Squaring the circle is a classic geometry problem in which students have to construct a square with the area of a given circle using a ruler and compass. It took mathematicians a mere three millennia to show that this feat is completely impossible. In French, “squaring the circle” is used as an expression for problems which are known to be impossible to solve from the start. So, attempting to solve such a problem would be a waste of time. But not for architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte who, one fine day, while sat in his office in Paris, set the Sammode CEO, Emmanuel Gagnez, this new challenge: “Why don’t you produce a ’square’ tube?” While the question may have been a little puzzling, the CEO did not dismiss it and, three years of research later, Sammode and Jean-Michel Wilmotte had come up with an answer: a new luminaire with the perfect name - Quadratube.
Lighting is Jean-Michel Wilmotte’s passion: “Sensitivity to light is part of life itself,” he explains. “Light can be used to set off any space, or any object.” Over the last half a century, he has designed more than 150 luminaires for use in industry, crafting, homes and urban settings. “To me, it is remarkable that a firm such as Sammode, which has already manufactured an iconic lamp – its famous tubular luminaire – still continues to consider new ideas and invent new models,” he marvels.
“Thanks to Quadratube, we have been able to redesign the very concept of a tubular luminaire, faithful to our historical model while breaking new ground”. It was only after painstaking work in order to fit in all the components that the final shape was achieved. “The 100% square design we initially considered was too large, and was rapidly dropped for a more sleek and elegant rectangular look,” Jean-Michel Wilmotte recalls. “The aim was to change our approach, but not radically. We kept the basic lines of the original luminaire - an elongated shape – but instead of a capped tube, we opted for an open end and let the two jumpers securing the model hang loose on either side. Our approach is rather architectural.”

“All the original components are still there,” says Emmanuel Gagnez, delighted. “A transparent body, but it is rectangular rather than cylindrical. The two fixing straps traditionally used to secure the body, but replaced by two jumpers. The internal plate supporting the driver, the optical accessories and, lastly, the two internal end-caps which are located next to the jumpers instead of at the two ends in the tubular luminaire. With the launch of the Quadratube, Jean-Michel Wilmotte has successfully maintained Sammode’s identity, while marketing an all-new luminaire.”