A MAGAZINE ON CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

32MARCH / APRIL 2012

Oki SatO / nendOLighting Special

thOmaS rufftokujin YoshiokaKoen Vanmechelentakeshi hosakaGiuliO iacchettiRodrigo AlmeidaPeter Bialobrzeski

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into the lightLighting as we know it is on the move. High time, one might say. But on the other hand, in the general scheme of things the pace of progress is always slow and steady, with the odd blip or two. So one can be grateful (or simply aware, or even annoyed) that in terms of lighting technology there has been quite a surge of late. For instance, the LED, as it was when we first became acquainted with it, has now advanced nearly beyond recognition. In short, it has finally been refined enough to qualify as a respectable light source, and can thus be viewed as more than just a new-fangled invention. However, and this should not be so surprising, it has accrued both lovers and haters among those whose expertise is lighting, as evidenced by their many and varied points of view.

Ideas from the drawing board

Oki Sato, principal designer at Nendo Photo by Donata Clovis

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text LEONORA SARtORI

We’ve just faced a big technical revolution in the lighting industry with the shift from the light bulb to the LED. The need for energy efficiency and matters of interna-tional law have forced everyone, from design teachers to young creative and hopeful students to lighting en-gineers, to make-up their minds and start using more efficient light sources. That was just one year ago, but it already seems like the distant past. So much has hap-pened in these months, with the development of LED technology opening the door to new styles, forms, ideas and shapes. What has been a tremendous change for developers, the industry, and designers, was barely per-ceived by consumers, who only noticed a slight differ-ence, maybe only in the colour of emergency nightlights, office lamp temperatures, public lighting shapes or bed-side lamps that lack romance. Better now or before?

Lighting designers seem to have two different approach-es: LED enthusiastic and light bulb nostalgic. Sven Eh-mann, editor of the book Lux (published by Gestalten), featuring a large selection of contemporary, cutting edge lamps and light fixtures, introduces the two-theme hypothesis. “I am not sure whether it’s a generational, age-related issue, but there are certainly two groups of lighting designers. Some are all excited about progress and innovation and the complete freedom to design, while others are critical about the different character of the LED light or the disappearance of the classic light bulb, which has been an integral part of some of the most prominent lamp designs over generations. What I am sure about is that between those two extremes we

can expect to see some amazing new lamps and light projects over the coming years. Taking into considera-tion how much impact light has on our well-being, that alone is a good thing.” On one side, we find the future-oriented and tech experimentation fans, who are really enjoying their time. The main change for designers is due to the fact that LEDs are much smaller and give an exciting feeling of newfound freedom. On the other side, there’s a group that is focusing more on scenic and sensitive lights, light sources being a less pre-eminent, separate discussion. Of course, many are just staying somewhere in the middle, picking up something from each group, not sure about the direction to take.

Among the LED enthusiasts is German designer Tobias Grau. “As lighting designers, I’m really happy about the time in which we are living. Today, more than before, we have great opportunities, much fun, and lots of free-dom, thanks to the LED.” There are many designers researching new shapes and trying to take advantage of the LED’s small size. It seems that light is slowly dis-solving into architecture and becoming part of building engineering, with lamp design becoming weightless, minimal and invisible, and transforming into projec-tions. A good example of this view is found in Dan-iel Rybakken’s work. He uses projections that dissolve into the environment, showing us a glimpse of light integrating with space. Other designers are moving

sven Ehmann, editor of the book Lux (published by Gestalten) (bottom, left)Photo by Alex Kroke

Ville Kokkonen’s White collection for Artek(bottom, middle)

sreened Daylight, designed by Daniel Rybakken (bottom, right)

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Holograms, blinking wall projections, flowing swells of light moving from room to room, flat OLED tV screens, interactive lamps, or new vintage tech shapes and 1930s chandler revivals. What will light look like in the immediate future? And in the far-distant one? It’s been proven that no one can predict the future, but without running too far ahead, designers and businessmen working in the lighting field for many years might be the right persons to venture a forecast. Because the future is faraway, but its roots are in the now.

The meaning of light

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towards the creation of illuminated surfaces, solutions that mimic OLEDs, like Ville Kokkonen’s White collec-tion for Artek, or the fixtures by Tom Dixon. “Lamps are becoming smaller and simpler”, continues Sven Eh-mann, “they almost disappear, and are not iconic pieces anymore. On the opposite end of the spectrum, side lamps are reinvented and born as radically new and un-seen, in near-impossible forms.” “A vanishing light”, in the words of Marnik Smessaert, CEO at Dark. “Lighting will become a more and more integrated part of interior design and even architecture. Painting it with light.”

To balance the LED’s coldness and lack of empathy, many are going back to natural materials like glass, ceramic, wood or other designer basics, like paper: ex-amples are Jamaica, a large croissant-like hanging lamp by Marc Sadler, Ionna Vautrin’s Forêt illuminée, and Nendo’s blown-fabric. As a creator of poetic, weightless chandeliers and lamps, able to mix minimalism with sensitive design objects, Nendo imagines a minimal future for lighting. “If I had to guess how lighting will look in the upcoming years, I’d say that the shape of lamps will disappear. Like the way the iPod and iPhone affected music.” While some bet on invisibility, trans-parency and spacecraft shapes, others choose another mood. Luceplan is a brave company that has been ex-perimenting a lot with LEDs (think about Synapse by Francisco Gomez Paz, a futuristic LED light window), inventing lamps with revolutionary, unseen-before shapes, in the form of windows and walls, decorative but still part of the architecture. Despite much inno-vative research, Alessandro Sarfatti, Luceplan’s CEO, is certain that traditional lamp shapes will not disap-pear, needing to remain to “encourage and comfort our souls”, going on to say: “On the other side, the LED will find new shapes and functions, we just need to wait and see. It is going to be exciting.”

But we should remember that changes are always happening. “Everyone is working with LEDs. No one wants to get left behind. Despite most people’s enthu-siasm, I see LEDs as far from perfection. But there is an enormous sense of freedom because they can so easily be turned into the colour you like, choosing from the RGB range, as well as the desired temperature, but still, we see LEDs everywhere, also in small, stupid gadgets.

It seems we’ve reached the highest point but there’s al-ready something new coming out that suddenly makes the LED old. OLEDs, for example, are more interest-ing and revolutionary”, explains Italian designer Denis Santachiara. “I hope that lighting will become smarter and smarter, using less energy, while providing more pleasant, healthy, appropriate, even individualised lighting that spans the days, the seasons, and all sorts of different situations. In terms of lamps, I think the two main developments will continue - the disappearance of the lamp as an object (into ceilings, walls, etc.) and the transformation of lamps into iconic centrepieces”, continues Ehmann.

“People often imagine a white, sterile future. But the emotional side will never give up; design objects will be devoted to reflecting what we are. Human beings need to talk through things”, says Sandro Vecchiato, CEO at Foscarini. Are designers already affected by light bulb nostalgia? “There are a couple of projects and products indicating such, as seen in light bulbs with LEDs in-side, and the rather historical forms of the Alessi Lux light bulbs or Eric Therner’s Diamond Lights. But at the same time, others are taking the concept further, such as Samuel Wilkinson, with his award-winning Plu-men light bulbs, which are a great step forward, almost guiding this period of change in lighting design. They also made it into my own home.”

Forêt Illuminée by Ionna Vautrinfor super-ette (left)

Denis santachiara, lighting designer (below)

Plumen for hulger, designed by simon Wilkinson (middle)

Eric Therner’s Diamond Lights(bottom)

Alessi’s Lux light bulbs(bottom, right)

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FONTANA ARTECarlo Guglielmi, presidentThis year is special for us, as we celebrate our 80th year in lighting. The best way to do this is by going back to our roots, presenting re-editions of famous lamps like those by Gio Ponti and Pietro Chiesa from the 1930s. These lamps have a never-ending, timeless charm. We are al-ways keeping one eye on the past and one on the future. This year we’re presenting brand new projects developed with Italian designers like Pierluigi Cerri, Studio Metis, and Paladino. We haven’t any rules except a very clear one on style: every lighting project needs to be a perfect mix between décor and technique. That’s also the rule we fol-low when choosing from the large number of project pro-posals sent to us by young designers all over the world. Décor for us is a main characteristic: this doesn’t mean classic or old-fashioned, but elegant, in a way. I see so many disgusting projects popping up that it makes me certain about retaining our style. Of course we are also researching digital developments in lighting, like automa-tion (domotics), even though we feel that that’s not a main consumer request, but a market driven effort and a field still to evolve in the right way for lighting companies. Photo: Carlo Guglielmi

www.fontanaarte.it

NENDOOki Sato, principal designer at Nendo I usually take inspiration from my everyday life. The recent Farming-net collection, a series of sculptural ob-jects, is on exhibit at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery in Paris. Its name comes from the material itself, being made of heat-formed agricultural netting, a strong but flexible material, used in the countryside all over the world. I create a thin membrane that stands independ-ently but also floats gently in the breeze. The vase and bowl envelop the air like a Japanese furoshiki wrapping cloth. The lamp emits a very smooth and soft light, in the manner of traditional Japanese paper lanterns. The mul-ti-pleated tables recall Japanese shibori (tie-dye textiles) and handmade paper. The action of gently wrapping something, paying close attention to the surface texture, is not only a technique but also a way of expression very particular to Japanese culture since ancient times.Photos: Oki Sato, principal designer at Nendo © Donata Clovis / Farm-

ing-net lamps (right)

www.nendo.jp

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An array of designers, directors, and those with keen insights in the field of lighting, shared their gut feelings with DAMN° about the advances in bulb technology, the design and functionality of lighting products, and just what they reckon the future holds in regard to our illuminated environment, both personal and professional. Interestingly, the old-fashioned incandescent light bulb still stirs emotions with these experts, although the way each chooses embrace or reject it, differs enormously.

What they say

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TOBIAs GRAUTobias Grau, designer and founder I’m not going too far by being enthusiastic about the times in which we are living. Technically speaking, over the last several months the LED has reached a point of near perfection. Today, lighting designers have great op-portunities, more fun, and greater freedom than ever before, thanks to the LED. Light bulbs needed lots of attention - you had to find the right form related to the temperature, and had to keep the lampshades open for changing the bulb from time to time. On the other hand, LEDs give you total freedom to create unthink-able shapes. That’s the focus of my research now, find-ing smaller, playful forms and mixing materials. It’s nice to know that we can finally design closed-circle lamps! Good examples are Falling Leaf, a suspension lamp in shiny aluminium with an optical lens that gives off a warm white light and is not dazzling; and MY, a series that mixes bone china, oak, and aluminium. What is great for offices is XT-A LED OSA, with lots of shiny-white LEDs that you can modulate, and a very low consumption rate, unable to compare with fluorescent lamps. I design everything at the computer, trying differ-ent digital lighting effects: rendering can be so accurate that at the end of the production chain, there are no sur-prises. We are living through a great lighting revolution. We need to dare and use it. Photos: Tobias Grau / Falling Leaf (top, left) / XT-A floor led (right) /

MY table lamp (far right)

www.tobias-grau.com

INGA sEMPéInga Sempé, designerEnergy-saving bulbs are often too big and the light they emit is ugly. So LEDs are already more interesting. Magnus Wästberg also has a strong sensitivity to beautiful illumi-nation, and shares the same hatred for those bulbs. To-gether we are producing a second family of lamps to fol-low on from the table lamps I designed previously, adding a new pendant model to this range. I didn’t think it would be interesting to just turn a table lamp into a pendant, so imagined a system of pendants with a varying number of lampshades. They can be attached on a long rail for linear combinations or on smaller rails, joined together like Mec-cano pieces to create polygons. The shades exist in seven very different tones - bright, soft, clear, dark - and can be arranged in any colour combination. The main goal in lighting design is, of course, emotion and technique applied to function and combined for industrialisation. I always conceive objects that are reproducible. Thinking about the remote future, I think lighting without power cables will be a real change in our homes and lives. Photos: Inga Sempé © Anders Hviid / Sempé W103s2 (top, left) /

Sempé W103s1 (bottom left) / Sempé W103s6 (bottom, right)

www.ingasempe.fr

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DELTA LIGhTJan Ameloot, Management Board memberThe breakthrough currently being experienced in LED technology is probably the biggest development in lighting for decades. This certainly has had an impact on the collection, product design and manufacturing process at Delta Light. We work very closely with our suppliers to stay on top of what’s happening and know how technology is evolving. Having an extensive team of in-house designers and product developers allows us to experiment with these new technologies and de-velop our own LED creations. Despite its environmen-tal and energy efficiency flaws, everyone who’s passion-ate about lighting has always loved the light bulb. So whether in regard to product design, light art instal-lations, or anything else, the light bulb will keep on affecting the industry in the near future. Here we have an idea-to-market philosophy, enabled by our in-house capacity to design, test and develop different types of projects, ranging from residential to retail, hospitality, public buildings, offices, etc. This results in numer-ous new collections every year. A recent example is the Metronome by Belgian fashion designer Tim Van Steen-bergen. Tim created the Metronome XXL, an immense eye-catcher with the ability to upgrade any large space. At a height of about 2 metres, the Metronome XXL can be seen as the pièce de resistance of this collection.Photo: Jan Ameloot / Grid in Trimless Reo (top and far left) /

Metronome XXL designed by Tim Van Steenbergen (left)

www.deltalight.com

OCChIOAxel Meise, designer and CEOFor the Occhio Più series two years ago, we started working with the best LEDs available, as one of four light sources the customer or planner can choose from. Right from the beginning, the concept for our brand new Oc-chio io 3d range was based on the LED. This way, we were able to create a new, completely unique approach: we call it the ‘joy of light’. It’s a new manner of work-ing and playing with light, intuitively accessible. You can move the lamp many different ways with special touch-less controls and can choose the lighting colour, select the power you need (13W or 18W), and choose from a large range of lighting effects. We just wanted to cre-ate something completely new, completely surprising, completely user oriented: like the iPhone, when it was released. A good lamp should make the user happy; in a way, the user should ask himself how he could have lived without it before. I strongly believe that quality of light means quality of life. It’s very unpredictable as to what lighting will look like in the future because new technologies will provide new options. But one thing will stay the same: the user’s need for quality of life.Photos: Axel Meise / io 3d (right, both images)

www.occhio.de

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ARTEKVille Kokkonen, designer and design director Compared to fluorescent tubes, LEDs are much weak-er. That’s the reason we used fluorescent lamps for the Artek White collection: they are more efficient and can achieve 2500 lux, the qualifying level for therapy light-ing purposes. On showing it for the first time in Milan last year, public reaction was great. The White collec-tion was displayed in New York, Tokyo, Cologne, and London. We designed these lamps to illuminate large spaces. According to me, therapy lights were not good enough at that time, but could be very helpful in matters of depression, working via the retina and visual nerves and affecting hormone secretion levels. Light has a lot to do with our health, bodily functions and behaviour, as do clean water and air. In future I guess people will have more control over lighting and we’ll figure out a way to derive benefits from moonlight. Photos: Ville Kokkonen designer and and design director of Artek / Fall-

ing Leaf (top, left) / XT-A floor led (right) / MY table lamp (far right)

www.artek.fi

LUCEPLANAlessandro Sarfatti, CEOWe started experimenting with LED lighting almost 14 years ago, when the technology was really unsophisti-cated. At that time people were frightened by this kind of light source. Now the technology is much more refined, almost perfect. We really wanted to have something dif-ferent and to get rid of decades of lamp drawings. Syn-apse, designed by Francisco Gomez Paz, serves as a light-wall or window, a flat panel producing light. At the fairs his year we are showing something really cutting edge, and next, a completely revolutionary project for use in domestic spaces that we’ve been working on for two years or so. The core idea is to take advantage of the small size of LED electric circuits. We have two main concepts driving our research: innovation and functionality, which means not only doing surprising things with technology, but solving real problems that might actually be helpful. Many people are still sceptical about LEDs because of the light temperature. We developed Otto Watt, a clever lamp whereby customers can change the light temperature simply by moving the lamp with their fingers, achieving a temperature range of 2.450 to 3.500 Kelvin. Even if we are fond of new lighting technology, we still look for projects that can seduce, in which future and tradition are mixed together. Good examples of this approach are seen in the series we made with Daniel Rybakken, which is minimal and warm. I’m quite sure that traditional lamp-shades will not disappear, as they encourage our souls. On the other hand, LED lighting will find new shapes and functions - we just need to wait and see. Photos: Alessandro Sarfatti © Egon Gade / Otto Watt, design by Al-

berto Meda and Paolo Rizzatto (right, both images) / Synapse

desiged by Francisco Gomez Paz (top, right)

www.luceplan.com

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MARC sADLERMarc Sadler, designerWith every advance, the human being cannot avoid complaining about what he has just missed. I’m re-ally into the advances being driven by LED technology. There’s some kind of resistance from the market but I’m quite sure that the contribution these small but powerful light sources are making will change everyone’s mind. Today the LED is no more a cold, sterile light source. I like to play with it, that’s actually my way of working. I’m really fond of materials and DIY, even if the design industry has strict rules that only artisans can avoid. But still, I try to mix research and mass production, as with Jamaica, the latest project for Foscarini. This came about while trying to make a neon light sexy, combining it with a special kind of Japanese paper. Jamaica is a warm, playful, weightless volume suspended in mid-air. The light moves in two directions, downward is warm, and upwards is soft and smooth. From my viewpoint, I feel a lamp is a success when it touches people’s heart. We spend so much of our day surrounded by artificial light that it affects our mood. What’s very important for me is having the possibility to modulate the light at home. We change constantly, so the lighting should change as well. Photos: Marc Sadler © Stefano Bellamoli / Jamaica for Foscarini

www.marcsadler.it

DARKMarnick Smessaert, CEOOver the years I have acquired a love-hate feeling for the LED. It is a fantastic development that signifies a vast improvement, whereas earlier, it was just a mar-keting scam; reliability was not good, manufacturers didn’t respect cooling protocols thus incurring a 70% loss of output efficiency, and the colour-temperature ratio was also bad. Now, and only now, can we talk about lighting in terms of lumen output. The LED has become reliable, with a guaranteed lifespan of 50,000 hours. Its design has also become acceptable. Dark is investing a lot of time, energy and money in develop-ing a completely new LED collection. 2012 is going to be a fantastic year for us. We have the good fortune to work with a superb network of architects, interior designers, and designers tout court to give birth to our ideas. We are creating a twist, not a style. It’s a matter of exercising intuition, in order for all these different products, materials and shapes to come together in one collection. We’re always looking for new materials and we push each one of these to the limit. In fact, we only make products we like. And it’s nice to know that so many other people like them too - in 10 years we have received 52 design awards.Photos: Marnick Smessaert © Luc de Coninck / Hoek, design by Jos

Devriendt (top, left) / Zuper, designed by Frank Janssens (far left) /

Apollo, designed by Romy Kühne (top, right)

www.dark.be

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ARTEMIDEErnesto Gismondi, presidentWhat moves design forward is just technology. That’s the only good reason behind a new lamp. Lighting has the rare opportunity to face an enormous change; few other fields have had such a leap recently. That’s good on one side, but a great responsibility on the other: either you keep on researching with the best lab and developers, or you are out. Many light companies that couldn’t update and renew were pushed out of the market. The bad side of LEDs is that they never stop getting better and compa-nies need to follow. Today I find that consumers are re-ally aware of technological changes, and have a good eye and good taste. They really know what they want. Every year we try to find out which are their new and their latent needs. I really cannot say what our taste is, but we have an excellent research lab that helps us understand the world and people. Because that’s what it’s all about: humans and their needs. We need to know exactly what to look for. If your research is good enough, you sudden-ly realise that you are alone, unique, different from the others. That’s what we ask of this year’s designers, like Ross Lovegrove, Neil Poulton, Till Schneider, Michael Schumacher, Kristi Taiviola, to understand people. Photos: Ernesto Gismondi / Calamite (temporary name) designed by

Neil Poulton (top, right) / Canopy (temporary name) designed by MNWL

Studio - Scott Wilson (right) / table lamp (no name yet) designed by Till

Schneider and Michael Schumacher (left)

www.artemide.com

NUMéRO 111Numéro 111, design collective Olive and Peye, two light fixtures (a table lamp and a floor lamp) we designed for Ligne Roset this year, work on the basis of an oversized lampshade and LED strips. The Peye floor lamp is a reflection on the illuminated object as generator of atmosphere and space. The LEDs give off, almost mysteriously, an all-enveloping light that highlights the curves of the shade. With the lamp’s surprising dimensions, it occupies a truly singular posi-tion in the domestic landscape. Its shade, which rests on a solid wood stem, is of a composite material, with a white interior and anthracite exterior. LEDs are ar-ranged all around the opening, on the backside of the shade. The Olive table lamp has been devised as an il-luminated chest, the design of which liberates itself from formal constraints relating to the use of the bulb. The indirect light source reveals a generously sized shade and a single lamp, from which a soft, diffused atmosphere is obtained. LED technology gives us more freedom of form when designing light projects. Despite that, the light bulb remains quite poetic. There is still a lot to im-prove upon with the technology - the light produced by the newer products is really unpleasant. We are missing old light bulbs a lot! With Peye and Olive, we wanted to show that poetic lamps could also be designed using new technology such as LEDs. Even if we are not just lighting designers, we really enjoy creating lamps and thinking of new ways to light domestic space. Lighting very much affects the feeling you get from a place. Also, a lamp remains a piece of furniture you choose because you find it beautiful, like a sculpture, in a way.Photos: Numéro111; Sophie Françon, Jennifer Julien et Grégory

Peyrache ©Johan Meallier / Olive (top) and Pey (right) for Ligne Roset

www.numero111.com

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ANTONI AROLAAntoni Arola, designerWe are working on new LED projects for companies such as Viabizzuno and Santa & Cole. The last collec-tion we did for Santa & Cole was called BlancoWhite. The basics were an acrylic perforated panel with LEDs on one side. This comprises of an 8mm plate projecting uniform light all round: it looks like a small tech won-der. And now we are developing a whole lighting family starting with this same material. LEDs have given de-signers a new paradigm, new rules and completely new possibilities. For me, light is a material like others, but much more delicate, thinner, soft, and without a doubt more beautiful. What I try to do is play with it, show-ing or shading it, whether I’m working on a new lamp or a space. Same in my own house, I have many little light sources that create more that just light, but a real atmosphere, especially at night. I find inspiration mostly in common, insignificant things, and that’s where I start designing. If I had to guess the future of lighting, I would hope every one of us will be self-sufficient and not de-pendent on the big electrical companies. Photos: Antoni Arola / BlancoWhite for Santa & Cole (both images)

www.estudiarola.com

FOsCARINICarlo Vecchiato, founder and CEOWe are very interested in people and have much consid-eration for their feelings. Those who buy our lamps do so because they fall in love with something that speaks the same language as them. Today, houses are becoming open spaces, a stage for warm relationships, meeting friends and revealing what we are through the things we choose. Every lamp should possess the right light source. We use LEDs only when needed; firstly, to be attractive, and sec-ondly, to be functional. Beauty and aesthetics provide the main route to emotion. Usually we start a new project from the idea, not from the design. We look for a twist that might be missing in our collection and ask the designer to work in that direction. We don’t want to have the same idea twice; every new piece should add something novel. We decide with our heart and instinct first, and then with our head. Our lamps are intended to create emotion both in the off and on position. Function follows form, like in Solar, by Jean-Marie Massaud. We wanted a great outdoor lamp; in this case, the light doesn’t need to be dazzling, it is more of a sidelight, warm and weightless, utilising a fluorescent lamp that ensures low consumption, great re-liability, and keeps working in a wide range of tempera-tures. Another new lamp is Plass by Italian designer Luca Nicchetto. The light it gives off has great scenic volume, mostly for use in large architectural spaces. There are two different halogen units inside, one with strong transpar-ency and thrilling light refraction, the other directed downward to light the surrounding space. Its name, Plass, refers to glass + plastic, with great colour effects in the tradition of Murano hand blown glass, in combination with a contemporary industrial material. This is a light with a definite wow effect. Photos: Alessandro Vecchiato / Solar, designed by Jean-Marie

Massaud (top) / Drumbox, Diesel Successful Living (far left) / Plass,

design by Luca Nichetto assisted by Francesco Dompieri (left)

www.foscarini.com

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ALBERTO MEDAAlberto Meda, designerTechnology and scientific research serve as the engine for a designer. Science can give new inputs and stimulate the improvement of everyday objects. It’s a curious way to en-able people to take part in great scientific developments that move the world a step further. The switch from halo-gen to LED is a good example. As part of this planet, it’s our duty to use more efficient technologies. On the other hand, I think we should be less fundamentalist and make an exception for some of the lamps of the recent past that use light bulbs, as with old car models. Losing them forev-er would be a pity. Right now we are able to create novel, useful tools, as I did with Otto Watt for Luceplan. Thanks to the LED you can change the light temperature from white and cold to yellow and warm. It’s nice to have lamps that follow our everyday activities. For instance, you can use the Otto Watt for a technical job when a precise white light is needed, but also to read at night. LEDs are still missing a 3D lighting effect, which will probably be pro-vided by the OLED, 2D lighting sheets. At that point, light will be incorporated into the architecture and become something completely different from what it is now. Photos: Alberto Meda / Otto Watt Desk lamp for Luceplan

www.albertomeda.com

MARsETJavier Marset, directorQuality, both of form and material, is what I still feel is missing in lighting. Without a doubt, that is due to the fact that the market itself is all at-sea, adulterated by an excess of supply options. With our new lamp, Pleat Box, we wanted to restart using traditional craftsmanship. It’s a delight to experience the manufacturing process and the very moving sensations it creates. (Just watch the ‘making of’ video on our website). It is a sophisticated, digitally designed crease in a piece of cloth, the silhou-ette of which is applied to a ceramic base. The outer part of the lamp is offered in white ceramic, underglazed red clay and grey coloured enamels. The brilliant white internal enamel creates a glitter effect, which enhances the nature of the light. It can also be supplied with an internal surface of 18 carat gold, which generates an ex-tremely warm light. Pleat Box has come about through our first-ever collaboration with Xavier Mañosa, a master ceramist from Barcelona, and Mashallah design studio in Berlin. Another new lamp is called Tam Tam, a re-ally energetic and colourful hanging lamp. It’s like a juicy bunch of grapes: a number of light sources that point in different directions, geometrically arranged to invoke a feeling of organised chaos. Designed by Fabien Dumas, Tam Tam can be personalised by combining colours and orienting the beams of light, making every lamp func-tion in accordance with the desire of its owner.Photos: Javier Marset © Walter Betens / Pleat Box designed by Xavier

Mañosa & Mashallah (top) / Tam Tam designed by Fabien Dumas (right)

www.marset.com

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ZUMTOBELStefan von Terzi, Marketing DirectorThis year we will be unveiling the first generation of prod-ucts that respond automatically and intelligently to the user’s needs and adjust intuitively to changes in personal environments. Zumtobel has been collaborating with nu-merous renowned designers for many years in order to receive fresh impetus for innovation. For example, our collaboration with architect Daniel Libeskind produced the new masterpiece, eL, which recently went on show for the first time at Art Basel Miami. We have also been work-ing with Danish architect Bjarke Ingels on a light installa-tion for Times Square in New York, which attracted a great deal of attention on Valentine’s Day 2012. We love light installations! At the Light+Building fair, we are pre-senting solutions and ideas in specific scenarios that dem-onstrate customer benefits: an office area that promotes a sense of well-being and boosts employee productivity by intelligently combining daylight and artificial light, prod-ucts that deliver the best possible energy efficiency and lighting quality for use by the manufacturing sector, adaptive lighting with dynamic colour temperature ad-justments that could extend the amount of time shoppers spend in a store, and our latest generation of intelligent emergency lights. Photos: Stefan von Terzi / The eL at Art Basel Miami Beach (left) (above)

/ Iyon LED (far left) / Zumtobel stand at Light & Building (bottom left)

www.zumtobel.com

sERIENManfred Wolf, designer and co-founderFor Serien, freedom is a statement. We don’t want to de-cide for people; rather, let them choose the light source they feel closer to. Lamps are complex design objects because every one has its own temperature and colour gradient. Slight differences might change a lot in a place. People are different from each other, that’s why we create lights that are customisable. Most of our successful prod-ucts, like the SML ceiling and wall series, are available in halogen, fluorescent and LED versions. This minimal, modular light fixture has strong features that adapt to different scenarios. Starting with a halogen lamp, then making the ‘box’ suitable for fluorescent and LED lamps, was a huge challenge. And even though the LED version meets all the legal requirements, like EMV conformity, high thermal endurance, high light yield, you still can-not tell it’s an LED light, a very important aspect for the acceptance of the lamp. Along with our bestsellers, we’re presenting a new floor and suspension lamp with a wavy, fabric-covered lampshade that is less technological and more handcrafted, designed for us by the young duo Katharina Merl and Christina Lobermeyer, recent gradu-ates of the Bauhaus University in Weimar. Photos: Serien co-founders Manfred Wolf and Jean-Marc da Costa /

detail of Goya (top, right) / Elane (middle, right) / Twin (above) SML Wall

LED (above, right)

www.serien.com

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FLOsPiero Gandini, president Lighting has just entered the electronic world, becoming more and more digitalised and within one’s control, able to follow human needs and feelings. From what I see, lamps will slowly disappear and light itself will become interactive and immaterial. What is special about iPad and iPhone is not just the minimal shape but also the in-tuitive, super friendly interface. Lighting design, as well, is going to disappear, with applications and software de-sign taking its place. We are redesigning technical light-ing, specific lights for architects, lighting designers and interior decorators. This year, our soft, architectural branch has increased a lot - more than 16%, which is a great success because for the first time technical lighting also possesses a poetic side. Our Wall Piercing light, for instance, is minimal and functional, but still witty, and is now part of MoMA collection. We want these small, 4-to-6-centimetre objects to have their own internal poetry. Our G-Os are tiny, round LED lights intended to fit in the ceiling, both for indoor and outdoor use. We designed them not just to function as useful Pat lights; in changing small aspects, like light direction (which is not direct but reflected), the small light becomes similar to a floating bowl. That’s the emotional touch we like to add to our products. Portrait of Piero Gandini, photo by Bob Krieger / G-O (top) / LED Light

Pipes (top, right) / Wall Piercing, designed by Ron Gilad, 2010, part of

MoMA collection (far right)

www.flos.com

PALLUCCOFederica Bellato, vice-president What I expect in the near future is the better use of sun-light. I imagine ways to reflect it into areas of shadow. That’s still the best, most natural and least expensive light we have. Concerning artificial lighting, I think we are moving towards lighter and more transparent structures. The word that describes our feelings about the smooth light of incandescent bulbs is nostalgia. An LED light, small and technical, is quite perfect for table lamps but not so good for chandeliers, and doesn’t go very well with our mood. The LED is a better fit with certain shapes and designs, while our decorative and scenographic models need a wider light. That’s why we intend to convert our best sellers; at the Light+Building fair this year, we are expecting new solutions that mimic old light bulbs - we’d love to find an LED with the same screw mechanism as the old bulbs. This year we are pre-senting a new lamp, an LED re-edition of the 1964 Joe Colombo light - called Bubble; it is ironic, still intimate, non-conformist and elegant, just as we are. It suits the vintage spirit that’s inside us. Photos: Federica Bellato / Bolle, re-edition, designed by Joe Colombo

(right, both images)

www.pallucco.com

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EVERY WhICh WAY BUT LOOsECute lamps, tech-y lamps, cheeky lamps, crafty lamps, futuristic lamps, retro lamps - nary a version is missing from the current array. Which means there is something out there to appeal to most human types looking for an attractive decorative item. But it does cause one to wonder, what came first, the light or the shape it has taken?

Photo:Vintage lighting store, Stockholm© Walter Bettens---------------------------------------

1. LA sIMPLExDesign: Guillaume blogetIllumination is provided by a strip of LEDs, which lights the desk whilst enhancing the shape of the light.www.ligne-roset.be---------------------------------------

2. MAGNETO TAVOLO TABLE LAMP BY FOsCARINIDesign: Giulio IacchettiDesigned to blend-in seamlesslywith any setting and situation,the fixture is available in two sizes, as a table lamp or a floor lamp, and in two colours, grey and red, to distinguish different spaces and moments; from office to lounge, living room to bedroom. Feauturing a strong yet subtile, attractive and seductive personality; in a word: magnetic.www.foscarini.com---------------------------------------

3.TRéPIEDDesign: Normal studioJean-François Dingjian and EloiChafaï love to redefine everydayshapes with simple, precise design that heightens user quality: in the case of this floor lamp, its affirmed conceptual simplicity and functionality are no hindrance to its sculptural presence.www.ligne-roset.be---------------------------------------

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1. AMANITADesign: Campana BrothersA lamp made of rattan, laced in aform that calls to mind the elegant umbrella shape of the mushroom that bears the same name. www.alessi.com---------------------------------------

2. PhYLUMDesign: Shiro StudioThe formal language of this lamp echoes the soft lines of a flower or leaf, while the wavy form of the surface creates an unusual lighting effect all around. www.alessi.com---------------------------------------

3.LA sTANZA DELLO sCIROCCO AL TRAMONTODesign: Mario TrimarchiAs you will surely remember, in “LaStanza dello Scirocco” people gathered to play cards. If someone opened a window, the cards flew everywhere. As the cards floated round and settled on the floor, they formed shadows, lights and evocative images of fantastic objects and bizarre architecture.www.alessi.com---------------------------------------

4. FORêT ILLUMINéEDesign: Ionna VautrinA woven paper lampshade inTyvek that produces a soft, warmlight, which simply rests on twobeech trunks.www.super-ette.com---------------------------------------

5. I LOVE ANIMALsA lamp in the shape of an oversized sparrow, consisting of a frame in wire mesh covered in stretch fabric.www.alessi.com---------------------------------------

6.sURPRIsE sURPRIsEDesign: Stephen JohnsonThe quintessential gift, with at once a surrealistic and familiar appearance, designed to make you smile, feel a little joy, or maybe evoke a few memories of perfect valentine's days.www.artecnicainc.comwww.superdave.se---------------------------------------

7. VADER LAMPDesign: Luca NichettoDavid, as presented at the 2012 Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair. Photo: Walter Bettenswww.daviddesign.se---------------------------------------

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1. BLOK & BALKDesign: Peter van de WaterChandelier in oak.www.perlei.nl--------------------------------------

2.EARL Design: Llot LlovA flexible light with a simple but dynamic system. 20 wooden pearls, threaded onto a cable, act as levels, for adjusting the illuminating object at will.www.llotllov.de--------------------------------------

3. CURIOUsDesign: Caroline OlsssonThe lamp can be opened up tomake it brighter or folded down,in which case light will be emittedthrough an opening in the wood.The inspiration for this productcomes from old wooden pencilcases.www.carolineolsson.no--------------------------------------

4.ECLIPsE MIRROR Design: Nicolai GulliksenThe lighting source is on the backside of the mirror, to create a light atmosphere around the object as well as behind it. The hole in the mirror makes it flexible, ready to be hung everywhere.www.nicolaigulliksen.com--------------------------------------

5. OCODavid Martí Vilardosa from CausasExternas, posing with his OCOgarden lamp by Santa & Cole SFF,Stockholm. Photo: Walter Bettenswww.santacole.com--------------------------------------

6. TWIsT LAMPDesign: Alain BerteauMade of beautifully crafted oakparts coming from harvestedforests, combined with lasting LED components and stainless steelconnectors, the system allowsnumerous configurations: bedsidetable lamp, floor lamp or fullyadjustable desk lamp.www.objekten.com--------------------------------------

7. PROFILER Design: Halfmann MennickheimLamps based on metal braces,known as Bosch profiles, used in apparatus engineering, comprising of high functionality and typical components, such as a hinge and tensioner. For office and home.www.halfmann-mennickheim.de--------------------------------------

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1. BOUGIEs RUssEs Design: Stephan LanezFamily of candle holders inspired byRussian Matrioshkas, composed of6 glass bells, tinted on the lowerpart, and wooden base plates.www.marcelby.fr---------------------------------------

28D TABLE LAMP Design: Omer ArbelThis low-voltage fixture results from a complex glass blowingtechnique, which creates aspherical shape with inner'satellites', one of which is anopaque bubble that houses a 20-Watt xenon lamp.www.bocci.ca---------------------------------------

3/4. LIGhT TRAYDesign: Andreas Engesvik & Daniel RybakkenThomas Asplund backed up by the new Light Tray designed by Andreas Engesvik & Daniel Rybakken for Asplund; SFF, Stockholm.Photo: Walter Bettens---------------------------------------

5/6. FRANCIsDesign: Studio DMOCHComical yet eye-catching, the lamps are designed with “poetic and humorous values” in mind. Their forms take inspiration from the circus and various elements found in nature.www.dmoch.se---------------------------------------

8. sOFFIO Soffio embodies lightness andgrace at first sight, characterisctsonly meant for a soap bubble. In anapotheosis of technology and accuracy of execution, a lamp made of metal and borosilicate glass has been created, coincident with the definition of elegant simplicity.www.marchettiilluminazione.com---------------------------------------

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1. QLIV LEDA discrete, functional lighting fixture with a subtle outer ridge. A must-have in the outdoor lighting collection. Qliv is perfectly suited for penthouses, residential and professional spas and pool houses.www.supermodular.com--------------------------------------

2.UNITED Design: Couvreur-DevosA naked ‘seamless’ fluorescent lamp in a powder-coated aluminum housing.www.supermodular.com--------------------------------------

3. FLAT MOONLike an enchanting and atmospheric full moon, Flat Moon shines its uniform light into the room. Characterized by great lighting performance and elegance, this easy-to-fit ceiling fixture with its integrated ballast has a lot of appeal.www.supermodular.com--------------------------------------

4. sOUFFLé Soufflé’s fluorescent lamps produce a diffuse light with a particularly pleasing effect. This look can be enhanced even further by using the color filter.www.supermodular.com--------------------------------------

5. MAERZDesign: Sebastian SchönheitThe aluminum cooling system meets the precise requirements of the LED technology. The clasp, which connects to the head of the lamp is both a clamp and an axle. and makes it extremely easily to move. www.sebastianschoenheit.de--------------------------------------

6. Outdoor lighting Lisbon style--------------------------------------

7. IO Design: OcchioPerfectly designed, innovative,charismatic: the new io 3D seriesfrom Occhio is captivating. With its wide range of individual styling options, three-dimensionalmovability, the very latest LED technology, and unique details, it brings an ease to the experience of light.www.communication-plus.it--------------------------------------

7. D'E-LIGhTDesign: Philippe Starckfor FlosLED energy-efficient task lamp with charging dock for iPhone, iPad, or iPod. www.flos.com

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1/2/3/4. MEshMATICsDesign: Rick TegelaarThe designer has developed amachine and a set of tools thatenable him to control the way in which chicken wire is formed. By stretching the material over a mould, it shrinks itself to the form and takes a shape. The lamps are covered with a layer of bamboo paper.www.ricktegelaar.nl---------------------------------------

5.MORGIOUDesign: Loïc Lobet & Anaïs Triolairewww.roche-bobois.com---------------------------------------

6. PELED Design: Antoni Arolawww.estudiarola.com---------------------------------------

7. MODELDesign: Studio Grupa www.grupaproducts.com---------------------------------------

8. ELANEDesign: Jakob Timpewww.serien.com---------------------------------------

9. EQUIs Sofa lampwww.haymanneditions.com---------------------------------------

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1. LINDVALLDesign: Jonas LindvallA very simple light fixture, designed to direct the light downwards while helping to create an ambience.www.wastberg.com--------------------------------------

2. CLAEssON KOIVIsTO RUNEDesign: Claesson Koivisto RunePendant lamp in wool, inspired bya Audrey Hepburn hat. Hangingthis lamp over your table or deskalso improves the acoustics.www.wastberg.com--------------------------------------

3. hYPhAE LAMPDesign: nervous systemEach lamp is a one-of-a-kinddesign, 3D-printed in nylon plastic.The lamps cast dramatic branch-like shadows on the walland ceiling.www.n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com--------------------------------------

4. LAVERDIèRE Design: Antoine Laverdièrewww.wastberg.com--------------------------------------

5. MYsTERIODesign: Diesel diesel.foscarini.com--------------------------------------

6. PAREODesign: Roberto Giacomucci www.marchettiilluminazione.com--------------------------------------

7. CARTOONwww.ultraluce.it--------------------------------------

8. MERCURYDesign: Ross Lovegrovewww.artemide.com--------------------------------------

9. PARETEDesign: Ross Lovegrovewww.artemide.com--------------------------------------

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