Reflections No. 2
The Art of Shaping Light A Lamp is Born The Qvest New Light in the Park A Space Less Ordinary
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Index
The Art of Shaping Light 5 A Lamp is Born 6 New Originals 14 The Qvest 24 Extraction Lab 32 A Room with a View 38 New Light in the Park 49 A Space Less Ordinary 56 LP Slim Round 64
The Art of
Light is vital to our well-being. Poul Henningsen realised this back in the 1920s when he set out to create a glare-free lamp, which shapes the light to maximise human well-being. With his iconic three-shade system, PH took control of the light – and laid the foundation for our lighting philosophy, which has defined the way we think and shape light ever since. Our lamps are born of the Scandinavian lifestyle, with bright summer nights and dark winters. We develop our simple and atmospheric lamps in the overlap between these contrasts. In the encounter between tradition and innovation. Between form and function. Passion and quality craftsmanship.
This edition of Louis Poulsen Reflections looks at a number of inspiring personalities and places – and offers insight into design that shapes light. These include the visionary director of a coffee concept in Brooklyn, and designer Carsten Fischer from Henning Larsen Architects, who explains the ideas behind a new park light. And the GamFratesi duo, who demonstrate with the Yuh lamp the principle that we design to shape the light.
Shaping Light
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A Lamp is Born In launching the new Yuh table, floor and wall lamps, the designer duo GamFratesi are joining the ranks of illustrious designers and architects who have created lighting products for Louis Poulsen
Living up to the company’s proud heritage could have been a source of anxiety, but Stine Gam and Enrico Fratesi actually feel that Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen helped them in arriving at the final result.
Yuh Table lamp in black. Designed by GamFratesi.
9 What requirements did Louis Poulsen make regarding the lamp you were asked to design? Enrico Fratesi: “The only formal requirement was that it needed to be a table and a floor lamp. After that, we were told that the lamp should not be for the office, but for using throughout the home. It had to be both decorative and functional. And even though the lamp might be a very complex product, it was important that the user was not aware of this complexity. That was the brief we were given, and then we set to work – which was just over a year ago.” What is usually the next step in your working process? Stine Gam: “We spent a lot of time discussing the design and made lots of sketches and brainstormed numerous ideas. In this instance, we discussed the different functions of the lamp, the degree of technology we wanted to integrate into it and the simplicity we were aiming for. Our aim was to strike a balance between the two. It was also important for us that the lamp conveyed something about the Louis Poulsen story, and also about GamFratesi. When commissioned by a company with such a strong history as Louis Poulsen, it is important for us that this is reflected in the product.” Enrico Fratesi: “Louis Poulsen is the master of the universe in terms of their research into illumination, and we wanted to honour this fact. We didn’t just want to produce a nice shape.” In designing Yuh, what inspired you? Stine Gam: “We are very inspired by the AJ lamp (designed by Arne Jacobsen, Ed.). There is something very striking about its geometry. It is angled, but the shade is designed in such a way that one part of it is always aligned with the floor in one way or another. It is extremely sculptural, but also very geometric.” Enrico Fratesi: “It’s a piece of architecture” Stine Gam: “The shape of the foot harmonises with that of the shade. The two are directly in proportion with one another ... there is something almost mathematical about it. We have also been greatly inspired by the PH lamp (Poul Henningsen, Ed.), but this is largely as far as the light quality is concerned.” What was the decisive breakthrough in deciding on the design of the lamp? Stine Gam: “We arrived at the basic design quite quickly. It was based on a mathematical formula. It’s not always the case that it’s like this, but it was this time. We took the horizontal line from the shade on the AJ lamp, and once that was drawn, everything else almost fell into place. It all went extremely quickly, but then it took an extremely long time finalising the details. It had to function as a table and floor lamp, but then we discovered that it could also be used as a wall lamp.” Enrico Fratesi: “Our biggest challenge was to design the lamp so that it could be moved in several directions. We almost drove the engineers at Louis Poulsen crazy. Six men were assigned to the task. We worked with three different types of movement in the axis: inclination, rotation and up and down. This made it very complex. It was a huge challenge, but there is a fantastic team of engineers at Louis Poulsen with whom we had a very good working relationship. We were invited to a meeting which was also attended by the company’s marketing team and designers, so that
everyone could hear about our basic idea with the lamp. There were a couple of meetings like this during the entire process. The engineers then came back to us with lots of technical parts, which we then assessed, and that’s how it proceeded until we arrived at the final product.” Are your different design traditions reflected in the lamp? Enrico Fratesi: “For us it is an integrated part of the design process, so it is difficult to say whether this or that detail is based on this or that tradition. But the sense of simplicity and the respect for the illumination’s authenticity is Danish.” Stine Gam: “Our desire to incorporate a diffuser in the lamp stems from our respect for Poul Henningsen’s studies. And from our appreciation of indirect light. We like the fact that you do not see the light bulb, and are not dazzled. Italian lamp design is often quite the opposite: expressive lamps with bare bulbs. With a diffuser, the light source is concealed, which we think makes the illumination rather magical.” Enrico Fratesi: “The Italian approach always involves pushing the boundaries of design. In this case, we wanted to create something that Louis Poulsen had never made before, and here I am referring to the complex technical challenge of incorporating an up-down movement. We wanted to bring Louis Poulsen forward in this way. However, while still respecting the company’s DNA: its colours, shapes and indirect light.” Stine Gam: “Italians take great pride in their inventions. They embrace technical challenges – especially when there is an element of innovation.” Continued on page 11.
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11 Do you, Enrico, represent the Italian tradition, and you, Stine, the Danish tradition in your products? Stine Gam: “Not quite, because sometimes you can see something else in the other person’s culture, because you are looking at it from the outside. But in many respects it is probably me who provides the Danish input – the rationalist, the considered, the analysing approach. I always want to think through the process one more time, whereas Enrico is probably more dynamic, and wants to develop the look more. While I am constantly pulling on the reins slightly, he is wanting to urge things forwards. But I think you could say that we are archetypes for our own cultures.” Do you use anybody else as a sounding board apart from yourselves and the customer? Stine Gam: “No, our work – furniture and lighting – is almost an obsession for us. We talk a lot about it. And we spend a great deal of time thinking about it.” Enrico Fratesi: “It has almost always just been the two of us, so it would probably be difficult for anyone else to be part of the process. We understand each other implicitly without having to put everything into words. We understand each other’s sketches, even when they have been dashed off very quickly and are unclear to other people. We are also very different, so it doesn’t mean that we can’t discuss things, but at the end of the day we always know which route to take. It would be almost impossible for an outsider to play a role in this process.” Stine Gam: “We are very aware that furniture design must have a long lifetime, so it is a big responsibility designing a lamp like this. It must be able to stand the test of time, which is why we devote so much attention to every detail. It is different with an exhibition, which might last for a week or so – then you can be more expressive. A piece of furniture calls for more precision and a critical approach.” You are also a couple in your private lives: Do you have any rules about not working when you are at home? Stine Gam: “No, and it actually seems to work OK. We often sit and discuss a particular detail over the dinner table, and once the children are in bed, our attention might return to a small screw, for example, that needs refining – it’s like this all the time. However, it is wonderful when your partner really understands what you are doing and is also able to apply their mind to it.” GamFratesi have designed the Yuh lamp concept for Louis Poulsen. The concept comprises a table lamp, a floor lamp and a wall lamp, which are all available in white or black. GamFratesi GamFratesi was established in 2006 by the Danish architect Stine Gam (born 1975) and the Italian architect Enrico Fratesi (born 1978). They met at the Department of Architecture at the University of Ferrara in northern Italy in 2004, and have since studied together at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark. GamFratesi has a studio in Copenhagen, but often travel to their Italian base in Pesaro in Italy.
Yuh Table lamp in white. Designed by GamFratesi.
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New Originals At Louis Poulsen we have a strong tradition of innovation and great originals. This has resulted in a number of classics over the years, which are lighting up the whole world today. This autumn we are launching a series of new interpretations of our best-known lamps – and one new original. When Vilhelm Lauritzen designed the VL38 light for Radiohuset in Copenhagen in the 1930s, he probably did not dream of the success the small curved lamp would be experiencing 80 years later. Last year we relaunched the table lamp with a white shade, and added a floor and wall lamp. We are now extending the family to include a black version, that adds an edge to the soft look and contrast to any interior. You would never guess that Doo-Wop was designed in 1952 for the Danish Navy’s buildings, because it is timeless and unique. We are now launching two new versions of the harmonious light, made of polished copper and steel, which beautifully reflect the surroundings. The two new metal versions join the existing brass version, and look great alone or in combination – like the other members of the family. Poul Henningsen set out in 1958 to design the ultimate glare-free light, and created the now iconic PH 5. New colours have since been added, helping to maintain the lamp’s popularity. We are now introducing PH 5 Mini, which has been scaled down from the original 50 cm to 30 cm, and is available in two white versions and six dynamic hues. The colour is strongest on the top shade and gradually toned down on the
lower shades, highlighting the fixture’s beautiful design and unsurpassed light distribution. Yuh is pronounced ‘you’ and is the name of our minimalist new light series. The simple design was created by the GamFratesi duo – comprising Stine Gam of Denmark and Enrico Fratesi of Italy, and is based on the pure forms of a circle and a line. The series consists of table, floor and wall lamps – each with a flexible shade that can be rotated, raised and lowered to create the ideal light and atmosphere in a given personal space. Look forward to experiencing the great originals in a new light, and very personal lighting with the new Yuh-family.
PH 5 Mini in hues of blue and PH 5 Classic. Designed by Poul Henningsen.
This page: PH 5 Mini in hues of red, rose and orange. Designed by Poul Henningsen. Opposite page: PH 5 Mini in modern white. Designed by Poul Henningsen.
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This page: Yuh Wall lamp in white. Designed by GamFratesi. Opposite page: Yuh Wall, Table and Floor lamps in white. Designed by GamFratesi.
VL38 Table lamp in black and brass. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen.
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VL38 Wall, Table and Floor lamps in black and brass. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen.
This page: Doo-Wop in brass, stainless steel and copper. Designed by Louis Poulsen in cooperation the Navy Buildings Department. Opposite page: Doo-Wop in stainless steel. Designed by Louis Poulsen in cooperation the Navy Buildings Department.
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Neo-Gothic architecture meets modern design. The former city archive in Cologne is now home to The Qvest – a spectacular design hotel located in a NeoGothic building designed by Friedrich Carl Heimann – where modern art and design of an exceptionally high standard provides a stark contrast. The hotel is owned by art collector Michael Kaune, who runs the German Qvest Magazine. His impressive collection of photographs,
modern art and furniture by such designers as Arne Jacobsen, Mies van der Rohe and Verner Panton provides a consistent design theme throughout the hotel, adding to its unique atmosphere. Step inside the design hotel where all 34 rooms are individually furnished and where Louis Poulsen’s new and classic light fixtures mingle with the carefully selected pieces of vintage furniture.
The Qvest
Opposite page: Panthella Mini and Panthella Floor lamp in the library on the first floor.
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This page: Welcome to The Qvest’s Neo-Gothic universe. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen, the VL38 Table lamp spreads its welcoming light, creating an inviting atmosphere in the hotel’s reception area. Opposite page: The spectacular suite on the first floor has a separate bedroom where the large windows create a beautiful, solemn atmosphere. The Yuh Floor lamp was designed by GamFratesi, and thanks to its great flexibility and pleasant light. Next page: Yellow ochre AJ Table lamp in the excellent company of art by Edward Wright. A good example of how Michael Kaune’ simple and precise design choices achieve an extremely powerful effect.
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This page: On staircases and in corridors, the light makes a big difference and can – like here at The Qvest – be used to emphasise the changing use of materials to create interesting spaces. Here we see the Ripls wall light designed by Danish Jacob Wagner, which takes its name from its appearance reminiscent of rings in the water. Opposite page: An international design icon in an epic space. The classic PH Artichoke in polished stainless steel accentuates the grandiose atmosphere and the authentic quality of the lounge’s interior design.
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Extraction Lab
In Brooklyn’s Industry City, a high-tech coffee startup creates a welcoming lab and café to prove their products.
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Interview
design team, led by Principal Designer Tymer Tilton, set out to create a headquarters that could serve a variety of functions, highlighting the signature Steampunk and Sight brewing machines, while offering room for meetings, classes, and guest roasters to showcase their products, plus a makerspace where the team can develop new products. “The Steampunk machine is industrial meets minimal,” Tilton says. “That was the theme of the environment, to keep it a minimalistic, industrial but not in a way that it seems uninviting — keep it comfortable and light.” To organize the multiple functions of the 4,600-square-foot space, the team used reclaimed glass-and-metal doors fabricated by an Industry City blacksmith to divide the cafe, meeting area, and workshop—each with their own variation on the material palette. The cafe features pendants creating a “canopy of light”. “I’m a big fan of repetition of simple materials,” Tilton explains. Along with the rhythmic placement of the pendants, wood, concrete, subway tile, and dark metal—and a few pops of a fresh green hue on the machines and powder-coated chairs —comprise the majority of the material palette. But it’s not just the welcoming design that makes customers, and the staff, eager to come to the Extraction Lab each day. “The Lab this testing ground for us as a design company,” Tilton says. “It’s our sandbox for new ideas. There’s not really many things like that out there.”
Walking into Alpha Dominche’s Extraction Lab, it’s clear this isn’t an ordinary cafe. “We want people to come in and say, “Wow,” three times before they leave,” says Thomas Perez, CEO of Alpha Dominche, the brand behind the space in Brooklyn’s Industry City innovation hub. Part of the what sets the coffee shop apart is hinted at by its name, Extraction Lab. More than a coffee shop, it’s also a consumer-facing workshop for the startup, which designs high-tech, precision coffee and tea brewers for some of the world’s most cutting-edge cafes. “People come in, they see the machine—they’ve never seen anything like it,” Perez says. “Some people say, ‘This is a coffee shop?’” It’s not hard to imagine why visitors to the airy space might think that. With its clean counter-height tables and minimalist machinery, Extraction Lab looks more like an Apple Store—if the tech brand picked up a penchant for plants and natural finishes—than it does any outpost of a coffee giant from Seattle. At the back of the room, a minimalist neon sign fabricated by Brooklyn’s Lite Brite Neon Studio is one of the only logos visitors see. Coffee beans are displayed in test tubes illuminated by spotlights, and 41 oversized black Above pendants designed by Mads Odgård cast a warm glow over the care from the 14-foot ceiling. The design process started when the super-lean startup moved its operations from Salt Lake City, Utah, to New York, which has become an emerging center for advance coffee culture. “Brooklyn was the new place,” Perez says. “I found this space out here, and it fit really into our DNA.” From there, the in-house
Previous and opposite page: Above pendant. Designed by Mads Odgård.
38 What happens when Louis Poulsen’s Scandinavian lighting philosophy crosses an ocean and lands on the 13th floor of a Manhattan building – one with spectacular windows that let in skyline views by day and enchant with New York City glitter by night? This is the setting for the stunning new Carl Hansen & Son showroom, which, in addition to displaying an extraordinary collection of modern furniture, is lit from within by Louis Poulsen. Designed to look and feel like a New York City loft – complete with kitchen, dining room, living room and lounge areas – the showroom invites visitors to experience how Scandinavian design aesthetics interact with, transform, and become a natural part of an urban hub environment. The result is nothing short of stunning. On sunny days, with warm light streaming in, the Louis Poulsen designs become part of the sculptural interior landscape, mirroring and playfully interacting with the organic curves of iconic Danish furniture designs. As evening approaches, the diverse, task-focused lights work together to illuminate their designated spaces while creating a visual connection to the lit-up buildings and bridges outside. All the elements in the space, in short, are in constant, quiet conversation to support the natural flow of life and create a sense of intimacy and connection. As only great design can.
A Room a View
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View from the Carl Hansen and Son’s showroom in New York City For more on Carl Hansen & Son please visit www.carlhansen.com
This page: VL45 Radiohus Pendant in opal mounth-blown white opal glass and brass. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen. Opposite page: AJ Floor lamp in white. Designed by Arne Jacobsen.
This page: Cirque designed by Clara von Zweigbergk and Doo-Wop in white designed by Louis Poulsen in cooperation with the Navy Buildings Department. Opposite page: VL38 Table lamp, in white and brass. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen.
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Panthella Floor lamp. Designed by Verner Panton
This page: Yuh Table lamp in black. Designed by GamFratesi. Opposite page: Collage in white designed by Louise Campbell and Panthella Floor lamp designed by Verner Panton.
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Over the years, Louis Poulsen has created numerous outdoor lighting solutions. We are now proud to present yet another park light, LP Capsule, designed in collaboration with Henning Larsen Architects.
The light incorporates our wellknown principles for pleasant atmospheric light in a modern LED post top and sets new standards for lighting in parks, passageways and squares. When architects, municipalities and electricians all over the world choose lighting for urban spaces, they must comply with a wide range of requirements and expectations. The lights must provide a sense of security, be robust and have the right aesthetic expression. At the same time, they must to an increasing extent meet the customer’s desire for an efficient and direct light that exploits the LED light source’s full potential
New Light in the Park
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53 Rasmus Markholt, Louis Poulsen’s Idea & Design Director, is also delighted with the cooperation and the result: “I think we have really succeeded in taking the values of our lighting philosophy of pleasant, friendly lighting and implementing them in a new type of LED fixture with high-intensity direct light. By illuminating the fixture head, the light also has a ‘lighthouse effect’, helping people to see the direction of paths and roads and guiding them safely through an area instead of just providing downward light that can often only be seen from close range.” Another notable feature of LP Capsule is the strong integration between the design elements. Many lamps with downward light are essentially a box with a light source attached to a post. In the work of designing the LP Capsule, the design team spent a lot of time exploring how the lamp head could be fitted gracefully so that it grips the post rather than simply being attached to it. Viewed from above, you can see that the light consists of two circles – a large round lamp and a smaller round post where the tangents connect the two circles to form a simple geometric harmonious look.
With the vision of designing a post top that takes the best from LED technology and combines it with our light philosophy principles for a friendly glare-free light, we initiated a collaboration with Henning Larsen Architects in 2015. Carsten Fischer was given the task of designing the new park fixture. A partnership which he sees as a great match: “Louis Poulsen’s values in relation to light and function dovetail with our approach to design in the studio. The light had to be more than a fixture that lights up a path or square. It had to also illuminate itself, and serve as a pleasant and familiar element that adds something to the urban setting – both when turned on and off.” The result was LP Capsule, which is designed around an LED light source. One of the distinctive features of the post top is that it illuminates the area under the fixture with direct light as well as the fixture itself. This softens the luminance and the transition between the light and the dark surroundings, creating a pleasant appearance and atmosphere in the urban space. Henning Larsen Architects and Louis Poulsen share a passion for creating beautiful atmospheric spaces where people can thrive. Doing something positive for other people by adding special qualities to their everyday lives or urban spaces. Many of Louis Poulsen’s earlier designers – such as Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen and Vilhelm Lauritzen – were also architects and naturally thought beyond the design phase, considering how the lamp would one day be used. “If something is beautifully thought out, it often results in a beautiful design,” says Carsten Fischer. “As an architect, the task for me is to identify the inherent story of a thing or a building and add further detail so that the product ultimately acquires a coherent story. Success is hopefully reflected in the end result – as in the case of LP Capsule, where the story is harmonious and self-evident.”
“The basic idea was to create a cylindrical capsule with the light source inside one cylinder, which in turn is inside a larger opal cylinder. This is, of course, the source of the direct downward light, but by creating distance between the inner and outer cylinders, the fixture shines surplus light into the gap. Here it is reflected, illuminating the outer cylinder which glows like a halo around the light source in the middle. This reduces glare and provides a smoother transition to the surrounding environment.
54 With its downward directed light, its intense glow and subdued appearance, LP Capsule beautifully encapsulates the Nordic design tradition and our views on lighting. In Scandinavia, we have a tradition of discreetly lighting our urban spaces. Typically, we tend to keep squares and buildings more in the dark than in other parts of the world so that light streams out of the many homes at night instead. We are not afraid of using both light and darkness in our architecture and we see it as a quality that the urban environment is darker in some places. This variation in light levels on surfaces gives a great richness in the way that we experience our cities. The fact that Louis Poulsen chose to collaborate with Henning Larsen is largely due to the shared vision of design, light and process. “There is much common ground in the way we think about light, function and design,” says Rasmus Markholt. “We both design from the inside, beginning with the light and the functional aspects and then working from there towards the design. The fact that our design approach is also very similar is clearly visible in the LP capsule, which exudes simplicity and a clear identity so that it does not resemble anything else.” “The colour of the light, the quality and the distribution are the very core of the design work and something we spend a lot of time perfecting in our lighting laboratories. At the same time, we place great emphasis on the fact that the design is well-conceived and that the technical and functional details are an integral part of the design – for example, the design of the joints or the hidden clamping screws in the lamp head. This is where the light takes on the right finish and its harmonious look.” Carsten Fischer agrees with this assessment of an extremely positive design process: “It has been an exciting partnership, characterised by a great atmosphere and tremendous commitment. For me, working alongside Louis Poulsen’s talented engineers and light technicians has been a huge help. As an architect, one of my main jobs is to retain the basic design idea throughout the entire process. This can be a challenge in large construction projects involving many parties with different goals and agendas. It has therefore been a good experience to be part of a team with such great respect for the design and such a focus on staying true to it, which has contributed to making it better and more attractive in many ways. One example is the refinement of the interface between the two shades. During the development process this was given a sloping surface, which looks nicer and better reflects the light in the fixture. New solutions often arose as we sat brainstorming, and the team often came back with something they had made even better. It has been a beautiful combination of a technical and a very design-conscious approach, with a professional insistence on maintaining high quality throughout.” After more than two years’ development work, LP Capsule is ready to be launched in September 2017.
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A Space Less Ordinary
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g PH Artichoke in white. Designed by Poul Henningsen. Painting by Maria Marstrand.
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This page: VL38 Table lamp in black and brass. Designed by Vilhelm Lauritzen Opposite page: Doo-Wop in brass. Designed by Louis Poulsen in cooperation with the Navy Buildings Department.
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PH 5 Mini in hues of rose and green. Designed by Poul Henningsen.
61 PH 3½-2½ Table lamp with a yellow top shade and the two lower shades made of mouth-blown opal white glass. Designed by Poul Henningsen.
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This page: Yuh Wall lamp in black. Designed by GamFratesi. Opposite page: Yuh Floor lamp in white. Designed by GamFratesi.
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Function Shape Light
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LP Slim Round
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Design to Shape Light
louispoulsen.com
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