a strategy for companies and institutions, has always been both his strength and his driving force.
Philips
In 1985, André Rotte was invited to join Philips Corporate Industrial Design (CID) to work for the Lighting Division. This was quickly followed by a position as Design Director/Manager for the Personal Care Business Group of Philips.
In 1987, he was appointed Senior Design Director for the Domestic Appliances and Personal Care division of Philips. In the same year, he also became a member of the Design Policy Committee of Royal Philips.
In 1989, André joined the management team of Philips Corporate Industrial Design as a Senior Director. He was then asked by Stefano Marzano, at that time the new Managing Director of Design, to take up the position of Design Services Portfolio Director, with a focus on the development of new capabilities and services for Philips. In this role, he also managed the newly established Design Research group as an R&D Director.
In the mid-1990s, André Rotte was project director of the well-known Vision of the Future project, with Stefano Marzano as creative director, an internationally recognized and influential design project exploring future innovations in both consumer and professional product areas.
2000
From 2000 onward, André was responsible, as a Vice President of Philips Design, for the global portfolio of business process management, overseeing strategy development, planning, implementation, performance management, business improvement and information technology. In this role, working with more than 600 professionals worldwide, he helped manage the growth of the Philips Design business for both internal and external clients.
In the autumn of 2007, André retired from Philips and started his own consultancy office, Management and Design, focusing on the integration of design into processes and organizations. He nevertheless continued as an observer and coach for the Philips High and Top Potential Program, and in that capacity coached many executives of Philips and affiliated companies.
In addition to consultancy work for, among others, Philips Design, Philips Medical Systems, Philips Lighting, Philips Corporate HRM and Qanu, the accreditation organization of Dutch and Flemish academic institutions, he also became CEO of Design Initiatief, the National Program for Innovation through Design, as well as chairman of the board of Designlink, the Dutch chain organization for design.
He also chaired the international committee for the accreditation of Dutch academic design education (Qanu, 2007) and the accreditation of Dutch academic research programs (Qanu, 2009).
Design
Already as a student, André was a student member of the board of the Design Academy and of the Governmental Dutch Design Council. He later served as member, treasurer and president of the KIO board, and also sat on the advisory board of the former Dutch Society of Industrial Design and on the board of the Bureau of European Designers Associations.
He represented the industrial design community in the Federation O as a board member, an early attempt to unite Dutch design professionals under one banner. He was a member of, or chairman on, juries for design awards such as the Philips ICSID Award, Dutch Design Awards, GIO recognitions, Dutch Furniture Awards and the HEMA Design Prize. He also lectured widely on design for both national and international audiences.
André is a certified Miller Heiman trainer and ISO assessor, and completed the Strategic Marketing course of SRM with distinction. In addition, he was trained as an officer in the Dutch Special Forces (Korps Commandotroepen), in which he served as a Major until 1997.
Raak
The Dutch lighting company Raak was founded in 1954 by Carel O. Lockhorn (18 June 1923 – 6 October 2004), who had previously worked for Philips Lighting in Eindhoven. The Dutch word raak can be understood as “on target” or “to hit the mark”, a fitting name for a company that became known for its progressive and carefully considered lighting designs.
Raak is best known for its distinctive Dutch modern lighting of the 1960s and 1970s. Many of their best designs combine glass and metal in a way that feels both elegant and futuristic. Their lighting often has a strong architectural presence, while still retaining a warm and decorative quality. Because of this, Raak became one of the most recognizable names in post-war European lighting.
Over the years, Raak collaborated with a remarkable range of Dutch and international designers and architects, among them Bertrand Balas, Evert Jelle Jelles, Frank Ligtelijn, Ger Vos, Jan Jasper Fayer, Li Helo, Maija-Liisa Komulainen, Nan Platvoet, Nanny Still-McKinney, Nico Kooi, Sergio Asti, Tapio Wirkkala, Willem van Oyen, Rico Baltussen, Kees Terlouw, Yki Nummi, Tobia Scarpa, Berend Bodenkamp, Arihiro Miyake and others.
Collaborations
Raak also worked together with several other lighting and glass companies. For the well-known Globe series, the glass was produced by the German company Peill+Putzler. Raak also sold lamps made by Peill+Putzler, including models designed by Aloys Ferdinand Gangkofner. For the Discus flush mount, the glass was made by the German company Bega. In the late 1950s, Raak also cooperated with the Belgian glass manufacturer Val Saint Lambert for the Stalactites flush mounts. In addition, Raak marketed several lamps produced by Staff Leuchten in Germany, as well as models connected to other European manufacturers.
Carel Lockhorn sold the company in 1974 to ITT, although he remained director until 1977. In 1980, Raak merged with BIS Lighting from Aalsmeer in The Netherlands and continued under the name BisRaak. In 1986, the company became independent again. By then, the collection had changed considerably: the more expressive and decorative character of the 1960s and 1970s gradually gave way to a more restrained, architectural look, often in black, white and grey.
In 1999, Raak merged with Artilite B.V. and Indoor B.V. and became CLA: Centrum voor Lichtarchitectuur B.V. in Drachten. The term Lichtarchitectuur had already been used by Raak as a slogan from the early years onward. CLA was founded by Egbert Keen. The company was declared bankrupt on 19 May 2011.
Raak received 26 iF Design Awards. As the company only began entering the competition in 1980, that number might otherwise have been even higher.
Links (external links open in a new window)
The Four Sons of Aymon – Wikipedia
Vintageinfo – Raak Catalogues
Raak Four Sons Of Aymon Flush Mount – Company Labels
