Return of the Big Beasts

Iconic lighting brands returning to Light + Building for 2024 include

ERCO’s Quinta family brings darklight lens technology from the Eclipse and Uniscan spotlight ranges and puts it in the ceiling.

ERCO, iGuzzini and Zumtobel. Ray Molony reports.

The global lighting industry’s blockbuster exhibition has had a rocky few years, thanks to the pandemic. Its last outing in October 2022 was a much-delayed affair which the organisers rebranded the ‘Autumn Edition’. Crucially, it lacked the wow products from the big innovative brands.

The good news is that for this year’s show (3-8 March 2024, Frankfurt Messe), they have managed to woo back a raft of big beasts including ERCO, iGuzzini and Zumtobel.

Expect the big trends this year to be miniaturisation, connectivity and sustainability.

Artemide is always a must-visit stand. The Italian design gods will show Eggboard Circle, a pendant the combines acoustic control and comfortable lighting.

The good news is that for this year’s Light + Building, the organisers have managed to woo back a raft of big brands including ERCO, iGuzzini and Zumtobel.

Its cylindrical body is formed by a panel with a distinctive sinusoidal section. This construction helps to reduce sound reverberation in a room as well as the cylindrical cavity trapping sound waves. The material is specially chosen for its sound-absorbing characteristics, particularly its optimal effect on speech frequencies.

The company will also be showcasing the Dreispitz, a single product with double emission thus adapting to the three dimensions of space with different standalone and systemic versions.

Dreispitz has a simplicity to its geometry and the freedom it allows to create graphic compositions that combine horizontal and vertical elements.

The Dreispitz from Artemide is a single product with double emission which adapts to the three dimensions of space with different standalone and systemic versions.

Dreispitz is sustainable, says the brand, thanks to its intelligent industrial optimisation and the use of partially recycled, recyclable and easily dismantled materials. Its use leads to a good energy balance due to high efficiency and dynamic management of emissions.

What’s being acclaimed as the first professional lighting product made from linen will be unveiled at Frankfurt by iGuzzini.

The Italian brand says that the new linen version of its Light Shed is lighter and more sustainable than the others in the range.

Artemide will show Eggboard Circle, a pendant that combines acoustic control and comfortable lighting.

The company says it is the result of innovative research into materials and processes that can cut environmental impact.

iGuzzini points out that flax, the plant from which linen is made, absorbs carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime. To grow, flax needs only rainwater, and no artificial irrigation. Flax is also very sturdy and therefore needs no pesticides or fertilisers, so it preserves soil and groundwater too. It is also extremely light.

A light sensor built into the Light Shed Linen luminaire activates artificial light only when natural light needs replacing. Alternatively, integrated wireless or wired sensors like Organic Response, Bluetooth and DALI-2 can also easily be managed by voice command, smartphones or smart buttons, helping to lower energy consumption with overall savings of up to 90 percent.

The light has an efficacy of 136 lm/W and a variable colour temperature, from 2700K to 6500K, that follows the dynamism of nature.

iGuzzini says that the light distribution from Light Shed Linen increases the perception of space by balancing luminance on different planes and helping achieve optimum horizontal and vertical semi-cylindrical lighting levels. It has a glare index of UGR<19.

Italian brand iGuzzini says that the new linen version of its Light Shed is lighter and more sustainable than the others in the range.

Zumtobel will be showing the Ambitus, which provides both uniform indirect lighting for ceilings and walls and precise, glare-free direct lighting for workspaces. At just 24mm high, it features an invisible power supply and an anodised aluminium light ring. Micro-lenses arranged in a circular array spread light evenly across the 60-centimetre diameter, made possible by an extremely slim and flat light ring. It’s designed by renowned luminaire designer Yorgo Lykouria of Rainlight Studio in London.

The VIVO II from Zumtobel has been designed for circularity, longevity and a minimised environmental footprint. Zumtobel teamed up with innovative industrial design practice EOOS to create what it terms a conscious counter-trend to the many ‘one-short-life’ spotlights on the market. Over 90 percent of the material used in the luminaire can be reused. It’s built to order in a high efficiency automated process, with short end-to-end supply routes.

Zumtobel will be showing the Ambitus, which provides both uniform indirect lighting for ceilings and walls and precise, glare-free direct lighting for workspaces.

ERCO’s Quinta family brings darklight lens technology from the Eclipse and Uniscan spotlight ranges and puts it in the ceiling. Thanks to identical installation details, Quinta luminaires fit into the proven system of Erco downlight sizes such as Atrium, Iku and Quintessence. This creates quality of light and visual comfort in a uniform design, for example for a lobby or café in museums.

The VIVO II from Zumtobel has been designed for circularity, longevity and a minimised environmental footprint.

ERCO will also be showing Invia, a light structure which can take on all architectural lighting tasks – including wall washing in museums and galleries, general lighting in public buildings and standard-compliant task lighting in offices. It not only includes diffuse light lines but is a fully-fledged system for all architectural lighting tasks ranging from general illumination to accenting, and also offers technical lighting innovations such as continuous wall washing right into corners. Digital connectivity and tunable white are options. ■

ERCO’s Quinta family brings darklight lens technology from the Eclipse and Uniscan spotlight ranges and puts it in the ceiling.

THE MUST-VISIT BIG BRANDS:

• A.L.P. Europe

• Artemide

• Bartenbach

• Bega

• B.E.G

• BJB

• Casambi

• Eaton

• ERCO

• Gewiss

• Holophane Europe

• iGuzzini

• LEDVANCE

• Linea Light

• L&L Luce & Light

• Lumileds

• Willy Meyer + Sohn

• Nichia

• Pharos Controls

• Robe

• Simes

• Thorn

• XAL

• Zencontrol

• Zumtobel

ERCO will be showcasing Invia, a light structure which can take on all architectural lighting tasks including wallwashing, general lighting and standard-compliant task lighting.