In 1963, Franco Albini and Franca Helg started experimenting with plastics in lighting for Arteluce. Summoned by Gino Sarfatti to research the possibilities that new technologies and materials were providing, the two designers came up with a suspension lamp that summed up the two souls of the Arteluce brand: the love for glass, which they used for the opal diffuser, and the daring use of meth-acrylate, a (then new) lighter and more resistant material, perfect to interpret modernity by combining craftsmanship and industry.

With the re-edition of the iconic Model 2050 by Franco Albini and Franca Helg, Astep continues its work of rediscovery of great Italian masters of light while also pursuing the same pioneering spirit in materials research that animated Albini, Helg, and Sarfatti. It does so by bringing environmental sensitivity into the equation through using Green Cast, a material that is 100% recycled and recyclable, patented and made in Italy, featuring identical properties of classic methacrylate. With its brushed finish, the Green Cast used for the new 2050 diffusor restores a timeless elegance. Available with either a solid rod suspension or steel wire suspension.

Franco Albini (1905-1977) was a great Italian architect, a leading figure of Rationalism, one of the undisputed fathers of industrial design. His projects, the result of the partnership with Franca Helg (1920-1989), range from large to small scale, from the arrangement of the stations of the Milan Metro line 1 together with graphic designer Bob Noorda, to the realization of urban, building and museum interventions throughout Italy.

In design, Albini and Helg have linked their name to timeless furnishings and accessories, innovative in their design approach and in the choice of materials. Their production represents an internationally recognized cornerstone of the innovation of design culture at the beginning of the twentieth century.