Making a Splash with FILIX

By JACOB WRIGHT

FILIX Lighting is, at their core, an electrical engineering company that began in Croatia in the 1980s. As LED technology began to improve over time and eventually became the new standard, they took their engineering knowledge and experience to develop unique lighting solutions for the industry. What stands out amongst these solutions is their development of underwater lighting solutions and designs. I sat down with FILIX CEO, Marko Jurman, to gain more insight into their development and conceptualization of their underwater lighting designs.

Q: Why have you chosen to specialize in underwater lighting solutions?

A: With the engineering background that FILIX Lighting has, we’ve always been drawn to developing highly technical solutions. We found the opportunity to do so in the IP68 LED niche. The process of creating such instruments is challenging and when you are able to produce quality results the feeling is much more rewarding.

Q: Was your choice to specialize in underwater lighting influenced by a perceived lack of options and innovation?

A: Definitely, there hasn’t really been any major developments in this niche, and we saw a need to provide the design community with solutions that allow them to design lighting in and around underwater environments.

Q: How do you begin to design underwater lighting? What steps or process do you go through?

A: First, you need to design a lighting scheme that will enhance and add value to the space. In this case that space would be a pool or some sort of water feature. In order to do this, one needs to understand the interaction of light and water. Factors like how water absorbs the light photons, and how water scatters the light and changes the perception of color are all key elements that are needed to understand before choosing the right lighting instrument. With these factors in mind, one can begin to design and implement the solutions you’ve deemed necessary to bring the idea, or vision, to life.

Q: I understand that you are one of the creators of the “Make a Splash!” workshop, can you go into more detail about what this workshop entails and what it provides to those who attend?

A: “Make a Splash!” is an educational seminar that is aimed at system designers and integrators for lighting solutions in pools and other water features. We launched the “Make a Splash!” workshop after seeing many projects that have not realized the full dynamic effect water has on lighting. Showing the effect in real-time and the impact that positioning and depth have on the overall image has proven to be a great help to designers who are tasked with these kinds of projects. Those who attend will walk away with a greater understanding of how to effectively implement underwater lighting designs.

Q: What does the future hold for underwater lighting?

A: With the introduction of LED technology, more opportunities for underwater lighting have presented themselves, along with more instruments to work with in order to bring these opportunities to life. Improving optical performances and efficiency, but also the design of the instruments, has been one of our main focuses up to this point. We are developing new solutions that will offer more individualized and precise designs for special situations that are arising due to the increasingly complex market of pool construction.

Q: So, would you say the construction industry for water features plays an important part in driving innovation in the design department?

A: Yes, the integration of water features in landscape, spa, and wellness areas have presented the task of developing lighting solutions for these specific areas that will add value. That in turn guides the development of the next generation of our underwater lighting solutions.

We appreciate Mr. Jurman for taking the time to sit down with us and explain the creative process of one who designs lighting for a space not everyone thinks of — underwater. 