Family:
Maija
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The Maija series evokes the feeling of light often found in Baltic cities, where public lighting is scarce and it is the glow from private homes and shop windows that spills onto the street. From the inside out.
In such conditions, Tapiovaara envisoned a tower of stacked metal discs through which the light of a gleaming honeycomb—full of life—shines outward. Maya the Bee—Maija Mehiläinen in Finnish—was a beloved animated character during those years, a symbol of mischievous vitality and community work.
Trained alongside Le Corbusier and deeply influenced by Scandinavian social functionalism, Ilmari Tapiovaara viewed design as a tool for collective improvement.
In 1955, while the towering figure of Alvar Aalto still defined Helsinki’s cultural landscape, Ilmari Tapiovaara introduced himself as the first prominent Finnish designer who was not an architect. A specialist in chairs and furniture for public spaces and educational settings, he undertook the project of his only domestic lamp: Maija.
This family is part of our Design Classics collection—a series of objects created throughout the modern era.
Maija
Ilmari Tapiovaara, 1955
$3,090
Maija
Ilmari Tapiovaara, 1955
$1,985
Maija
Ilmari Tapiovaara, 1955
$1,985