Ben Swildens (1938–2023) was a Dutch designer and architect whose multifaceted career left a strong imprint on twentieth-century design. Trained at the École Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, he began his career alongside master glassmaker Max Ingrand, contributing to major international projects such as the EDF headquarters, Lima airport, the Parliament of Beirut, and the Geneva Museum. This collaboration sharpened his sense of industrial rigor while fueling his passion for light and materials. From early on, Swildens turned toward industrial design, a field in which he established a formal language that was both minimalist and inventive. For Verre Lumière, he created iconic lighting pieces such as the Œuf (Uovo) lamp in opaline glass—now reissued by Fontana Arte—and the Jumelles lamp, recently relaunched by Source Édition. For Peugeot, he designed the spectacular cantilever desk, a rare piece that has become highly sought after on the art market. Driven by a desire to bring contemporary design to a broader public, he co-founded the company Point with Bernard Cohen, which published and distributed his furniture and lighting, and later contributed to the birth of the Bonpoint brand, designing its first boutiques in France and the United States. He also conceived the Verre Lumière showroom, a true scenographic manifesto, and developed entire lines of furniture and objects, seamlessly blending artisanal know-how with industrial modernity. In 1985, Swildens founded Ben Swildens Design Architecture, a studio dedicated to residential projects and custom furniture, before devoting himself primarily to sculpture and painting from the 2010s onward. His industrial creations—often reissued and widely collected—embody an aesthetic that balances technical innovation, poetic form, and impeccable craftsmanship, securing his place as a major figure on the international design stage.