A revolution at Sammode: the emblematic round tube, an iconic model created in 1967, is transformed, becoming almost square… Architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte reinvents the famous Sammode tubular lamp to create a new luminaire.

Named Quadratube, this product remains faithful to the rigorous design of Jean-Michel Wilmotte‘s rigorous design. Incorporating modern technologies, Quadratube stands out as an exceptional creation, designed to offer incomparable lighting quality and comfort.

The history of the collection
“Quadratube by Wilmotte”

Squaring the circle is a classic geometric problem: using a ruler and a compass, transform a given area into a square of equivalent size. It took mathematicians no less than three millennia to demonstrate the impossibility of this task.
The expression “squaring the circle” is used to describe an insoluble problem. In other words, to persist in solving it is to waste your time.

Architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte, however, would have none of it. One day, in his Paris offices, he challenged Emmanuel Gagnez, CEO of Sammode:

“Why don’t you make a ‘square tube’?” This suggestion, though surprising, didn’t fall on deaf ears. After three years of research, Sammode and Jean-Michel Wilmotte took up the challenge and created a new luminaire, aptly named Quadratube.

“Light can sublimate any space, any object”. Jean-Michel Wilmotte has designed over 150 lighting fixtures in his five-decade career, ranging from artisanal to industrial creations, and from domestic to urban environments.

“With Quadratube, we wanted to reinterpret the tubular luminaire concept in a way that was both in keeping with the historic model and at the same time a departure from it,” explains Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Hence this silhouette, the result of meticulous dimensioning to integrate the various components: “Too bulky, the strictly square profile envisaged at the outset was quickly abandoned in favor of a more slender and elegant rectangle”.

“We find the transparent body -rectangular instead of cylindrical-; two clamps that replace the two traditional fixing clamps and hold this transparent body; the inner plate supporting the light engine and optical accessories; and finally, two internal flanges in line with the clamps -instead of being at both ends in the tubular luminaire-.

With Quadratube, Jean-Michel Wilmotte has succeeded in preserving Sammode’s identity, while offering an entirely new luminaire.”

Jean-Michel Wilmotte – French architect, urban planner and designer

Jean-Michel Wilmotte, French architect, urban planner and designer, was born in 1948. He founded his architectural practice in Paris in 1975. Since then, he has continued to develop and diversify his skills, both in France and internationally. Renowned for the eclecticism of its creations, and the elegance and quality of finish of its projects, Wilmotte works in the public and private sectors, as well as in the luxury, hotel, residential and tertiary sectors. It employs 270 people of 31 different nationalities and operates in 23 countries.

In parallel with his architectural practice, Jean-Michel Wilmotte founded the Wilmotte & Industries design studio. Over the past 45 years, he has built up a solid reputation in industrial and object design, collaborating with numerous publishers and manufacturers around the world, particularly in France. By promoting creative strengths “made in France”, Jean-Michel Wilmotte contributes to the development and influence of French manufacturers. In his studio, he applies his own architectural codes, characterized by sober, uncluttered lines, giving his collections a chic, timeless character.

The Quadratube by Wilmotte collection

Quadratube, the brand-new collection of luminaires with a rectangular profile, comprises three types of fixture: a pendant and two wall lights, available in different finishes, grids, colors and materials. This diversity offers a total of 18 distinct models. The choice of noble materials, such as glass and lacquered steel, combined with meticulous design and meticulous assembly details, give this collection a rare elegance and harmony.