darc 18

DECORATIVE LIGHTING IN ARCHITECTURE #18 NOV/DEC 2016

LDF REVIEW RETAIL FEATURE GENERATOR AMSTERDAM UXUS DESIGN STUDIO • BEAUTY & ESSEX • BATES SMART • DARC AWARDS • BENJAMIN HUBERT | FOIL • GABRIEL SCOTT

Cover: Lee Broom Opticality for LDF 2016 photo credit Luke Hayes

Welcome HELEN FLETCHER • EDITOR Following the madness of London Design Festival you would think things would calm down, we would take a moment to relax and take it all in... But with less than eight weeks before we break for Christmas there's little chance of the darc team getting a 'time out'! No sooner had we got back to the office armed with enough press kits to last us a lifetime, we were off on our travels again for the Interieur show in Belgium, Hong Kong International Lighting Fair, and then straight on to Light Middle East in Dubai! Our feet barely touched the ground... Having said that, life without travel would be a boring one, so we can't complain too much! In terms of lighting, this year's London Design Festival was an interesting event for us, providing the perfect platform to catch up with friends and clients and see what lighting launches there were. Splitting our time between tradeshows, showroom events, parties and installations wasn't easy but we just about managed it - prosecco in hand all the while! You will find our London Design Festival coverage from page 84 onwards - starting with our celebration of Ingo Maurer. We then move on to our exclusive interview with Fredrikson Stallard on their latest collaboration with Swarovski on page 86 and comment from 100% Design Show Director, William Knight on how Brexit will affect the design industry on page 90.

Our main feature for this issue is decorative lighting in retail, introduced by retail buying and creative consultant Lucio Longoni on page 50 where he considers what, in this digital age, makes a store worth visiting. Tying in nicely with the retail theme we also profile George Gottl and Oliver Michell, cofounders of creative design agency UXUS on page 24. Based in Amsterdam the duo approach each project individually, taking into consideration the consumer's emotional relationship with the brand and store.

Elsewhere in this issue, Femke met with Scott Richler, one half of product designers Gabriel Scott, read her interview on page 70 and we take a closer look at some interesting work by Brooklyn-based studio Danielle Trofe Design, which aims to encourage a departure from conventional materials and production techniques in search of long-term, sustainabale solutions in design - read more on page 80.

Last but not least, you might have heard our sister magazine mondo*arc held the second darc awards for architectural lighting in September; from everyone at darc, congratulations to all of the winners and if you didn't attend, see what you missed from page 12 onwards.

#readinginthedarc

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15 SEPT EMBE R 2016 / LOND ON 15 SEPT EMBE R 2016 / LOND ON

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DETAILS

Contents

024 interview: UXUS

Co-founders George Gottl and Oliver Michell discuss design, theatrics and lighting.

055 feature: retail lighting

REGULARS

FEATURES

010 DESIGN NEWS A round up of the latest decorative lighting news from around the world.

Michell highlight the importance of

012 DARC AWARDS All this year's architectural winners and darc night installations rounded up in one place.

024 UXUS

032 GENERATOR HOSTEL

092 ARTEMIDE'S SECRET GARDEN

Founders George Gottl and Oliver

Providing a sense of calm during

light in creating retail theatre.

050 RETAIL FEATURE

DESIGN SHOWS FOR 2017

114 IF... THE SMILE

LONDON

086 FREDRIKSON STALLARD Exclusive interview with the design duo discussing their latest Swarovski collaboration.

LAS VEGAS

ROTORUA

bathroom retailer to life for London Design Festival with his lighting designs.

096 LONDON SHOWROOMS

MILAN

Missed an event during London

058 TOFFEE

Design Festival? We bring you our

SANREMO

selection of the best lighting events from the week.

062 PROVIDE

100 LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

VANCOUVER

064 LOCHERBER

090 BREXIT & DESIGN

William Knight discusses potential

066 JESS BOUTIQUE

problems and possibillities for the

designjunction.

Michael Anastassiades brings the

057 BOGGI

the madness of this year's

094 BOFFI SHOWROOM

045 BEAUTY & ESSEX

and medieval artistry.

112 CALENDARC

FRANKFURT

055 INZPIRED

Scott Richler talks design, inspiration

BROOKLYN

Wholesale Consultant Lucio Longoni.

for London Design Festival.

040 PREMIER INN HOTEL

museum with his latest installation

080 IN FOCUS: MUSHLUME

AMSTERDAM

Introduced by Retail Buying and

070 GABRIEL SCOTT

SYDNEY / MELBOURNE

As the lighting brand celebrates its 50th anniversary, we look back at Ingo's most iconic designs.

ON SHOW

Benjamin Hubert takes over the V&A

084 feature: Ingo Maurer

Brooklyn-based designer Danielle Trofe looks to sustainable production methods.

PROJECTS

022 FOCAL POINT: FOIL

068 FOLIO: BATES SMART

080 in detail: mushlume

We take a closer look at the retailers enticing customers in through decorative lighting.

design community.

MILAN

BURLINGTON

A round up of all the new products we saw at Decorex, 100% Design, Tent London and designjunction.

108 INTERIEUR PRODUCT REVIEW

KORTRIJK

THE MAGAZINE

DESIGN

CORPORATE

Editor In Chief : Paul James p.james@mondiale.co.uk

Artwork: David Bell d.bell@mondiale.co.uk

Chairman : Damian Walsh d.walsh@mondiale.co.uk

Editor : Helen Fletcher h.fletcher@mondiale.co.uk Assistant Editor : Femke Gow f.gow@mondiale.co.uk International Advertising : Stephen Quiligotti s.quiligotti@mondiale.co.uk

Editorial: Mel Robinson m.robinson@mondiale.co.uk

FINANCE Finance Director: Amanda Giles a.giles@mondiale.co.uk Credit Control: Lynette Levi l.levi@mondiale.co.uk

darc magazine, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport SK1 3AZ, UK Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, UK • ISSN 2052-9406

Three Pendants LP Grand · Skyline · Patera CHRISTIAN FLINDT · JULIE RICHOZ · ØIVIND SLAATTO

www.louispoulsen.com

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DETAILS

Hitting the Headlines For the most recent decorative lighting news head to www.darcmagazine.com and sign up to the design line newsletter.

Team at dpa lighting consultants develops

ItalianCreationGroup acquires FontanaArte

(UK) – dpa promotes three existing members (Michael Curry, Ian Clarke, and Rachael Nicholls as Senior Associate, Associate and Senior Design respectively), expands with Lee Sweetman as the new Senior Associate and welcomes back previous employee Mike Simpson as Senior Designer.

(Italy) – ItalianCreationGroup launches capital increase and acquires FontanaArte. The Milan-based company, which owns various Italian luxury brands, has made two new acquisitions – Italian design firm FontanaArte and bathroom furniture company Toscoquattro – and has also launched a capital increase to fuel further growth.

Cini&Nils Acqua Lamp receives Codega accolade

New GamFratesi product for Lightyears

Lee Broom opens first showroom in New York

Luctra enhances Arcadeon guest experience

(Italy) – Cini&Nils receives ‘Special Mention’ for Acqua lamp at fourth Codega Prize.

The Codega Prize stands as an international recognition of LED solutions and lighting design excellences. The award ceremony, which was attended by over 110 people from the international academic and professional world – took place on October 7, in the wonderful setting of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice.

(UK) – GamFratesi launches Suspense for Lightyears, celebrated at Republic of Fritz Hansen’s London showroom.

GamFratesi’s inspiration was to translate a movement into a physical shape. The shape of the lamp was created by pulling – an element movement involving physical force.

Organic with a natural soft curve, Suspence is created through this tensile force that is visible at the top of the lamp where it forms a small tip.

(USA) – Award-winning British designer Lee Broom opens first permanent New York showroom.

Located at 34 Greene Street in SoHo, the move follows the success of his four-week pop-up New York store ‘Broome Off Broome’ earlier this year.

Broom’s first permanent own branded showroom outside of London, the new 800sqft Manhattan space is positioned just a block down from the location of the Spring 2016 popup store.

(Germany) – Luctra has enhanced The Arcadeon Hotel in Hagen, Germany, by supplying a range of its human centric lamps. For a selection of its rooms, the hotel chose Luctra Radial Table Pro lamp, proven to boost wellbeing and productivity by harnessing the biological effect of light. The classic conference and seminar hotel has developed over the last ten years into a hotel that offers its guests an excellent hospitality experience.

Stardust So Design by M. Di Mauro & M. Colli

How we see a chandelier.

Double illumination, functional and emotional.

Led light sources.

CONTARDI @ SLEEP EVENT Hall M Booth 13 | www.contardi-italia.com | sales@contardi-italia.it UK Agency: Alberto Schiatti | www.albertoschiatti.com

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The 2016 darc awards / architectural carried on the baton from the impressive start that was made by the inaugural darc awards last year. Instead of a combined architectural and decorative lighting awards we have split the structure into two streams so we can dedicate more space to both of these important facets of design.

The 2016 darc awards / architectural process came to an end on September 15th with a spectacular event in the wonderful surroundings of MC Motors in London. Light installations, street food, a free bar and a unique presentation format all contributed to a hugely enjoyable and creative evening. This event changes the dynamic of traditional lighting awards where designers have to buy a ticket or wait to be invited by a manufacturer something that is out of the grasp of many junior designers and small practices. This was borne out by how many designers came to darc night, turning the usual attendance dynamic on its head. But without the voters the peer-to-peer concept of the awards would mean nothing and I’d like to thank all the independent lighting designers that participated in this year’s darc awards / architectural. 6,000 votes is a massive stamp of approval for this fresh, subversive and democratic format. But of course, without the entries the good people of lighting design would have nothing to vote for! 400 entries from 40 different countries, purely for architectural lighting design projects and products, is beyond what we imagined.

We now look forward to your participation in the first darc awards / decorative, which will showcase the best in decorative lighting, with projects and products entered being voted on by independent lighting designers, interior designers, product designers and architects. This will result in the winners receiving the highest accolade of being voted on by their peers and all the kudos that that brings.

The categories for the awards reflect the diverse range of decorative projects and products covered in darc magazine ranging from residential, workplace, hotel and bar / restaurant schemes to a complete range of product categories including: bespoke, ceiling, exterior floor, table, wall and sources. As with darc awards / architectural, the sponsorship package for the decorative awards allows manufacturers to get more actively involved in the awards event by displaying their products in a creative installation during darc night, which will take place in London in May 2017. It is an excellent opportunity for sponsors to get their products in front of specifiers instead of just having a logo and a free table at a traditional awards. In fact, there are no tables at the darc awards. The atmosphere is very informal and relaxed with a free bar and food all night so that attendees can explore the venue and the installations inside.

Any decorative lighting manufacturer that is interested in becoming a sponsor for the darc awards / decorative should contact Stephen Quiligotti on s.quiligotti@mondiale.co.uk Paul James Director, darc awards

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2016 Architectural Winners Best Light Art Scheme High Budget - Deep Web, Germany Best Light Art Scheme Low Budget - Untitled, Belgium Best Interior Lighting Scheme High Budget - The Broad Museum, USA Best Interior Lighting Scheme Low Budget - Bolon Eyewear, China Best Landscape Lighting Scheme High Budget - Gasholder No 8, UK Best Landscape Scheme Low Budget - Into The Glacier, Iceland Best Exterior Scheme High Budget - CEPSA Flagship Station, Spain Best Exterior Lighting Scheme Low Budget - Spillepengen, Sweden Best Creative Lighting Event - Night of Heritage Light, UK Best Architectural Lighting Products Technology - OLED Light Panels - LG Display Best Architectural Lighting Products Exterior - Ghost Rectangular - SIMES Best Architectural Lighting Products Interior - Billet - Mike Stoane Lighting

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darc awards / architectural darc night installations

Mirage by XAL & BDP Lighting ‘Mirage’ was an artistic collaboration between BDP Lighting and XAL. The 2.5m cube installation was designed to be an immersive experience that distorts the viewer’s perception of space. The mirrored entrance and the interconnecting contour lines of the internal elevations created a level of disorientation, intrigue and invitation. The installation provided dual layers of interest; the concealed internal façade details and the illusion of height and depth, which was not revealed until entering the cube itself.

Once inside the cube, the viewer discovers the mirrored finish floor and ceiling, which in turn reveals coloured lines of light integrated into the slim shelf detail otherwise hidden at eye level. To add a level of interaction small XAL Just 32 spots were focused onto a mirrored faceted column allowing users to break the beams of reflected light.

Box by John Cullen Lighting & MBLD Using the geometry of the cube as the outline of the installation, MBLD and John Cullen Lighting created a playful exhibit based on the game ‘tick tack toe’. Immersing the guest in a human sized tournament that combined innovative LED technology, colour and lighting controls, the special scheme used John Cullen’s new narrow 10° LED engines.

Housed in the low glare Polespring downlight, it created a narrow beam of white, blue or red to exactly match the squares below. The scheme was controlled by Helvar’s DALI solution using a special John Cullen iPad app. The cube was dressed in Lee 251 Filters to conceal and elaborate the activity inside. Using an iPad, each player navigated the board with narrow beam downlights that illuminated selected squares with saturated colour.

Etheral Forest of Light by Lucifer Lighting & Light IQ Light IQ started the journey to darc night with the concept of creating an ‘Ethereal Forest of Light’. Initially they imagined using a piece of real nature - a small tree, mysteriously concealed inside a swath of flowing muslin hung from a circular metal structure. After a number of 3D renders and feasibility studies, the team moved away from this literal interpretation and followed the ethereal qualities of light through leaves, dancing in shadow and brightness through the day / night. They opted to build a plain wooden box, almost like a large packing crate and contain the forest within it. The viewing portals were kept small, mysterious and placed randomly around to allow multiple viewers to enjoy the creation. 125 pieces of dichroic glass were hung on fine jewellery wire to allow them to move in a gentle breeze inside the box.

Circus Freak Show by Concord & Elektra The run-down circus was designed in relation to the surrounding architecture and site.

Elektra wanted to create a circus that seemed to have always been located within the venue but had been abandoned long ago. Inside, a peepshow concealed various anomalies within blacked out exhibition boxes. By giving the circus goers the front row seat, they were lead to believe they were just looking at miniature installations. Only the most discerning noticed that their reactions were being filmed and projected onto a nearby wall. This provided hours of entertainment for those who watched others pop their head into the face cuts and their reactions as the limelight came onto them. The team used lighting effects such as UV, flickering, gobos and presence detection to enhance the experience.

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www.darcawards.com

Inner Iridescence by L&L Luce & Light & dpa lighting consultants Inner Iridescene was an installation that provoked a contrast of feelings. Its dull modular exterior was in stark contrast to the beautiful, random interior. This sharp change in atmosphere was designed to play with the user’s mood, the bright colours suprised and uplifted the user as they moved from the purposely drab environment that encased the installation. A key characteristic was the choice of materials, as it was a temporary installation, it was important they were reusable or recyclable.

With this as the driver, tin foil was chosen for its reflective properties and cost effectiveness. Overheard RGB spotlights and low level RGB linears immersed the cube in a full range of colours and reflections.

Murmur by Radiant Lighting & GNI Projects Often recognised for Heart lighting sculptures, GNI Projects were keen to explore a different direction for darc night, whilst maintaining their signature style. In absence of a more graphical representation, a heart was implied by its beat. In homage to the city GNI Projects live in, the designers hand formed an interpretation of the London skyline and washed it with saturated chasing red light. The DMX sequence was designed to replicate a heartbeat on an ECG monitor. A group of random shapes surround the central pulse like clouds or waves of interference, revealing the cityscape at some intervals, and disguising its form at others.

Light Ubiquity by Filix and Into ‘Light Ubiquity’ was born from a series of concepts that played on how light interacts with glass, acrylic, and reflective materials. The over-arching concept was that of creating the notion of falling rain drops, using 40 of Felix’s punchy narrowbeamed RDD35 inground LED sources to effectively project streaks of light inside an arrangement of translucent rods that could be controlled and sequenced. For a fuller experience, Into encouraged people to walk through and be surrounded by the installation, in turn triggering a kinetic visual response. The walkway through the space was additionally presented using Filix’s slim LINE linear LED profile, dimmed to a subtle yet eye-catching level.

Dream³ by LSE Lighting & Michael Grubb Studio The aesthetic of the city and the darc night venue would provide the canvas but ultimately, being immersive and fun was the goal; and as Michael Grubb Studio had such a wonderful time on the beach this summer they decided to bring it to East London. In the final delivery, a laser cut cor-ten steel exterior provided an industrial frame replicating the grit of city life. Starkly contrasting with the interior where the vibrant colours, soft sand, illuminated deck chairs and flowing fabrics caused the space to open up. Complemented by the illuminated ceiling its subtle hint of an endless sky, visitors could escape, slip into the Dream3’s atmosphere, to experience tactility, to hide from the intensity, to dissolve into the never-ending dream.

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darc awards / architectural darc night installations

Paradeigma by Cooledge & Arup The installation was an immersive exploration of the enigmatic qualities of light and its transformative ability to affect our perception of a space. It represented the team’s shared vision to push the boundaries of design by applying light as a creative material.

The deliberate juxtaposition of innovative surface materials paired with a sequential tuning of visible and invisible light revealed entirely new possibilities to design and make with light. The installation invited people to become a part of it; taking a step beyond merely observing it. It flipped the spectator into a silhouette and created a truly immersive environment wherein the experience was not just about how people look but also how they move.

A Fuming World by Forma & Lichtvision / Boom Collective Modern day light pollution has created ‘A Fuming World!’ A play-on-words describes how the world is furious and simply fuming about the amount of light pollution happening on the surface. The ‘A Fuming World’ cube takes a light hearted approach by geographically mapping out pollution with light and smoke penetrating the surface to create a visually appealing installation. The scaffolding cube was wrapped with clear palette stretch film on which a world map of light pollution was printed; holes were punched through the façade at the centres of pollution and inside the cube, floor mounted light fittings and a smoke machine ‘beamed’ light and ‘breathed-fire’ through the holes creating a red glowing and smoking, fuming world.

Light Said Fred by GVA & Lighting Design Collective Light Said Fred was a participatory light installation using electronic midi instruments.

Players could take to the stage and play along to the music. With each midi channel mapped to a particular set of GVA luminaires, everything from singular notes to complex combinations produced a discernable lit response, with variations in rhythm and dynamics affecting colour and vibrancy.

An Uncertain Start by KKDC & Lighting Design International The concept for ‘An uncertain start’ began with exploring the contrast between hard edges and fluid shapes and how multiples of solid objects can create soft forms and density. LDI wanted to capture the energy and movement of an explosion and its transformation into sparkling weightless particles of light.

The installation was intended to be interactive, the experience of ‘an uncertain’ start begins with the observer activating the installation and immersing themsleves in an explosion of light and colour temperature, ending in a sensation of weightlessness.

The installation lived in a continuous cycle until the ‘stop to restart button’ was pressed triggering a momentary black out, then gradually reignited starting a new explosion.

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darc awards / architectural darc night installations

Lucy by Heper & Nulty+ Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be inside a kaleidoscope? Surrounded by countless reflections of colour, changing inconsistently. Nulty’s installation ‘Lucy’ aimed to take visitors on an amazing colour trip, without the addition of drugs. Wanting to create something interactive, the installation looked different to each visitor. Entering the cube, a few colours painted the white walls and floor, a comfortable cloud like environment but no colour trip. By turning a handle on a central beam, colours moved, disappeared and reappeared on all surfaces. The cube was never fully covered by colours at once, but rotation of the handle allowed a play of light to surround the visitor.

Existential Light by Osram Lighting Solutions & Electrolight Electrolight created this piece as a statement about society and our inherent prejudices. “There are parallels between how we perceive objects through light and our view of the world. We tend to see the world through the lens of our upbringing, our politics and our communities. This influences our views and understanding of the world. Through the spectral composition of light we can choose what to reveal, what to hide. We can dictate what’s visible,” said Electrolight. Using 600 gerberas, in individual vases, the flowers were arranged such that various shapes emerged under limited spectrum lighting conditions. While interesting in its own right, it was only when the piece was lit with a full spectrum that you saw the love.

Nightshift by Reggiani & Spiers + Major Conceived by designers Speirs + Major and realised in collaboration with lighting manufacturer Reggiani, NightShift was an immersive installation that explored how artificial light contributes to the personal experience of urban space. The installation was informed by snapshots of artificial light, recorded and fractured as a means of deconstructing the lit character of the city. These layers of illumination were projected into a cube through a single, simple prism. Shafts of light filtered through a soft haze, reflected by mirrored walls and playing on the viewers within the space.

Sound heightened the experience and helped guide emotions, combining with light to create a beguiling illusion of depth, mystery and magic.

Lunacy by Wila - Nordeon Group & ACT Lighting Design Light and shadow are linked without question. Both can let us witness one of the most wonderful natural effects, the moon phases. Thanks to its rotation, the illuminated surface of the moon is never the same and as a consequence, it is always changing its appearance despite being the same sphere. It is then remarkable how the position of the light and its shadows can transform us completely from one to another person.

Lunacy was a ‘photomaton’ where the visitor could experience its own ‘lunar’ transformation while recorded, giving as a result an animated portrait of the user.

Once inside, people could freely transform and express themselves feeling the movement of light around them. An invitation to interact with yourself and the light.

Viet photo Lorenzo Pennati

lolli e memmoli darc viet.indd 1

Via Vivarini 7 Milano Tel. +39 02 89502342 info@lollimemmoli.it www.lollimemmoli.it

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darc awards / architectural darc night

The Trophy by Applelec & Light iQ Light iQ collaborated with Applelec to create the award trophies with a design developed from the cube concept of this year’s darc night installations.

Having explored a number of concepts, the final proposal was to create a floating, infinity effect using multiple pieces of acrylic layered vertically to give the optical illusion of a central cube surrounded in light.

From our sketches, Applelec formed a plan for the manufacture of the trophy and a single prototype was assembled which became the template for the final construction. Optically clear acrylic sheets were etched with the darc awards / architectural logo and layered to build a three dimensional cube. A base in opal acrylic was embedded with Applelec’s LED Light Sheet along with a small battery before being wrapped with a brushed steel band, engraved with the winning category details, which forces light upwards through the top surface of the base.

Diffused light travels through the vertical acrylic layers, enclosing the etchings, and transmitting illumination through the depth of the cube. The illumination softly highlights the cube design and the awards logo etched within it.

Light iQ were said to be delighted with the final result and thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Applelec and the darc awards team. The darc award was striking in its simplicity with a strong clarity emphasising all the teams involved.

The Ribbon by Applelec & Min sang CHO Min sang CHO’s sculptural light installation, entitled The Ribbon, combined LG Display OLED and 3D printing technology, processes designed for precision manufacturing, and responded to these systems with craftsmanship and a desire for artistic experimentation. The Ribbon is 3D printed in a basic form before being manipulated by hand to make each piece unique. Following traditional techniques of Korea, gold leaf is delicately applied to each piece of ribbon to heighten the light reflection of the OLED. In preparation for the creation of The Ribbon, Min sang CHO spent time in Korea to understand the art of gold leafing from a fifth generation master artisan.

The installation was not shown at darc night but was shown at Tent London at the 2016 London Design Festival as part of a feature space organised by the darc awards to show three special installations. Min sang CHO worked with Applelec to present The Ribbon within a mirrored enclosure. The mirrors are etched and segmented with the intention of disrupting and distorting the organic nature of The Ribbon. Producing a confusing portrait that Min sang CHO hoped would spark joyful illusion in the viewer, the twisting reflection of The Ribbon was endlessly repeated in the fragmented mirrors.

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FOIL LONDON, UK Benjamin Hubert designed a landmark installation in collaboration with Braun for the V&A during this year’s London Design Festival.

The installation, titled Foil coincided with the launch of a new Braun shaver and was located in the Tapestries gallery at the V&A, which houses historic Duke of Devonshire tapestries, made between 1425 and 1450.

The installation was designed to showcase the performance engineering, materiality and movement of Braun’s shaver foils. A 20-metrelong undulating ribbon comprising 40,000 individual metallic elements ran down the entire length of the Tapestry Gallery, moving continuously and dynamically in a sine wave formation, reflecting and scattering light around the gallery. www.layerdesign.com

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INTERVIEW

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Retail Theatrics Amsterdam-based UXUS is led by the experience in everything it does. Co-founders George Gottl and Oliver Michell talk Helen Fletcher through the importance of light in creating theatre, ambience and mood.

Pic: Marc Haers

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INTERVIEW

UXUS goes beyond the obvious, focuses on the experience and concentrates on creating an emotional connection. A design agency that approaches each project individually, taking into consideration what the consumer’s emotional relationship with the brand and store will be, the end result is retail environments with ambience, mood and a somewhat theatrical feel.

Founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands, by George Anthony Gottl and Oliver John Palmer Michell, UXUS aims to create universal work that can be interpreted in different ways and different cultures.

“We’re about creating desire for brands by designing spaces and experiences that in turn create lasting memories for consumers,” Gottl tells darc. “This ‘desire’

The Tate Modern’s new extension features a 500m²store created by UXUS that aims to reinvent the concept of museum retail. Pic Ed Reeve

generation is very important because at the end of the day that’s what we do. I use the white shirt metaphor all the time… Say you need a white shirt, which one are you going to buy and why? Sometimes you might go to H&M because you’re price and style sensitive then sometimes you might go to a designer because you want something that feels unique and individual. Others might go to a second hand store because there’s a hip, bohemian attitude that they want to aspire to… The motivation behind the purchase is what drives the design behind a space and project.”

Gottl’s background in fashion (a degree in fashion from Parsons School of Design, New York, and time spent as Creative Director for apparel at Nike) combined with Michell’s

background in architecture (having studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture followed by a stint with Rem Koolhass and then Paul Davis Architects), form an almost perfect blend that is portrayed through UXUS. “I have a very in-depth knowledge of retail and how it works in terms of presentation,” says Gottl. “This has really helped propel our business forward as we apply a lot of the presentation techniques that you would in retail and visual merchandising, to the work we do. And that’s at every level, including restaurants and hotels, because in a lot of ways you visually merchandise food and hospitality spaces. There’s a big hunger in the market for emotionally engaging presentation.”

PERFECT DUALITY The Edge Reader elegantly combines ambient lighting with the directional functionality of an LED reading light.

Because good design demands simplicity.

Model: Edge Reader

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“My time with Paul Davis gave me a different perspective on what can be done in retail and I think this idea of creating consumer experiences was something that really interested me from very early on,” adds Michell. “Even working with Koolhass, there was a lot of emphasis on how you create the concept and then bring it to life.

I like the idea of the theatre being involved in a retail or restaurant space and all the things you can do to activate the senses, as opposed to just creating a beautiful thing to admire. So you have to look at the scent, the temperature, sound and so on... It’s very exciting and I think retail and f&b really allow you to play in those areas. The idea of theatricality really comes into its own in a consumer led experience.”

And in terms of creating these theatrics, for Gottl, lighting is: “90% of the game… What I always say is, you could have a simple cardboard box – merchandise it nicely and put terrific lighting on it and you have a store.”

Michell continues: “It’s what creates the theatre, the ambience, the mood and of course, since lighting has become so much more sophisticated, you can really transform a space in an easy ‘flick of a switch’ kind of way and make it evolve through the day, through the year for different occasions.

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That is what makes retail theatre so much more possible. A lot of people talk about the idea of technology and digital being a big driver for experience, but the reality is lighting plays a much bigger role.”

“The technology that’s been incorporated in lighting is what’s actually making the breakthroughs in terms of bringing more to spaces,” continues Gottl, “It’s the technology that creates new effects - as a result, lighting is even more important than it has been in the past.

“If you go back to the 50s and look at the early department stores they were lit in a very functional way. Fluorescent tubes were at the forefront of technology at that time and lighting was very flat, very even and bright.

“Now, it’s not necessarily about where you can see yourself beautifully in the mirror – it’s more about the mood of the brand being reflected in the ambience and atmosphere of the store… Ninety percent of this comes from how you light the space.”

For the design duo, the area of lighting is still somewhat of a mystery to many of its clients as Gottl explains further: “I’m not technically versed in lighting so it can be really difficult to talk about lighting and what you want to achieve with it, in a way that can be understood by your client.

Lighting is so intangible – I mean if you start talking about lux levels and so on, you have to think, what does that even mean to someone?”

“Then when you look at the relativity of what a colour temperature is, the perception in one culture that a certain colour temperature is desirable versus another one can be really different,” adds Michell. “You’ll find there are real differences when discussing with clients what the appropriate colour is. This varies again when looking at different sectors, different price levels and so on… There are no set rules about what should or shouldn’t be done.”

“Every brand should have signature lighting,” says Gottl. “Take Abercrombie when it first opened its doors… Love it or hate it, it’s a great example of lighting at its most powerful. They made a statement about how the store was going to be, it was lit in a way that was so theatrical you could have been in a burlesque theatre! It was dramatic and sexy.”

“Compare this with Dover Street Market,” adds Michell. “It has taken much more of a gallery approach to its lighting, producing an even light that allows the installations to take centre stage. They’re all equally lit and have the same starting point.”

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Such is the importance of lighting to the way in which UXUS designs, that the studio will work with lighting designers as often as it can, encouraging its clients to involve them in the project. “It’s such a crucial part of the design process and the end results,” says Michell. “Most clients are quite open to it but sometimes there are certain pressures, and discussions are had as to why a lighting supplier can’t do the same job…

This is where we have to educate our clients on what it is a lighting designer does and how they can make such a difference to the project.”

According to Gottl and Michell, one of the benefits of involving a lighting designer on projects comes down to impartiality – picking the very best products for what they are trying to achieve. As well as this, it is about showing their clients how good lighting can create a big difference to the atmosphere and push towards something extraordinary.

“For us, a really good lighting designer understands what the brand is trying to achieve and works towards creating signature lighting for that brand,” says Gottl. “It’s not about a personal vision, it is about personal knowledge and capabilities – the lighting designer needs to be a neutral advocate, but more importantly they need

to try to work towards the message the brand is trying to express.”

Having worked with the likes of dpa lighting consultants on various projects, one UXUS project that particularly stands out for its strong lighting elements is Qela, a high end retail project in Doha. A couture clothing and jewellery store, here UXUS had the challenge of creating a space that was mostly a gallery, but happened to have retail within it. “The entire store was designed to be very flexible,” says Michell. “All the fixtures were floor based as opposed to wall based and we had to be able to change it all very quickly and easily. All the lighting used in that space was state-of-the-art and a lot of atmospheric lighting was brought in with different settings, allowing numerous scenes to be created for various events – whether an art event or private showing.

“The lighting could be dramatically different and transform the space,” says Michell.

“When it came to the jewellery on show it was very important to get the right light to show off the colour of the gems and bring out the sparkle in the diamonds – this is very specialist knowhow and as such dpa lighting recommended using fiber optics that were adjustable. Lots of different techniques were used to achieve something that was flexible and created the desired result – very

1. At Merus Winery the caves transform from a working environment to an event space through dramatic (energy-efficient and waterproof) lighting.

2. Silverscreen Diner, Schiphol Airport - referencing movie theatre marquee lighting, the entrance to the restaurant attracts passengers on their way to their boarding gate and can be seen all the way from the main terminal. Pic: Michael Franke 3. The tasting room at Merus Winery is part of the network of caves built into the vineyard hillside - lighting sets the mood and focuses the tasters’ attention on a particular vintage, surrounded by winemaker’s notes.

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The UXUS workspace has been designed in keeping with the studio’s ethos of creating more of an emotional connection with the space. Decorative lighting elements are used throughout to promote a warm and comfortable working space.

high end, theatrical and exciting lighting effects.”

While traditionally a retail environment might look to architectural lighting to showcase it’s goods, according to UXUS as more and more retailers are moving towards the world of lifestyle and creating spaces that are more domestic, decorative lighting has become increasingly important. “It’s a direct way of creating an atmosphere, whether that’s through a suspended light or a floor lamp,” says Michell. “Just as it does in hospitality and department stores…

You see it in some of the fashion retail that we do – you can transform a space very easily and it brings another dimension that’s not your expected retail shell. It makes the whole experience more human, approachable and creates a lot of drama

through potentially, just one fixture.”

Looking ahead, while it may seem that the duo and their team of 100 at UXUS have achieved it all, for Gottl, similar to living in Amsterdam, “it’s like pedalling a bike, you never stop”, with a few department stores in the Middle East due for completion in the next couple of years and a couple of top secret pitches won. “These are some of our biggest projects to date so it’s really exciting,” says Gottl. “We’re also trying to get more involved in hospitality as this is an area we’ve always loved working in.”

And as the technology behind lighting continues to evolve, this can only work to strengthen the duo’s design process, with Michell telling darc: “Working with light adds the magic to whatever you’re creating from a space point of view. Technology in

lighting is allowing more and more exciting opportunities – one of my biggest gripes in the past has been around the use of LED. We like to use it where we can but previously, trying to create the same kind of effects you can with halogen lamps has been difficult - thankfully I can see the developments coming out. Conversely, there’s new lighting technologies coming out that allow you to do things you’ve never done before, it opens up a whole new palatte of possibilities… It’s an exciting time for lighting.”

And for Gottl: “I think lighting in itself is a form of decoration. It’s a fundamental ingredient. Someone is only a star if they have a spotlight on them.” www.uxus.com

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Generation Generator Canadian firm DesignAgency brought the history of the University of Amsterdam into the modern day traveller's experience with the Generator Amsterdam hostel.

Pics: Nikolas Koenig

A gateway to Amsterdam’s Oosterpark in the Netherlands, Generator Amsterdam is an urban design-led hostel in the Oost neighbourhood, a thriving destination for art, fashion and independent business.

With over ten destinations worldwide, Generator’s global design partner DesignAgency collaborated with local architects IDEA Ontwerp on this project to both convert and restore a former health sciences building and zoological museum, and breathe new life into the 100 year old brick structure, establishing the most striking Generator to date.

DesignAgency Partner Anwar Mekhayech told darc: “With each new addition to the Generator portfolio we create something with an intriguing design. We want to create a memorable journey for guests travelling in Europe and staying at multiple Generators – city to city.”

The 168-room hostel follows Generator’s concept of design-focused hospitality with an array of spaces that encourage social interaction, while the building’s original,

heritage-designated spaces have been preserved and overlaid with contemporary twists. The building was initially home to the laboratory for Health Studies of the University of Amsterdam, which stood as a cornerstone of the overall design in respecting and valuing the original features of the building and its former occupation.

The interior mixes the history and charm of the building with references to Dutch folk culture and iconic design, as well as playful lighting synonymous with the Generator brand.

A partnership with various Dutch artists and designers drove the project to new creative heights; DesignAgency determined the concept for the lighting, working with architects IDEA Ontwerp and lighting consultants ARTEC3. The selection and placement of many lighting fixtures was developed in close collaboration with Blom & Blom, Dutch brothers who share a passion for restoring forgotten treasures.

Martijn and Kamiel Blom collected and restored hundreds of light fixtures, many

from abandoned factories in East Germany, playing on the building’s new-old duality.

Mekhayech commented on the collaboration: “We discovered Blom & Blom in 2014 while sourcing furniture and getting to know the design scene in Amsterdam. Their passion for finding and restoring old lighting was the perfect marriage for Generator Amsterdam.”

The Dutch brothers’ work is seen all over the hostel, notably in the Laboratory light feature in the auditorium consisting of 70 laboratory glass beakers. Part of this glassware was actually used by the students of the University of Amsterdam and recovered from the building’s basement, while various repurposed pendants and wall sconces feature elsewhere in the hostel’s typical rooms and luxury suites. The hostel’s basement also features a bar housing a number of unique Blom & Blom fixtures, joined by a sighting of Holloways of Ludlow’s Stirrup floor lamp.

The Blom brothers expressed their enthusiasm for this project and the chemistry of all parties involved: “For us

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it was most appealing that this project was about giving a unique building a new function which respect to its past.

It is a building with a story – a soul – in our hometown. This approach aligns perfectly with what we stand for: reviving undervalued objects to show their beauty again. When we met Anwar and IDEA Ontwerp, we knew this was going to be an interesting project.”

Determined to create something worthy of the city of Amsterdam, DesignAgency had a focus on the quirky and fun personality of prominent Dutch design. With the east end of Amsterdam blossoming as a creative hub with new concepts and places, it made the perfect home for Generator by allowing it to stay true to the DNA of the brand, while reviving the industrial and heritage nature of the building.

“The vision was to play off the heritage of the building as well as to collaborate as much as possible with local talent,” said Mekhayech. “We viewed each design element as a playful intervention in the building. We don’t have a signature style but in each project, we examine how to use design to bolster a client’s brand. And we’re most interested in projects that allow us to collaborate creatively and playfully while incorporating art and special lighting.”

The hostel’s art and lighting add to the sense of discovery at Generator Amsterdam, so whether a guest or a local enjoying the park, the venue can be felt as a gallery or museum, where one can wander through spaces and discover surprises.

“Blom & Blom’s provenance of each lighting fixture enhances that experience,” added Mekhayech. “The original building was very dark and ominous, so we wanted to open it up and infuse it with a new creative spirit.”

The lighting adds playfulness whilst remaining in line with what might have been there before. “Blom & Blom helped guide a lot of our thinking about the lighting – we

Previous Page Typical bedroom featuring Anglepoise's Original 1227 Brass wall light.

This Page Auditorium featuring one of Blom & Blom's bespoke lighting installation above the former lecture table. The fixture consists of 70 laboratory glass beakers recovered from the building's basement, some of which was used by students of the University of Amsterdam.

tried to keep it simple, industrial and fitting to the building – which was very raw when we started this project: we love how Blom & Blom document the source of each fixture.”

Kamiel expanded on how they pay tribute to the history of the fixtures they restore: “Our products come together with a story behind them. With each purchase, we provide the client with a historical passport, a small booklet describing the origin and history of the lamp, or a museum-like sign with an image and text on its place of origin. For Generator Amsterdam, we placed the latter signage with the lighting fixtures throughout the building.”

“This was a simultaneous celebration of both history and contemporary spirit,” added Mekhayech.

All the original lighting fixtures that Blom & Blom provided for Generator Hostel originate from abandoned factories in former Easy Germany. In the last few years, the pair have strolled through abandoned factories, old laboratories and deserted military complexes to gather a large collection of original lighting fixtures, with their pieces restored and redesigned at their studio and workshop in Amsterdam.

The Dutch brothers are very particular in their selection of lighting fixtures, and find the East German lamps to be of a higher standard than lamps from other countries, with the Bauhaus movement of the 1930’s influencing many of them. “Their designs were signified by their simplicity and pureness with ‘Form follows function’ as their mantra – a design style that can also be appreciated today,” said Martijn.

Besides their collection of restored and redesigned fixtures, Blom & Blom also designed custom lighting features for Generator, which remain in line with the values of their original lights as characterised by the use of pure and often repurposed materials. These custom signature lighting statements include the

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triple neon keys greeting guests over the reception, which are a tongue-in-cheek reference to both Amsterdam’s coat of arms and its red light district.

Entering through the hostel’s group entrance, which leads into the ground floor café lounge, guests are greeted with Muuto’s casual Unfold pendants in black, designed

by Form Us With Love design studio. Moving through to the hostel’s ground floor café lounge, Karman Italia’s Metra fixture features above the communal table and in the back coffee corner, adding a dash of colour to continue the hostel’s playful theme. This area also offers seating within house-shaped frames illuminated by Moooi’s Paper chandelier and ines.artdesign’s Nebulite pendant. Anglepoise’s Giant 1227 floor lamps also add a gentle sense of vibrancy and imagination to these spaces with their oversized forms.

In the suites, Anglepoise’s Original 1227 bedside wall and desk lamps have been incorporated, with Merci Merci’s Angled Wall lights illuminating the shared bathrooms that exist within the bedrooms.

In dealing with a space with such historic character, there are natural challenges that come with wanting to bring its heritage into the modern day. The building’s history guided many of the decisions, predetermining what they were able to do in many situations. IDEA Ontwerp worked closely with the planning department to ensure the heritage nature of the building could be maintained while adding two new glass levels to the top part of the building, giving DesignAgency the space they needed to have enough rooms to make the project viable. The auditorium with a modern cove lit ceiling, and library, featuring Resident’s Cross pendant, were sanctioned off as prime heritage rooms, as was the exterior.

DesignAgency worked to find solutions to upgrade them that worked within the parameters and presented all ideas for approvals.

Responsible for the entire interior design, DesignAgency’s working relationship with Blom & Blom was one of creativity and cooperation. Martijn commented: “DesignAgency allowed us a lot of creative

freedom, which was great. They adopted many of our suggestions and by presenting various ideas back and forth, I think this led to a design that captured the overall interior concept, and resulted in some great lighting features.”

Mekhayech commented on the challenges the team overcame to achieve the final vision: “In the lobby, we left the stained glass windows at the park entrance foyer and exposed some amazing internal brickwork around the reception. In the auditorium we were able to add a structural mezzanine that connects the auditorium with the library. I love how the mural by Graphic Surgery accentuates the contrast between old and new. We left the library almost completely in its original form, but with some fun new additions. The original handrail and green railings in the main two stairwells, which house Alexander and Pearl’s Area Black and White Swivel light, are my favourite features of the original buildings.”

With the final outcome of Generator Amsterdam standing remarkably close to the

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1. Moooi's Paper chandelier and Anglepoise's 1227 Giant oversized floor lamp greet guests in the ground floor cafĂŠ lounge. 2. Muuto's Unfold pendants line the ceiling of the group breakfast zone. 3. Hostel bedrooms featuring Merci Merci's Angled wall lights in the bathroom area. 4. Ground floor cafĂŠ lounge featuring another Anglepoise 1227 Giant as well as a Blom & Blom bespoke fixture.

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1. Guests are met in the entrance and reception area with Blom & Blom's bespoke lighting features, as well as DesignAgency's Amsterdam's coat of arms installation, "XXX", produced by local signage manufacturer Haaxman. 2. Generator Hostel's luxury suite apartment featuring Blom & Blom's bespoke pendants. 3. Vintage fixtures from Blom & Blom - Soft Shell Clam are suspended over the coffee bar.

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original vision, the project is Mekhayech’s favourite Generator project to date, telling darc. “I think it’s a very mature project that really balances a lot of elements that make for a great hotel and an even more unique hostel. Artistically, it is very expressive and the intervention of the concept into the old building works perfectly for the Generator brand. It really addresses the urban context of the property’s city side, and the true Dutch nature of its park side.”

With the playful composition of laboratory glass beakers illuminating the auditorium, and a labyrinth of pipes, values and lights crawling behind the boiler room bar, down to the Anglepoise bedside lighting, every detail of this project emphasises the building’s history. It is a combination of

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restoration and redesign, reflected through DesignAgency’s scheme and Blom & Blom’s dedicated and passionate work. In its new and enlightened form, the University of Amsterdam’s experimental and scientific history will resonate in the eager and enthusiastic hearts of design loving guests of the Generator Amsterdam hostel, as they return home with stories of how the building’s past twisted its way into to their modern day travelling experience. www.thedesignagency.ca www.ideabv.nl www.artec3.com

design details GENERATOR AMSTERDAM HOSTEL, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS CLIENT: GENERATOR INTERIOR DESIGN: DESIGNAGENCY ARCHITECT: IDEA ONTWERP LIGHTING CONSULTANTS: ARTEC3

lighting specified ALEXANDER & PEARL AREA BLACK AND WHITE SWIVEL PENDANT ANGLEPOISE GIANT 1227 FLOOR, TABLE AND WALL FIXTURES BLOM & BLOM BLACKBIRD PENDANT, AND BESPOKE FIXTURES HOLLOWAYS OF LUDLOW STIRRUP FLOOR FLIGHT IN-ES.ARTDESIGN NEBULITE PENDANT KARMAN ITALIA METRA PENDANT AND VIA RIZZO PENDANT MERCI MERCI ANGLED WALL FIXTURE MOOOI PAPER CHANDELIER MUUTO UNFOLD PENDANT RESIDENT CROSS PENDANT

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Premier Lighting UK hospitality group Whitbread celebrates its first hotel in Germany with an imaginative design for the Premier Inn by Hamburg-based interior architect JOI-Design.

Pics: Christian Kretschmar

JOI-Design was invited to participate in a competition to create a new design for the Premier Inn hotel brand that would be fitting for the German market.

A quintissentially British hotel chain and the UK's largest hotel brand, Premier Inn has more than 50,000 rooms and 700 hotels in the UK. It operates hotels in a variety of locations including city centres, suburbs and airports, setting the specialist firm of interior architects up for a significant challenge in carrying this reputation.

JOI-Design was advised about the launch of the British brand into Germany by Jeremy Scarlett (JSJ Design), the designer behind Premier Inn’s UK hotels. Co-managing Directors of JOI-Design Peter Joehnk and Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk commented on the process: “Whitbread brought us to London for three days so we could gain an understanding of what the brand stands for in the UK. The concept we proposed won in September 2014, and we started our planning straightaway in October. The hotel

opened in April 2016.”

The Frankfurt Premier Inn blends the traditional and the modern with a mix of natural timbers and rich, saturate colours.

These are brought to life by vibrant accents of turquoise, sunshine yellow and violet. The result combines distinctive British style with a touch of humour, attention to detail and the comfort of an open-plan layout.

JOI-Design experienced Whitbread as an open-minded client during the competition phase, while the actual concept

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implementation proved a challenge, being so different to its UK properties. As the standard Premier Inn design premise had been tried and tested in UK hotels, the management didn’t feel it was necessary to make many changes for the German marketplace.

JOI-Design faced an uphill battle with many aspects to consider transforming their design into an award-winning hotel in Frankfurt. “The brief didn’t really change over time, but we refined our concept in

response to the evolving requirements for operational effectiveness, marketing and value engineering,” said Joehnk.

Kretschmar-Joehnk added: “It was essential that our German perspective upon Britishness would be translated in a clever way, and the lighting elements were key to supporting this. We chose lights from a variety of British manufacturers and craftspeople, for example Original BTC, Made and Northern Lights, to help convey an authentic sense of aesthetics.”

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Previous Page Simple, smoked glass globes cast twinkles of light above the bar alongside retro yellow and black fixtures for glamorous yet casual comfort.

1. Wire-frame pendants with exposed bulbs enhance the vibrant yet relaxed feel of the dining area.

2. The doughnut-shaped lampshade reinforces the witty spirit of the meeting room while instilling a focused tranquility. 3. Pendants hung from a recessed cove inject discreet bursts of colour at the reception desk, while strategically placed lights draw out the sculptural feel of the raised text on the feature wall. 4. In the work zone, long tables, reading lights and open shelves reflect the overall theme of the hotel’s interiors. 5. Above the library's communal table, large pendants with tilted shades enhance the quirky mood. 6. 'MENU' emblazoned in glowing marquee lights injects an energetic vibe.

As a contemporary take on a typical British library, the lobby is a multipurpose living space, welcoming guests into a modern lounge where busy young travellers can unwind, recharge and catch up on work.

The tables in the thoughtfully designed work zone incorporate state-of-the-art data technology to support guests as they prepare for meetings or check emails. Large seating areas with classic Chesterfield sofas and comfortable armchairs invite guests to relax and linger, while open shelves separate the lobby, work zone and dining areas to create a degree of privacy.

Lighting was used to create a different ambience in each zone and enhance the distinct identity of each space. In the breakfast room, bar and restaurant, deep

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rich tones are accented in violet and turquoise. Other distinctive features include an eclectic assortment of pendant lights, a metal bar, riveted wall panels, and a wide variety of seating such as high-back armchairs covered in checked Burlington upholstery. The word Menu emblazoned in glowing marquee lights injects an energetic vibe that not only combines decorative appeal with way finding practicalities, but also accentuates the motel’s motto: “Walk in and enjoy”.

“Decorative lighting was hugely important for this project,” said Joehnk. “As the Premier Inn is the last in a row of three hotels along the same road, it was essential that our design helped the property stand out from its competitors. Our strategy was

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to attract attention from those outside by creating a playful and dynamic illumination concept that was highly visible.”

As with any project, challenges were faced in the process of bringing the brief to life.

JOI-Design used lighting as an integral part of its strategy to convey the German perspective of Britishness. Beyond this, planning permission had already been granted for the building’s originally intended use as a boarding house, so JOI-Design was only able to make changes to nonloadbearing walls.

In addition, achieving comfortable ceiling heights in the public areas was difficult because of the way ductwork was orientated, affecting the way they could use decorative lighting. “Eventually, when

we arrived at solutions that made everyone happy, we could finalise the placement of the decorative lights.”

Working with such a large client as Whitbread, with many tiers of decision making, posed challenges in its own right, while offering a cultural learning experience to both German and British sides.

JOI-Design’s work on Frankfurt Premier Inn is almost an exact representation of its original design concept. After achieving such a successful project, the most rewarding part remains its planned expansion of the brand into Germany, including the development of a new guestroom concept to be rolled out in one of the numerous properties. www.joi-design.com

design details PREMIER INN, FRANKFURT, GERMANY CLIENT: WHITBREAD INTERIOR DESIGN: JOI-DESIGN

lighting specified NORTHERN LIGHTS ORIGINAL BTC MADE BROKIS ZERO LIGHTING IGUZZINI

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Beauty Spot Focus Lighting uses decorative lighting to bring a sense of class and glamour to The Beauty & Essex restaurant - the newest addition to The Las Vegas Strip.

Pics Warren Jagger

The Beauty & Essex at The Cosmopolitan is one of the latest restaurant / lounge destinations to hit the Las Vegas Strip. A sophisticated, jewel-toned spot featuring vintage décor, it offers New American plates, drinks and wine. The second of it’s kind, the Las Vegas branch is very much an

extension of the brand, evoking in its guests the sense that they are dining inside of a well-curated jewellery box.

Staple features from Beauty & Essex New York, such as the functioning storefront Pawn Shop, Pearl Lounge, Mirror Bar, Locket Room and private dining room have been re-

established in Las Vegas, while new features such as a 40ft long Locket Wall and a pair of ‘diamond rings’ in the private dining room, bring new life to the concept.

Focus Lighting was introduced to the project through the design architect Rockwell Group to implement both an architectural

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and decorative lighting scheme. The design intent was very clear from the beginning, with decorative lighting fixtures key to making the space feel like the inside of a jewellery box – they are used throughout as the apparent source of light.

JP Lira, one of Focus Lighting’s principal designers, was involved in the project from the beginning and told darc: “Our team worked closely with Rockwell Group to make sure every element of the design was

executed as expected. Finishes in each room were carefully selected and then tested fullscale to assure their details were visible in low light environments.

“One early challenge was finding ways to use the Peacock Room’s existing light fixtures.

We couldn’t remove or relocate them so we had to integrate them into the ceiling lighting design for the new floor plan.

“Additionally, working with extremely tight wattage requirements gave us

fewer opportunities to use halogen and incandescent lighting, which was a challenge considering the client’s vision for the space called for a lot of decorative lighting and nice, low dimming.”

Both decorative and architectural lighting is used to reinforce the sense of luxury guests feel at Beauty & Essex. Customised decorative fixtures accomplish this outwardly, while architectural lighting subtly brings all of the restaurant’s jewel-inspired

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features and finishes to life.

“We used light to make every little detail feel luxurious and significant, enveloping guests in a world of gold, pearl and crystal,” said Lira.

Each room has its own decorative lighting fixture that complements its individual aesthetic. In the Peacock Room, gold chandeliers create a rhythm alongside details in the room’s wallpaper and Locket Wall. In the Pearl Lounge, soft glowing light

from a bowl uplight, showcases the subtle elegance of the room’s pearl ceiling canopy.

For the private dining room Focus Lighting worked with Rockwell Group and Canopy Designs to create a set of custom pendants – two ‘diamond’ rings. “We agonised over every detail,” said Lira. “From the shape and thickness of the crystals to the quantity and placement of the LEDs – producing a stunning light fixture that emulates the sparkle and elegance of a diamond ring.”

Previous Page The ceiling space above the hostess stand is filled with decorative lighting elements using frosted flame shades, custom made for the project by Canopy Designs.

This Page The Pearl Lounge features soft glowing light from a bowl uplight showcasing the subtle elegance of the room's pearl ceiling canopy.

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While the decorative fixtures look and feel like pieces of jewellery themselves, architectural lighting is used to enhance the sparkle and shine in every finish throughout the space. The lighting in this project is what ties everything together and creates an immersive experience.

“As a result of constant coordination and attention to detail the final design was a great success,” said Lira. “What was really unique about this project were the number of important details we needed to accent, in order to produce that feeling of immersion. We spent a lot of time on-site meticulously aiming and adjusting every fixture in order to meet that goal.”

During one site visit Lira noticed that the

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gold wallpaper pattern in the Pearl Lounge wasn’t reflecting light as intended. As a solution, he suggested that the pattern be painted over with gold Sharpies. Using an instructional video created by Lira, staff from the restaurant outlined the wallpaper’s pattern with Sharpies, substantially increasing reflectivity!

The transition from the gritty storefront pawn shop to the restaurant, where every little detail works to create a magical immersive experience from beginning to end is what makes this project unique.

Focus Lighting is currently designing the lighting at a third Beauty & Essex in Los Angeles, California. www.focuslighting.com

design details BEAUTY & ESSEX, LAS VEGAS CLIENT: TAO GROUP & CHEF CHRIS SANTOS DESIGN ARCHITECT: ROCKWELL GROUP LIGHTING DESIGN: FOCUS LIGHTING ALL CUSTOM DESIGN LIGHTING FIXTURES BY CANOPY DESIGNS & ROYAL CONTRACT 1. In the Peacock Room gold chandeliers create a rhythm alongside details in the room's wallpaper and Locket Wall. 2. The transition from the gritty storefront pawn shop to the restaurant creates a magical, immersive experience. 3. In the private dining area a set of custom 'diamond ring' pendants emulate the sparkle and elegance of a diamond ring.

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The Retail Experience With a varied wealth of experience across the retail sector, darc chats with Retail Buying and Wholesale Consultant Lucio Longoni to find out what, in this digital age, makes a store worth visiting.

Lucio Longoni

BORN AND RAISED I was born in Chester, UK, and always had an interest in interiors. When I left school, I studied 3D and spatial design, graphic, product, and exhibition design, as well as typical interior design and basic interior architecture. Within these subjects I was always pushing myself into the interior design side of things.

A WORKING MAN And then I entered the world of work! I always wanted to work within the design industry in some capacity, so I started off in retail on a trainee management scheme in Chester. I eventually moved away from home to Edinburgh, still working within various lifestyle and interior brands and then eventually worked my way to London.

HEAD OVER HEAL’S I worked for lifestyle brands White Company and Habitat before starting at Heal’s, where I did an internship at the head office one day a week for about five months. Soon enough, I started full time, working on the website as content coordinator, where I gained a solid grasp of brand and product knowledge within the lifestyle and design industry.

I then moved into a buying role and things carried on from there - I worked across nearly every category! I focussed on lighting, home accessories, Christmas, textiles, giftware, the list goes on.

After Heal’s I worked for Urban Outfitters for a season buying homeware for Europe, and then went to work for Skandium, before setting up my consultancy.

A KEEN EYE Having an interest in interior design, you naturally become quite a perceptive person.

You pick up on all the senses; the look, the smell, the feel, even the body language.

Working in retail management both in store and online for various brands has given me a completely different angle on the world of retail.

Working in store and seeing everything first hand at the beginning of my career really gave me a huge understanding of what the store experience should be like, how it should feel to consumers and how they should connect. That goes through from the product selection all the way through to the interior design and the lighting. It’s not just about the right products, nor just the right service and interiors. It’s about the

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complete package.

My background in e-commerce, which is indisputably important in the retail world these days, has really shown me that it’s all about the experience, both online and offline. With this omnichannel retailing, the two have to be in sync. You need to have a strong website and a strong retail store environment that provides an experience through the complete package of its interior design, product selection and customer service. Interior design runs through all channels, physical and digital.

THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE With the emergence and continuing growth of online stores, the physical store is actually now becoming more important than ever. It’s no longer good enough to

just have a beautiful interior, it now needs to have the wow-factor. A great way of doing this is by playing with lighting to enhance the mood of the store. Today we are seeing more and more retailers that are playing with lighting in terms of tones and expression, or stand out lighting installations that work to evoke something in the shopper. It needs to be an extra experience, a destination. It’s about more than just buying something, because we can do that online, so stores are now introducing small coffee bars and things like that, which opens up even more opportunities for different types of lighting that you might normally find in a café, in a shop instead! This all adds to the customer’s understanding of what it means to be part of that brand’s customer base.

Bocci’s 14 series chandelier with 64 arms in Heal’s, London. The 64 arm installation was unveiled during London Design Festival 2013. Pic courtesy of Tobias Faisst.

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WHO DOES IT BEST The COS store on Regent Street, London, featuring Michael Anastassiades’ Mobile chandelier in the staircase is a great example of a retailer using decorative lighting as an integral element of the retail experience. It’s a beautiful store selling products to the affordable to mid-market consumer, so the relationship between the cost of the fit out and the cost of the stock is completely out of scale, which I find really interesting.

I think what we’re seeing here is how the lighting affects the value of the products being sold. The chandelier provides the customer with more of an experience, which gives them more of a reason to want to part with their money.

Lee Broom’s Crystal Bulb and Decanterlight collections in the Wonder Room at Selfridges

on Oxford Street, London, is another beautiful example of what lighting can offer in retail spaces. It features over 300 pendants to create a cascade of lights, which wrap around the central circulation space, creating a sparkling focal point for the department store’s most prestigious space. This installation by Lee Broom as a British designer is really in harmony with Selfridges as one of London’s most iconic stores. Also as an international destination store, I think it goes a long way to immerse its consumers in a unique experience.

One more, although I might be biased, is Bocci’s 14 Series chandelier with 64 arms in Heal’s, London. The grand spiral staircase was built in 1916 and previously had a chandelier hanging down its centre until the 1990’s, when it was left empty. This 64 arm installation was unveiled during London

Design Festival 2013 and really transformed the store. It brought back a sense of drama and theatre, providing a focal point at the back of the lighting department to entice customers up to the floors above.

ARCHITECTURAL MEETS DECORATIVE I think decorative lighting is catching up with architectural lighting, which has become much more considered in the last 20 years or so. I think the combination and harmony of the two now is essential. Stores are lit in a way that flatters the consumer, flatters the shape of the products and items that a consumer may be perusing - bad lighting does not sell. Lighting is a great way to create this customer experience and I think that’s partly because you can include it in a store layout without compromising on any shelf or selling space. It’s fine to invest

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in a sofa, but you’re loosing sale space, whereas lighting can sit above and still impress without actually taking away from shop floor space.

ALL THE RAGE And these customer experiences are manifesting themselves in different ways at the minute, two in particular that contradict each other. Minimalism is clearly a trend at the minute. We’re seeing a lot of paired back, simple stores with soft angular designs like Michael Anastassiades’ work in COS. It’s a very sleek look.

Then at the other end of the spectrum, we have the eclectic, almost ethnic feel, which has a huge following, with designs coming in from different cultures. I saw that at London Design Festival this year, with a broad selection of international design

pavilions from around the world, including India. In the past it’s been hard to find modern designs in the mass market that tap into the heritage of India while still looking modern but I think that’s been achieved now.

KEEP IT ALIVE I think purchasing is heading towards e-commerce, and that’s where it should go, but I would love to see retail spaces maintained. They won’t function as they did forty or fifty years ago, but I do hope they integrate themselves, and keep pushing the boundaries in order to keep people off their computers and mobile phones and into stores to treat this as a recreational activity, rather than just something to do online.

Retailers need to keep it alive. www.luciolongoni.com

Left Lee Broom’s installation in Selfridges’ Wonder Room on Oxford Street, London, comprises over 300 pendants from his Crystal Bulb and Decanterlight collections. Above Michael Anastassiades’ Mobile chandelier in COS on Regent Street, London, adds to the value of the products being sold by offering a sleek design experience to shoppers.

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1. - 4. November, 2017 - shift happens -

CALL FOR PAPERS The Call for Papers for PLDC 2017 is open until 18. November, 2016 Play an active part in the PLDC 2017 programme and submit your paper for review at www.pld-c.com.

up to 72 paper presentations / more than 1500 attendees expected / latest know-how and research findings / 6 renowned Keynote Speakers / exhibition of leading manufacturers / gala dinner and PLD Recognition Award / marketplace for the PLD community / excursions / pre-convention meetings / Cities’ Forum / experience rooms / social events / The Challenge: Round IV / self-running poster presentations / PLD community lounge / moderated discussions

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RETAIL FOCUS

Retail Revival The world of retail is moving away from the stark, sharp lines of architectural lighting and is starting to make use of softer, ambient decorative lighting to enhance the customer experience. The next few pages offer a taster of what decorative lighting has to offer to the retail environment.

iNZpired Rotorua, New Zealand Hosting over 400,000 visitors annually, iNZpired is a well known attraction for domestic and international visitors to New Zealand. In 2014 as part of a NZ$2m full re-fit of the restaurant at the top of the gondola, Skyline Rotorua installed multiple David Trubridge light fittings over the dining area. After a year of constant comments about the lighting and where visitors could purchase them, an idea was hatched and the David Trubridge Studio was approached

by Skyline Rotorua to design their new onsite retail store; ‘iNZpired’.

The existing retail offering sold low value, high volume products so unlike most tourist location stores the new offering was to

stock higher value products from companies based and made only in New Zealand. To reflect this, the brief was for a gallery like space using timbers locally grown where possible.

Although the DT Studio has plenty of experience in designing displays of its own products, this was the first time they had ever been asked to do a full retail fit-out. Adding to the challenge was the need to incorporate the display units and requirements of six other companies, without knowing what those units would look like!

For the iNZspired store David and the team created tree-like structures using locally

grown Redwood timber and went with a more natural feel. These tree-like pillars echo the form of the native New Zealand Nikau palm tree but offer display surfaces and vitrines for the objects that sit inside.

They are lit from above giving a dappled light that still manages to highlight the pieces inside.

To display DT Studio's own products the team re-created a large tree structure made from natural bamboo (the same material as the lights) three-metres high and threemetres wide, built onsite over two days while the rest of the store was still being constructed. www.davidtrubridge.com

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Chopard The Avenues, Kuwait For years William Brand, designer and owner of Brand van Egmond, has been the private lighting supplier of Chopard, delivering the Hollywood chandelier to almost every Chopard boutique around the world.

For the new regional flagship store in Kuwait, Brand has designed a tailormade lighting installation consisting of an incessant rain of crystals. Located in the prestigious ‘The Avenues’, Kuwait’s most luxurious shopping mall, Chopard had to realise an outstanding boutique, bearing in mind both its global retail identity as well as the local taste.

In collaboration with renowned architect Thierry W. Despont, who was responsible for the interior, Brand had to create a tailor-made lighting solution. An impressive entrance with its 12-metre ceiling, leading to a 460sqm boutique, was earmarked as the preferred location for his installation.

The design had to be momentous and the assignment was clear: captivate in such a way that through your lighting passers-by will be drawn in to the boutique!

“We used the most beautiful crystals, so the association between diamonds and crystals can be effortlessly made,” said Brand.

Upon completion, the Brand Van Egmond atelier received the ‘Chopard Boutique Prestige Trophy’, an 18k golden nail as an appreciation for their commitment and exceptional work. www.brandvanegmond.com

Ted Baker Johannesburg, South Africa Ted Baker's first store in Sandton City, Johannesburg, opened its doors adorned with a series of bespoke lighting designs from Foldability.

The 1,960sqft retail space was inspired by Johannesburg’s famous Shakespeare garden, whereby plants mentioned within the works of William Shakespeare are cultivated in a beautiful and serene setting.

Designed in the style of Elizabethan ruffs, each piece was made using stiffened cotton, with a hand painted golden edge. In total, there were over 1,000 hand-stitched points in the collection and approximately 300m of hand painted gold edging. The designs were attached to a circular steel wire frame, which was powder coated in white and hand stitched to the top of each ruff. www.foldability.co.uk

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BOGGI Milan, Italy The collaboration between Contardi and renowned Italian menswear brand BOGGI, saw the lighting supplier adapt two of its standard models – Quadra Joint and Quadra Liseuse – to specifically fit into the BOGGI showroom concept.

Featuring the BOGGI logo on the base of

the lamp, elegantly engraved, these custom made shades are slightly larger than their standard counterparts and are finished with a ‘tone on tone’ trim.

A desk version is used on the counters and reception areas, while a free standing floor version is used in the show windows at the

side of the mannequins. The bronze finish and subtle elegance of the off white cotton are a perfect match with the sophisticated elegance of the BOGGI collection.

Pictured is the BOGGI store in Galleria Passarella, Milan. www.contardi-italia.com

Les Ateliers Courbet New York, USA

inside a carriage factory recently renovated, the gallery exhibits a balanced dialogue between structural details from its past and modern solutions of interior design surrounding a refined selection of furniture designs.

The interior layout gives visitors a first-hand experience of modern living while the play of lights from the chandeliers by Lolli e

Memmoli brings a captivating enchantment to the space.

The high-end quality of materials such as crystal, the exceptional lighting design and craftsmanship skills of the artisans manufacturing these lighting sculptures by Lolli e Memmoli tells the tale of nonpareil creativity made in Italy. www.lollimemmoli.it

The reopening of Les Ateliers Courbet gallery in New York is marked by Lolli e Memmoli and a lighting design defining the popular destination in the heart of NoLita that draws in collectors and enthusiasts from all over the world. Set

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Toffee Sanremo, Italy Sanremo’s Toffee opened its doors August 6, 2016. The multi-brand showroom belongs to young fashion guru Ingrid Fiordelisi, along with her partner in both business and life, Luca Gilardino.

One of Fiordelisi’s main desires for the boutique was to create a space that evoked the same creativity and innovation as the varied chosen collections within it. Italian interior designer Alessandra Braida collaborated closely with Fiordelisi in creating the boutique's minimalistic yet opulent atmosphere, including subtle references to the structure’s form and internal proportions using selected pieces and colour treatments. The use of gold elements in the space communicates luxury and exclusivity, solidified by the choice to place Zaha Hadid’s Aria Gold for Slamp at the centre, positioned above a hexagonal, glass top table.

Aria Gold is the most recent addition to Hadid’s Aria family, and is made of

50 metallised polycarbonate layers that radiate around a central LED source. Each of the chandelier’s 50 arms is different from the other, meaning that every lamp is constructed almost entirely by hand. The metallisation process applied to Aria Gold is unique in its technological advances, which ensures an even diffusion to the finish.

The lamp’s perfect alchemy of sustainable materials and architectural, mathematical aesthetics marry Fiordelisi’s desire to create an environment that refuses to follow trends, and instead, insists on starting them.

Aria’s illumination of the showroom creates a sultry, lush glow that originates both directly above and below the lamp, softly dissipating against the emerald walls and black wood. The choice to use emerald throughout the space was a conscious one.

The deep, sensual shade, which covers the walls and traditional moulding, serves as an elegant, charming foundation for

the furnishings and fixtures, which were specifically created for the space by Italian artisans. The flooring is a traditional, symmetrical mix of white Calcutta and black Marquina marble, arranged in a large-scale chess pattern. Aria Gold casts a calculated, almost architectural pattern of light and shadow that stands in contrast to the geometric lines of the flooring. All of the furniture is handmade from black oak, and then finished or accessorised with gold accents.

“The interior should be charming, even surprising, and at the same time, transmit a sensation of trust," notes Fiordelisi.

“Every client should feel as though they are receiving exclusive attention and care as soon as they enter.”

The mix of clean materials and deep tones are the perfect backdrop for Hadid’s iconic sinuous design for Slamp. www.slamp.com

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Wrangler Roadhouse Bangkok, Thailand Wrangler has unveiled a revamped Asia Pacific retail platform designed by UXUS. Tasked with the challenge of taking an iconic American brand (with cowboy heritage) and translating this to Asia Pacific tastes in a premium way, UXUS discovered that in Asia, a motorbike rider is the

modern day cowboy. As such, the store captures the spirit of biker hangouts where riders share their stories, passions and get new gear. Going beyond a retail store, it is the destination for a new generation of denim lovers to connect and explore the latest denim culture. The lighting collection curated for the new retail design complemented the Roadhouse look and feel.

Consisting of decorative pendants, bespoke flourescents, track spotlights, a highlighter wall - designed to ensure campaigns are a focal point throughout the customer journey, and light boxes behind the cash desk to showcase seasonal campaigns reaffirming the brand spirit at point of purchase. www.uxus.com

Afrodit Showroom Istanbul, Turkey The Afrodit showroom in Istanbul, Turkey, is a perfect example of how light can create ambience and add character to a space.

Light is a key element to any space; it can completely change the dimensions, while shaping the environment.

This project features several of Artemide’s Pipe lights, designed by Herzog & De Meuron. Pipe perfectly complements the space and creates an interesting balance between light and shadow, focusing attention on the clothes within the showroom.

Pipe is not an obvious choice for retail; it is a standout design icon that adds personality to a space whereas subtle solutions are often preferred.

Pipe is a theatrical design but one that is also very functional, with its flexibility and high-quality light performance. www.artemide.com

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Provide Vancouver, Canada Vancouver’s highly curated lifestyle store, Provide, focuses on decor crafted with perfection. The shop features Niche Modern Solitaire pendants and Pharos pendant lights, which add a classic touch to the contemporary space.

Stunningly minimalist and straightforward in its presentation, the celebration of one single Edison style lamp at the centre of the Solitaire pendant is beautiful to behold, seen in amber, clear and gray glass.

The Pharos modern pendant light takes its

name from the ancient texts where a pharos is a tower with a light that gives warning of shoals to passing ships. The pendant here is gray glass. At Niche Modern, every piece of glass is hand-blown in the upstate New York factory. Commenting on why he chose the Niche Modern pendants, store owner David Keeler told darc: "We love the handmade quality of Niche Modern lighting.

It has a relaxed but still sophisticated look.

We chose to primarily use the solitaire in a variety of semi-neutral colours as we wanted

the space to have decorative lighting that complemented our environment and did not compete with the variety of product we sell.

The addition of the Niche Modern lighting brings a subtle touch of style to our overall space. We added the Pharos as well in Grey as an unexpected element to provide more visual interest. We continually have people enter our showroom and compliment us on our lighting – it's timeless.” www.nichemodern.com

www.bover.es T. +34 938 713 152

One of the most distinctive signs from Vietnam is the hat used by women in the countryside to protect themselves from the sun and the rain and as a basket to carry food. NĂ“N LĂ is the name used to describe this Vietnamese hat and it is also the name we selected for this lamp.

Jorge Pensi Design Studio

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Locherber Milano Milan, Italy Locherber Milano has opened its first ownname fragrance boutique in the heart of the fashion capital, thanks to its 30-year experience in the herbal sector.

A lounge-type space, the interior design comes from architect Andrea Castrignano, creating truly authentic furnishing desired by the client, which included sophisticated lighting to create a refined setting.

The boutique’s sophisticated and refined atelier, boasting a retrò ambience inspired the architect Castrigano’s mood, his

choice of materials, light and furnishing accessories, creating a classic mood where the retro ambience has been revised in a contemporary way.

The layout evokes typical Italian shops at the beginning of the century. The liberty décor lounge welcomes visitors on the three elegant rhomboid parquet floors: ash, ice and dark oak, surrounded by the enveloping plum and wisteria shades.

Tate chandeliers from Panzeri feature throughout the space, a reinterpretation of

the ancient chandelier invented in Venice in the eighteenth century. Produced with advanced techniques, Tate chandeliers combine the tradition of Murano blown glass and the mechanical technology in lombardy.

The Locherber Milano boutique perfectly depicts Italian creativity, from the choice of furnishings to that of details, such as lighting, in a perfect blend of tradition and innovation. www.panzeri.it

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Jess Boutique Burlington, USA The hand-worked ribbons of steel paired with elegant glass bowls give this design a transitional twist. The delicately curved ten and seven-arm Hubbardton Forge chandeliers create a refined ambiance for this high-end fashion boutique in the USA. The Aegis chandeliers represent the traditional craftsmanship worthy of Hubbardton Forge’s reputation as the ‘Modern American Blacksmith’.

“For the retail environment, it is particularly important to understand the nature of the business and the role that the lighting plays in that space,” says Jeanne-Marie Gand, Vice President of Marketing at Hubbardton

Forge. “For some businesses, lighting is utilitarian. For others, it complements the space. In yet other showrooms, the lighting becomes a focal piece, to draw customers toward a specific target area. Jess Boutique had very specific goals with their space, not the least of which was to reinforce the very high level of quality and beauty of their carefully curated apparel and accessories offerings.”

The boutique’s owner was directly involved in creating the vision for this space, combining unique designer brands, sophisticated style and a warm shopping experience. “Lighting is a huge part of retail

as it needs to show off the merchandise, set a mood for the customers and helps establish who you are as a business to a certain extent,” said Jess Pomerleau, Owner of Jess Boutique. “I knew from the beginning I wanted chic lighting since we are a designer boutique based in Vermont.

Hubbardton Forge encompasses everything I knew I wanted my business to be, chic, elegant, warm and inviting. With three large chandeliers, they have become the centerpieces of my boutique and not only were they the perfect finishing touches, they are beautiful works of art.” www.hubbardtonforge.com

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kinetic light sculpture, designed by Ivan Black

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Bates Smart Folio is our regular feature highlighting the importance of decorative lighting in the work of a design studio. This issue we present Australia-based Bates Smart.

Bates Smart is a multidisciplinary design firm delivering architecture, interior design, urban design and strategic services across Australia, with a staff of over 200 in studios in Melbourne and Sydney. Its award-winning projects transform the city fabric and the way people use and inhabit urban spaces and built environments. The team understands the social and economic forces currently shaping communities and

their impact on built environments of the future. Its founders were innovators of their time, and the firm are leaders in the debate on how and where we work, meet, live, learn and heal. The approach is not simply about making big gestures, they nurture and develop every size of project and all its elements, until the details complement and enhance the whole. Bates Smart’s clients are the partners that make the work it does

Pic: Shannon McGrath

possible, understanding their commercial objectives and the risks that must be balanced to bring their projects to fruition successfully. As Bates Smart moves forward, its studios embrace the challenge of each project, questioning assumptions and testing solutions until they find their bespoke optimal outcome. www.batessmart.com www.batessmart.com

Corrs Chambers Westgarth SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA Bates Smart was engaged by Corrs Chambers Westgarth to design its new Sydney office as part of an integrated fitout in the Lord Rogers designed, 8 Chifley Tower. The building is designed with a distinctive side core floorplate and dramatic three level atrium voids creating ‘vertical villages’. Over ten levels, the Corrs tenancy includes two ‘vertical villages’ and, on the upper level of the tenancy, an open terrace area with dramatic views. Soft organic elements and warm natural materials counterbalance the strong materiality of the building, offering a timeless design solution and befitting Corrs’ position as Australia’s leading independent law firm.

Crown Metropol MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA The premium five-star Crown Metropol hotel is ideally placed to capitalise on the business, convention and leisure markets. The hotel offers 658 guest rooms including twelve dedicated spa rooms, 32 suites and one apartment. The spacious rooms feature an abundance of natural light by day and intimate atmosphere by night. The day spa and pool facilities are located on Level 27 and take advantage of breathtaking city views. A 25-metre lap pool with infinity edge and hot plunge pool takes centre stage in the pool area. The top floor of the hotel, Level 28 is occupied by the club lounge facility, which includes an intimate and moody cocktail bar with screened views over the pool and an external terrace showcasing the Melbourne skyline.

Pic: Shannon McGrath

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Dinner by Heston Blumenthal MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA Located on the third floor of Crown Towers Resort in Melbourne, the 120 capacity restaurant overlooks the city across the Yarra River in the space vacated by The Fat Duck. Guests enter through a theatrical ‘Alice in Wonderland’ 20-metre ramp that creates the illusion of becoming increasingly smaller as they walk towards a kaleidoscope. A concealed automatic sliding door opens to reveal the restaurant, host desk and expansive show kitchen. The interior incorporates a rich palette of famous photographs that influence the upholsteries on the custom furniture and custom carpet with dark lacquered wall panelling and timber table tops and waiters stations. Custom design light fittings also reflect the richness of the famous photographs from the book Historic Heston. The textured ceiling motif is designed on the Tudor rose, a motif used in the design of the chandeliers in the London restaurant. Ceramic jelly mould wall sconces designed for the London restaurant were installed above a Sommelier station.

Pic: Peter Bennetts

Pic: Mark Roper

National Centre for Synchrotron Science MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA The National Centre for Synchrotron Science is a spectacular building that celebrates the science of light through the art of architecture. The visually alluring new visitor centre takes its cue from the Australian Synchrotron’s international role as a sophisticated, high technology research facility using light as a medium. Providing a gateway and new public face for the campus, the contemporary, innovative and intelligent architecture for the Centre is a confident symbol and celebration of the Synchrotron’s ground-breaking work. One of the design elements deployed to express the nature of light in the Synchrotron is a play on the traditional dark lecture theatre. A vast array of halo-shaped fluorescent lights punctuate the felt-lined ceiling to demonstrate the power of light as the sole experience in the calm soft grey aesthetic of the lecture theatre.

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Pic: Max Abadian

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Blood Brothers Brought together by a bond thicker than blood, Gabriel Scott is a Montreal-based design studio comprised of Gabriel Kakon and Scott Richler, brothers-in-law and creative partners. Scott Richler met with Femke Gow at the Triode gallery in Paris, France, to talk design, inspiration and medieval artistry.

Tucked away in the streets of Paris on rue Jacob, Scott Richler stood amidst his studio’s geometric creations in the Triode design gallery, reminiscing on how he and his brother-in-law Gabriel Kakon, both from Montreal, Canada, came together creatively.

“Gabriel and I have similar backgrounds, both having gone to schools of architecture.

When I graduated, I had a bit of a departure from that and went into jewellery, which then became other types of accessories like handbags, and I eventually found my way back to furniture. At that time, Gabriel was still studying architecture and we started to work together around 2004.”

The beginning of a very bespoke line for Gabriel Scott, the duo began by creating one off pieces such as large tables, things that couldn’t be reproduced without huge effort. This went on for a few years until they decided to treat furniture more like Richler had been treating jewellery or fashion, as something that could be reproduced and distributed. “Around 2011, we changed the thinking a little bit and started to produce pieces that had component based productions,” said Richler. In 2012, the pair moved away from sculptural pieces to launch a contemporary line of reproducible lighting and furniture fixtures as Gabriel Scott, including the Harlow, Welles and Kelly lighting series.

Gabriel Scott’s first piece of lighting was the Kelly, with chains cascading down in clean lines, an angular geometry that is

seen across their collections. “I think you could say that what really came together at the birth of Gabriel Scott was adopting the languages of the pieces we had done previously in a bespoke method and applying the same aesthetic. Our aesthetic always revolved a lot around steel and brass treatment. These kinds of details were always there from the beginning.”

Shortly after the pair established themselves as Gabriel Scott, they opened a flagship store in New York. Why? “For obvious reasons, because it’s New York!” said Richler. Having already developed a deep client base in New York, Richler and Kakon had collaborations and relationships with other designers and architects in the area. “We were doing tradeshows and a lot of people were asking, so we set up a store out of both desire and demand. There really was a lot of demand for it and since we’ve opened, I can only say good things. We’ve had amazing feedback and our business has grown tremendously. New York is not just an American city so we have exposure to international markets. The showroom is also an impressive space, so it speaks for itself.

It makes you look like you know what you’re doing.”

Not only is it the space itself but the collections housed within the New York showroom that are truly convincing of expertise in thoughtful design and craftsmanship, oozing a mature understanding of design crafted out of the their varied experience.

“The Welles series was originally very sculptural, but was resolved in a technical way like a jeweller. We use a lot of the same techniques that we’ve used in the past. Some of our stuff is really very complicated, like blowing the glass for the Welles Glass, but then we try to resolve the details so that they can be machine made first and then assembled by artisans. You don’t have to be a jeweller to assemble them, but you have to be a very good glass blower to manage to get those forms.”

Gabriel Scott’s latest collaboration with London-based tattoo artist Maxime Buchi demonstrates the versatility of technique and stylistic detail that the studio includes in its work. Looking ahead to the launch of the new collaborative fixture, which was celebrated during London Design Festival at FBC London’s Francis Street showroom (turn to pg. 98 to find out more), Richler commented: “I had been following Maxime’s work for several years. At first I was drawn to the tattoo work, then I discovered and began to appreciate the nature of the whole cross discipline attitude that he promotes.” Buchi is very similar to Gabriel Scott in his approach to tattoos and line art, using the same style of geometric art in his refined aesthetic that could be described as a graphic modernist, scientific illustration of contemporary and classic art.

Buchi commented on the collaboration that seamlessly brought together tattoo art and product design: “Tattooing is before anything, a work in 3D. It has as much to

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do with space as with illustration. Working with the ergonomics of geomtry on the body to the geomtric quality and ergonomics of furniture was a step I always hoped to make and this collaboration made it possible.

Scott understands my world perfectly and translated my ideas into objects with an absolute perfection.”

Modeled after the tetrahedron, a base element for all platonic solids, the varying line weights of Buchi’s drawings were interpreted in the varying thickness of the materials. The thin wires used to power and suspend the fixture juxtaposed against the thicker machined metal bars that create the inverted pyramid form relate back to Buchi’s work. The light source is located in the corners of the tetrahedra and are directed towards the hanging icosahedron in the centre, refracting and reflecting the light.

Richler commented on the development of this collection, a patterned version of the Welles Glass series: “You make a mould out of steel and then you weld it. The moulds have Maxime Buchi’s line and dot work inside, which leaves an imprint on the glass after it’s blown into the mould... And these moulds are big! To blow into them, you can’t actually lift them so you have to stand over them on a podium, or a stool, and blow. And there has to be two people, one to steady the mould and one to blow. The process of getting these kind of shapes is very medieval.

“I’ve tried to do it and I just can’t. To blow glass like that, you have to really push with everything. It’s a very physical process.

Our glass is blown by an artisan in eastern Quebec who is from Czech Republic. He used to work for Lasvit and is one of the best.”

So with a background in jewellery, what draws Richler to bring the same attention to detail to the world of lighting? “Light kind of is jewellery,” he said instinctively. “In the same way that someone wears a jewel, a hotel or a home wears a light. It’s the piece that you notice when you walk into a room, for various reasons. It’s the only

Previous page Scott Richler (left) and Gabriel Kakon (right) of Gabriel Scott design studio. This page Harlow Dried Flowers in alabaster white blown glass and satin copper frame. Pic courtesy of Gabriel Scott

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Gabriel Scott’s Welles Glass in alabaster white blown glass and polished copper frame.

Pic courtesy of Gabriel Scott.

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thing that floats. It’s the only thing in the room that really has an aura. It dresses the room.”

According to Richler, designing lights has no constraints. There are technical constraints to get a light to work but in terms of its form, it allows a designer to be very sculptural. “A coffee table has to be 17-inches high, or a chair has to hold weight and it also has to be able to have someone sit in it. You have to measure a person.

There are more rules in furniture than there are in lighting. It really allows freedom of expression.”

As more and more people seem to be embracing this irreplaceable vitality of decorative lighting, Richler points out the danger of this phenomenon. “It happens in fashion as well, when shoes are really important to women one year, then bags,

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Pics courtesy of David Wren (www.davidwren.co & @davidwren_)

then jewellery. I think in terms of the interior design world, more indie designers have been producing very interesting lighting, which they weren’t before as it used to be dominated by Italian companies.

The only danger is that it’s heavily saturated, so you have to be really special to stand out.”

Gabriel Scott’s designs set themselves apart by taking inspiration from anywhere other than designs within its own field.

“I rarely get influenced by another piece of furniture or lighting,” said Richler. “It usually comes from outside of that. I usually see an interesting detail that I apply. For example jewellery designer Gaia Repossi who recently redid her Paris store with architectural practice OMA headed by Rem Koolhaus – it’s things like that, which influence me. Not in a literal sense, but

it’s the subtlety or the detail in another medium, or something small in a piece of art. It’s almost always external, like the joining and wells and other details.”

This attention to detail is evident across the entire body of Gabriel Scott’s work, adding an element of intrigue to interior projects for which their products have been specified. Such projects include American department store Saks Toronto (March 2016), which features the Welles Long chandelier in blackened steel in the men’s department, specified by interior design duo Yabu Pushelburg for its sculptural quality and masculine aesthetic. This same fixture is also seen in Armani Chicago’s men’s store, completed in January 2015.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, the studio’s Harlow large chandelier in Alabaster white and satin brass is seen in the Bergdorf

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Goodman New York store (January 2015), and Century 21’s handbag salon in New York (April 2015). The pair have also worked with Yabu Pushelburg on several Four Seasons hotel projects including Toronto, Boston and Kuwait amongst others.

Gabriel Scott’s work holds history that lies in choices of colour and design intention while edging towards the future with its varying progressive forms. “Nothing we make is totally foreign, which is where the history lies,” said Richler. “Familiarity in anything is what is going to draw the person in, that little bit of what the work has in common with you, what is familiar to you, and what is new in it.”

Richler sees a recognisable style in Gabriel Scott’s work, indicating that the pieces come from one studio. They push the boundaries, all the while being aware of

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their audience and its needs. “We could be much more extreme and artistic in some way and create more sculptures, but we have to try to figure out what people want.

We have to create something that people can really envision themselves having and knowing what to do with. So we take all that history and sensitivity and we try to make something fitting.”

In a combination of skill and natural instinct, Gabriel Scott finds itself at the forefront of what is current in design, without actually paying too much attention to trends. This is the mark of two true creatives who speak the same design language. Together, Richler and Kakon create that which appeals to the traditional using forms of the future to invite intelligent design into everyday life. www.gabriel-scott.com

Previous Page 1. Welles series on display at FBC London showroom event during September’s London Design Festival 2016. 2. Maxime by Gabriel Scott fixture was launched during the FBC London showroom event during London Design Festival.

Scott Richler puts the finishing touches on striking pendant.

This Page 1. Armani, Chicago, men’s store featuring Welles long chandelier in blackened steel (January 2015). 2. Handbag salon in Century 21, New York, featuring Harlow large chandelier in alabaster white and satin brass (April 2015). 3. Men’s department of Saks, Eaton Centre, Toronto, featuring Welles Long chandelier in blackened steel (March 2016).

4. Window display of Bergdorf Goodman, New York, featuring Harlow large chandelier in alabaster white and satin brass (January 2015).

Pics courtesy of Gabriel Scott

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Moulding The Future Working at the intersection of design, technology and science, Brooklynbased design studio Danielle Trofe Design is evolving the definition of designer lighting one MushLume at a time.

In harnessing innovative technologies and material sciences to create functional and accessible design, Danielle Trofe’s studio in New York, USA, aims to encourage a departure from conventional materials and production techniques in search of longterm, sustainable solutions in design.

Born and raised in Austin, Texas, Trofe lived out in the country growing up surrounded by horses and chickens. “I was outside every single day as a child,” she tells darc.

“I believe I owe much of my affinity for and derived inspiration from nature and my value of it is deeply embedded in my childhood.”

Trofe’s educational path into the design field was an unconventional one, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and entrepreneurship from Florida State University and then switching gears to achieve a Master’s degree from the Florence

Design Academy in Italy. It wasn’t until the budding designer was introduced to 3D modelling software that she realised her true calling in product design. “I’m currently studying for a Master’s degree in biomimicry from Arizona State University with an aim to incorporate sustainability at an even deeper level in my practice.

Biomimicry is looking at nature’s form, function and ecosystems and consciously emulating these evolved strategies into human design.”

While scoping out a project at materials innovation library Material ConneXion in Manhattan, Trofe came across something called Mushroom Materials, developed and produced by biomaterials company Ecovative, which grows sustainable products. “This fascinating mushroom material combines mushroom mycelium – the root structure of mushrooms – with

agricultural waste – corn stalks and seed husks – to create a natural, sustainable and biodegradable material that is grown, not manufactured,” says Trofe. “I knew immediately that I wanted to work with it and discover new applications within the furniture and lighting industry.”

Mushroom mycelium speaks to the three pillars at the core of Trofe’s studio – science, technology and design – while also taking into consideration the full lifecycle of the product. “You’re starting with a waste product from the agricultural industry, upcycling it and combining it with mycelium, which is a rapidly renewable resource,” continues Trofe. “Instead of adding excessive water, heat and energy used during the ‘manufacturing’ process, you’re using only the power of nature to grow the product. Finally, at the end of its life, the material can safely biodegrade,

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adding nutrients back to the soil rather than pollutants. That is real sustainability!”

The gentle and nurturing impact of this fascinating material is reflected in its interaction with light when used to create decorative lighting. Trofe has primarily developed a line of lighting using the mushroom material, with explorations in planters and other decorative interior objects under development for several years. “The MushLume lighting collection creates directional lighting due to the soft, non-translucent properties of the mycelium material. The diffusing and softening, especially of harsh LED light admittance, is quite enchanting. The mycelium’s natural

white hue combined with the organic structure of the agricultural substrate creates a textural journey of flowing light.”

In order to capture such a gentle luminosity and really harness this innovative material, Trofe has found herself experimenting with somewhat unconventional methodologies in industrial design. Yet the evolution of what the young designer has created as a retail product line depicts a more structured process. The MushLume Cup light series was developed this past year in order to create a modular version of a hanging, table and floor lamp that uses one universal shade, no-tool assembly and ships flat.

The universal shade was first prototyped

by 3D printing moulds in which to grow the shades. After several modifications and iterations, parts were altered or eliminated and a paired down, affordable and an eloquent series emerged.

Yet even with its successful development and enchanting luminosity, creating lights out of mushrooms comes with as many difficulties as one might imagine. “You’re working with a living organism, so there are a lot of challenges that go along with the growing process,” explains Trofe. “Creating proper growing conditions, eliminating sources of contamination and developing strategies that best meet the needs of each size and volume of lampshade are just a

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few trials when working with this material.

As a designer, creating solutions along a set of parameters and solving for the unexpected can be considered normal skill sets; however designing for and with new material processes often requires a longer timeline of research and development in order to effectively evolve a prototype into a product that can be produced.”

Trofe’s studio is currently scaling production of the MushLume lighting collection to enable a greater retail and commercial reach. “I would ultimately like to see all the components be made either from myceliumbased materials or other natural material equivalents, thus elevating the product

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line to an even higher level of product sustainability. Ecovative has made some amazing advancements with their highdensity line of mushroom material, Myco Board. I definitely see a future exploration of applications of this material within the interiors industry.”

With sustainability at the forefront of modern invention and design discourse, Trofe’s work with mycelium is a leader in its field. It goes hand in hand with the environmental implications of LEDs, and demonstrates the thoughtful and intelligent direction in which the decorative lighting industry is moving. www.danielletrofe.com

Previous Page MushLume Cup Light table lamp with hand-turned ash wood and brass fittings accentuating the soft glow of light against the mycelium material.

Pic: John Vishnesky.

1. MushLume Trumpet pendant hand-painted with organic milk paint. Pic: Nix + Gerber Studio. 2.

Inside Danielle Trofe Design’s workshop featuring display of various forms within the MushLume lighting series. Pic: Danielle Trofe. 3. Prototyping and exploring with the mushroom material. Pic: Danielle Trofe. 4. Danielle Trofe beneath her MushLume Hemi pendant. Pic: Nix + Gerber Studio.

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Celebrating An Icon As Ingo Maurer celebrates its 50th anniversary, the company reflects on its founder's unique style and aproach to design through a specially created installation during London Design Festival.

Portrait: Hagen Sczech

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, German lighting design and manufacturing company Ingo Maurer partnered with furniture and lighting retailer Forza, London, to present a retrospective installation comprised of some the company’s most iconic lighting fixtures.

As part of London Design Festival, the display showcased the work of the company's founder, Ingo Maurer, highlighting his innovative design approach and illustrating how his revolutionary manufacturing methodologies have progressed with the introduction of new technologies and materials over the past 50 years.

Maurer is well known for his playful and

often poetic lighting fixtures, designs with strong emotional and social resonances that fuse functionality with an artistic approach.

The anniversary celebrates the designer’s technical and forward-thinking approach towards emerging technologies, including YaYaHo of 1984, the first low-voltage system consisting of tense wires and many different luminous sculptural spotlights that are movable on a tightrope, as well as EL.E.DEE (2001), displaying Maurer’s early adoption of LED design.

Over the years, Maurer uniquely pioneered the use of various materials in lighting design. While the 70's saw most designers working in plastic, Maurer rethought the

flexible qualities of paper, using it for his now signature lampshades Knitterling (1978) and The MaMo Nouchies (1998), while his wall lamp Zero One (1990), was created with white Corian. Since 2006, Maurer has been experimenting extensively with OLEDs and successfully launched the world’s first OLED table lamp, a limited-edition light known as Early Future (2008).

Fascinated by LED technology and its possibilities for artistic expression, Maurer also experimented extensively with incorporating LED circuit-boards in his lighting designs, resulting in products such as Licht.Enstein (2001), which was included in the anniversary installation.

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Additionally, Maurer started applying 3D printing technologies in manufacturing lights from a very early stage. Products such as Knot, Flatterby and Spyre – a limited edition lamp designed by Ron Arad - all utilise this innovative methodology.

Besides working on the design of individual fixtures, Maurer is often involved in fine art installations, architectural designs and urban scenography projects, such as the illumination of Torre Velasca in Milan for Audi Italia and Interni during Salone Internazionale del Mobile 2016.

Through the years, Maurer has received numerous awards for his avant-garde work with light, most importantly winning the

Oscar of the design world the Compasso d’Oro in 2011.

The showroom event was supported by Toshiba Materials, which also presented TRI-R - new LED technology developed in collaboration with TOL Studio, chosen by Ingo Maurer for the Lucellino table lamp.

The source provides frosted visual effect from the outside, and an internal dimming mechanism, allowing the lamp to function like an incandescent lamp. The natural light produced by TRI-R, closest to the solar spectrum than any other light produced by conventional LED, gives sharpness to details and textures without altering colours. www.ingo-maurer.com

1. One from the Heart (1989) 2. Don Quixote (1989) 3. Porca Miseria! (1994) 4. Zettel'z 5 (1997) 5. Wo Tum Bu (1998) 6. Holonzki (2000) 7. Seven Rats (2007) 8. I Ricchi Poveri Toto (2014) 9. Flatterby (2016)

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Reflection, Refraction, Reborn For the first time in over 100 years, Swarovski has enlisted the skills of independent designers to create a new range of crystal components. In this exclusive interview, design duo Fredriskon Stallard describe the honour of creating the Glaciarium chandeliers.

Pic: Mark Cocksedge

Designed exclusively for Swarovski, Fredrikson Stallard presented their Glaciarium collection during this year’s London Design Festival.

Inspired by the mysterious appearance of crystal and its behaviour in its raw state, the new collection of objects includes a series of vases, bowls and candle-holders as well as four stunning chandeliers: Avalon, Helios, Superline and Voltaire, which sit alongside and a series of crystal chandelier components for independent designers to work with.

While Patrick Fredrikson and Ian Stallard have collaborated on numerous projects with Swarovski that span a decade, this is the first time designers from outside the ‘Swarovski family’ have been asked to design the individual crystal components, and as such the project has been a great honour for the design duo, as they explained to darc: “The outside world won’t realise what a big deal this is,” says Fredrikson. “Swarovski have, over the years, asked fashion and jewellery designers to reinterpret their work and more recently, a broader range of

creatives, but this is the first time they’ve let anybody get to the heart of the company and create the shapes of the crystals themselves. It’s a huge honour to be asked to do this and so we had to do something that took the crystal components into the next century – it wasn’t enough for us to just create a new shape.

“It’s great to design something that then becomes a building block for other designers – it’s like creating words for someone to create a story with. That for us, is just as exciting as developing the chandeliers ourselves.”

“It’s going to be really interesting to see what other designers will do with the components,” adds Stallard. “Even the chandeliers we’ve created are modular in the way that interior designers and architects can work with them.

“This is a new chapter for Swarovski and one of the challenges was to be able to marry the former components with these new ones. We had to create components that would create all sorts of chandeliers for all sorts of lighting applications.”

“The new shape of the components is very soft and curvaceous in comparison to the harsh, straight forward cut we’re used to seeing from Swarovski and we had to get the right balance between the two,” continues Fredrikson. “The reason we use crystals in the first place is because we want that extra sparkle, extra explosion of light and refraction and each one of the components needed to keep that element.”

Having first met Nadja Swarovski ten years ago when asked to propose a piece for Swarovski Crystal Palace, Fredrikson Stallard has built up a relationship that is more like a working family where honesty and a creative vision go hand in hand. “Nadja is a real visionary,” says Stallard. “Swarovski is amazing in the way it works, they never say something can’t be done, we’ve not hit that wall with them yet and that’s really amazing. There is this entire team that has a real spirit of making something better, asking how something can be pushed forward.”

“We’ve got to a point where we feel comfortable presenting ideas to them and

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The Voltaire Chandelier designed by Fredrikson Stallard, is one of four chandeliers that form part of the Swarovski Glaciarium collection. Inspired by the raw power of crystal, Glaciarium emphatically celebrates the nature of the material while the pieces demonstrate that Swarovski’s blend of heritage and technical innovation contains a potential for design, that chimes perfectly with contemporary sensibilities.

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vice versa,” adds Fredrikson. “Then we try to find the right time and place to do something about it. I think Swarovski also appreciate our honesty, we have quite a harsh editing process within the studio… just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.

“We try to push the material but also understand it at the same time; crystal is a very tricky material because it can be considered kitsch in some ways, it’s about the bling and the sparkle… Whereas for us, it’s much more about its inherent qualities, it’s about the heart of the material and we never use any materials as a decoration or because we have to, it’s more about the material becoming intrinsic to the piece. All of these elements have made our relationship with Swarovski very symbolic.”

As designers, for Fredrikson Stallard it’s important that they don’t deliberately constrain themselves. Untraditional in their process, their aim is to create something that the world is a better place for having rather than producing something that really, when you look at it closer, is unnecessary.

“There are some aspects of product design which are very much about creating something in a more simple way and it’s more about functionality, which is great,” says Fredrikson. “Then there’s what we do, which is at the complete other end of the scale – creating objects which we feel will enhance people’s lives… it’s the middle ground which we don’t really understand, where people generate more and more products that don’t necessarily do anything different – they just look slightly different or have added functions that aren’t really necessary.

“When we come to our own work we describe it as turning the volume up and down. We ask ourselves how creative we can be with a design object; for example you wouldn’t be able to furnish an entire house with our Species sofa, you’d go insane and as such we have other pieces that maybe don’t fit on the front cover of a magazine, but they’re much quieter in the space and create the canvas for the paint so to speak.”

Having both studied at St Martins College, London, which is where the Fredrikson Stallard story begins, both designers feel their different upbringings, experiences and influences have worked together to form a partnership that is quite unique. Born in Sweden, for Fredrikson design was always very imprinted in his life – Scandinavian design is not something you can avoid, running through everyday life in a very conscious way and it was almost this that pushed him towards London, with its floods of people moving in and out of the city, turning it into something quite amazing.

“London spoils you,” he tells darc. “I’ve been here 22 years and it’s still the most amazing city on the planet to me. You have everything you need and want. I consider Swedish design as my heritage but then I moved on from that.”

“I think for me, coming from an English seaside town moving to London at the age of nineteen was fabulous,” says Stallard.

“What had the biggest impact on me is the interdisciplinary nature of the city, particularly at St Martins where you had very creative people from different backgrounds studying different disciplines. You don’t feel like you’re being pigeonholed into a certain style of work.”

And when working with light?

“It’s difficult to say what lighting ‘should’ bring to a space,” continues Stallard. “There are some incredible lighting designers out there and we see it when we visit the homes of clients that are fine art collectors – their homes are always lit beautifully, but you never really know where the lighting is coming from.

“What we do is create objects that bring something special to a space, essentially sculptural objects that involve light. With Swarovski crystals it is all about light and reflections and refractions, movement and colour within the crystals, so you need to work with light, it’s essential and part of it.

To me, working with light is like painting.” www.fredriksonstallard.com www.swarovskigroup.com

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Preparing for Brexit William Knight, Show Director of 100% Design and Clerkenwell Design Week, comments on the possible challenges and opportunities that face the design community once the trigger is pulled on Article 50.

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As current show director for 100% Design and Clerkenwell Design Week, as well as former Deputy Director of London Design Festival, William Knight has extensive experience in public policy and governmental affairs, both in the UK and internationally, having served in senior public affairs roles for both the Design Council and British Council.

Commenting on the UK’s impending exit from the EU, Knight tells darc: “There was uncertainty in the air this September as London Design Festival returned. Following the results of the UK referendum to leave the EU earlier in the summer, there were questions, which still remain, about what form this might take. Though the new Prime Minster has declared that the UK will trigger Article 50 in the new year, starting the process, we are none the wiser as to what will be prioritised in these complex negotiations – what might be won, or lost.

As one of the UK’s largest trade fairs for designers and architects, at 100% Design we are well aware of the anxieties that this process has created, the challenges that we may now face, but also the opportunities that may now be opened too. Despite anxieties over the economic and trade uncertainties around Brexit, and its implications for the design sector, this year’s 100% Design show was notable for its ebullient atmosphere and brisk business.

Of this year’s visitors, 77% were registered as trade, of whom 68% were architects and designers. There was a rise in retail buyers and developers attending the show. Visitors also reported an increased spending power of eight percent, with £3.9bn at their disposal, and more than 38,303 generated business leads. These figures prove that the businesses at 100% Design are in a strong and confident position to face the upcoming challenges.

The publication of the Design Brexit Manifesto, signed by many leading designers and architects, has helped to focus conversation in across the sector and in time I think will help to direct our concerns into areas of action. It states simply ‘Brexit presents the architecture and design sector with a challenge’ and identifies five areas in which the design and architecture industries need help to grow – recognition, education, recruitment, manufacturing and intellectual property.

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As part of the agenda-setting talks programme curated by the Design Museum at this year’s 100% Design show, I chaired a talk on this very topic. The panel featured Ben Evans, Director of the London Design Festival, Louise Jury of the Creative Industries Federation, designer Paul Priestman, Chairman of PriestmanGoode, and Marcus Fairs, Founder and Editorin-Chief of Dezeen brought together an incredible range of experiences from across the design sector.

Marcus Fairs, as one of the key forces behind the manifesto provided an insight into the thinking behind the document that has been signed by so many in architecture and design, and opened up debate about how it should go forward. Engagement with policy makers has come about through this work, and it seems design is finding its lobbying voice.

It was encouraging to hear about the in-depth work the Creative Industries Federation is conducting right across its membership, and how issues that seem particular to our sector also effect others as diverse as film, fashion and publishing. It was also reassuring to note the government is listening to the concerns of the sector, but it is cross-departmental given the scope and impact of creativity and innovation.

But before we even come to the details and mechanics of Brexit, we have to address the problem the vote has created, such as perception: Ben Evans, also a governor at the University of the Arts London, pointed out that a number of the current intake of students who come from the EU had cancelled or deferred their entry since the referendum. It’s clear there is a lot to resolve, not all of which is directly in our control.

100% Design however is a key piece of the design infrastructure in London and for the UK. It remains a strong place for business to happen, products to be successfully launched and for debate and dialogue about and for the design industry. It seems its role in bringing the industry together will continue to be essential for us all to ensure a stronger voice to government and for that matter the rest of the world.” www.100percentdesign.co.uk www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com

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Step into Paradise Cubbit House's Secret Garden provided a welcome escape from the crowds of visitors at this year's designjunction.

During this year's London Design Festival, leading Italian lighting brand, Artemide - renowned for its design, quality in manufacturing and innovation - presented its new Tolomeo Outdoor range at the international design show designjunction.

At designjunction's new King's Cross location, Artemide occupied a stand in Cubitt House, a super-structure designed by Satellite Architects, housing the latest pieces from

leading furniture, lighting and accessories brands.

Hidden at the rear of Cubitt House was designjunction's Secret Garden; an urban retreat for festival-goers, which was decked with overhead rows of Artemide’s new Tolomeo Lampione Outdoor Hook lights and a hanging flower installation by bloomon.

Designed by Michele De Lucchi and Giancarlo Fassina, the light source is enclosed in a

diffusing cap fitted inside a transparent IP65 plastic unit that recalls old lamp posts in use when light was produced from oil.

The structural elements of Tolomeo were strengthened and consolidated to resist the increased stress of being outdoors and the family is enriched with a shade to adapt the lamp for use on terraces or in domestic outdoor locations. www.artemide.com

flexible, acoustic seating + luminaries molodesign.com ¡ design by Stephanie Forsythe + Todd MacAllen

Honest Lighting

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Product designer Michael Anastassiades lit up Boffi’s Chelsea showroom with a special exhibition during this year’s London Design Festival.

To mark this year's London Design Festival, high-end Italian kitchen and bathroom manufacturer Boffi hosted a bespoke lighting exhibition curated by Michael Anastassiades.

Featuring the Cypriot-born designer's bold and beautiful creations displayed throughout the generous 600sqm space of Boffi’s showroom, his lighting sculptures showcased the new collections from Boffi and Italian furniture brand De Padova in an unexpected and dynamic way.

Positioned between fine art and design, Michael Anastassiades’ work aims to provoke dialogue, engagement and interaction.

He believes that light has a meditative quality that enhances the spirituality of a space. “I’m interested in the psychological

relationship people establish with objects,” he explains.

His selection of Mobile chandeliers for Boffi Chelsea juxtaposes a language of curves with the linear language of the Lissoni-designed showroom. All pieces are individually tailed with their elements perfectly balanced in precarious equilibrium. In contrast with the dark interiors, the graphic lines of the satin brass Mobile Chandeliers highlight Anastassiades’ use of geometric forms.

The designer’s work is about creating experiences as much as objects. As a result, a further dimension of poetry and vitality is achieved by enhancing the visitor’s experience of the Chelsea space and its new

display. The emphasis on simple aesthetic quality and honesty in the use of materials perfectly complements Boffi and De Padova's collections in the showroom.

The exhibition featured ten lighting designs from Anastassiades including the Mobile and Tube chandeliers, Triple Angle, Ball Vase, Half Moon Mirror and One Well-Known Sequence 0501 floor lamp. Two oversized Mobile chandeliers were also previewed in London for the first time.

Boffi's showroom space provided a memorable setting to showcase the capacity of Anastassiades' work, allowing visitors to feel the familiarity and ingenuity of his sculptural creations. www.michaelanastassiades.com

save the date APRIL 5 -6, 2017 LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER LOS ANGELES

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London Lights darc brings you a round up of some of the best lighting showroom events and launches from this year's London Design Festival.

Louis Poulsen launched the new Vernor Panton light at Skandium’s Marylebone showroom to mark London Design Festival 2016. Featuring three light intensities and the latest LED technology, not only is the piece scaled down significantly from the original Panthella first produced in 1971, but it is made in a new material and new colours: yellow, orange, mauve, red, pink, blue and two shades of green, with versions in white, black and opal acrylic also available. The colours are drawn from Panton’s last project before his death in 1998: The Light and Colour exhibition at Trapholt Museum of Modern Art Denmark, comprising eight rooms in different colours, where the furniture, light fittings and fabrics, created by Panton over a period of 50 years and framed in a holistic presentation. www.louispoulsen.com

For almost 50 years, Terzani has been creating pieces that stimulate the imagination while lighting spaces. The Italian brand conducts ongoing research to create new collections that combine instincts and innovative technology with courage and curiosity, while experimenting in new paths of design and production techniques that explore a multitude of materials - creating light sculptures that strive to unite art and handcrafted expertise.

The latest step in this venture was to create a unique showroom space in London in the prestigious Design Centre in Chelsea, in collaboration with Sophia Passerini, of global luxury furniture store Passerini. Celebrating its opening during London Design Festival, the showroom features Terzani's latest and classic creations in a bare concrete space, setting a contrast for the luxurious sculptures to shine. www.terzani.com

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The Vita Van tour started just a year ago with the aim of visiting 50 locations, across ten countries in just three months, to showcase how the company’s lighting products fit in with the interior design of a home. The ‘living room on wheels’ was such a success that the tour was extended and most recently found itself parked up as part of this year’s designjunction.

“The VITA Visualisation Van helps people save time and money when buying lighting designs,” said Vita Founder and Chief Creative Developer, Søren Ravn Christensen. www.vitacopenhagen.com

The Plumen 003 lamp officially launched during this year's London Design Festival at an exclusive event held at Lights of Soho. Five years in the making, the highly engineered lamp gives you two lights in one - the downward spotlight illuminatea a task, while the gold shade at the centre of the lamp gives off a soft ambient light that’s flattering to people’s faces.

“Sustainable design often lacks sex appeal – LED lamps being no exception,” said Nicolas Roope, Cofounder and Creative Director. “We decided that to attract customers to this new technology we needed to create an efficient lamp that was also inspiring and beautiful in its own right. www.plumen.com

Innermost is celebrateing ten years of calling the Oxo Tower home and to mark the occasion hosted ten events throughout London Design Festival. The lighting brand's newly refurbished showroom and bar was open to the public throughout the week, showcasing its 2016 collection.

Guests were also welcome to bid in a silent auction for ten of the greatest designs with all proceeds going to Macmillan cancer charity. There was also a private VIP viewing held on the Wednesday evening. www.innermost.net

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For this year's London Design Festival, FBC London celebrated the launch of Gabriel Scott's latest work,which saw the design duo collaborate with tattoo artist Maxime Buchi. Speaking at the launch, Scott Richler of Gabriel Scott said: “We are always open to collaborations, and Maxime’s work has a very similar aesthetic to ours. One of our passions is to mix creative fields, so it felt natural to combine Maxime’s style of body art with our sculptures. Fiona Barratt-Campbell’s space is amazing, so it was an opportunity that we really couldn’t pass up.”

Every element of Gabriel Scott’s work is bespoke, from the design right through to manufacture. With the design duo producing just one piece a year in spring, showing just how much time and effort goes into each piece, the most challenging part of the collaboration was turning around a brand new custom piece in almost half the time it would normally take. www.fbc-london.com Pic courtesy of David Wren (www.davidwren.co & @davidwren_)

FontanaArte has made a major investment in the UK with its first showroom in Clerkenwell.

Formally open to the public during London Design Festival, the two-story space houses FontanaArte alongside furniture brand Moroso, which has been resident in the building since 2009. Designed by Patricia Urquiola, the interior space features vast white walls, reaching up to vaulted ceilings and a forest of shaped metal pipes in white painted aluminium. FontanaArte’s move to London has been simultaneous with its acquisition by the Italian Creation Group (ICG). Founded in 2013 by Giovanni Perissinotto and Stefano Core, ICG has swiftly forged a reputation in the promotion and safeguarding of historic Italian design companies. www.fontanaarte.com

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To coincide with London Design Festival 2016, Bocci showcased a large-scale installation in the Barbican foyer, a central London art hub. Bocci’s immersive light installation 44 is the second site-specific commission for the Lightwell in the Barbican foyer. Designed by creative practice Omer Arbel, the light installation comprises over 300 free-poured aluminium forms resulting from a specialised fabrication technique, which are suspended from the ceiling by a matrix of thin cables. As the sculpture, 44, descends into the space and expands, it punctuates the spaces of the Barbican foyer, engaging with notions of weightlessness and mass, craft and mass-production. Located in the heart of London, the Barbican is a worldclass arts and learning organisation. Pushing the boundaries of all major art forms including dance, film, music, theatre and visual arts, innovating with artists and performers to create an international programmed that crosses art forms. www.bocci.ca Pic courtesy of Bocci

Lee Broom unveiled Opticality at this year's London Design Festival, an engaging and experiential post-modern Op Art exhibition at his Shoreditch flagship store. Celebrating the retail launch of the Optical lighting collection, his showroom was completely transformed with wall to wall mirrors and a monochrome Op Art inspired floor - transforming into a surreal space. Visitors became part of the installation as they ventured through an infinity of reflections to discover the new Optical lighting collection. The collection took centre stage in the store, with Optical holding strong personal associations for Broom as an artist inspired by the period in which he grew up in, the early 90's, where he decorated his bedroom with a strong Op Art aesthetic. www.leebroom.com Pic courtesy of Luke Hayes

Buster & Punch used this year’s London Design Festival to officially launch its Heavy Metal chandelier - a stylish LED lighting solution suitable for large stairwell spaces or living areas. Featuring the Heavy Metal solid pendants, available in smoked bronze, steel and brass the chandelier is teamed with the LED Buster lamps, which are available in gold and smoked crystal finishes. Made on a bespoke basis, you can choose from either a classic diamond or organic cascade formation as well as a nineteen pendant drop or 31 pendant drop. It is also available to purchase with cable drops of up to six-metres. www.busterandpunch.com

ON SHOW

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London Design Festival Review darc looks back at the best in decorative lighting launches from London Design Festival 2016.

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1. La Lampe Friends & Founders

2. Kihou Tangent

3. Nelly Cameron Peters Fine Lighting

On show: Tent / Superbrands

On show: Decorex

On show: designjunction

La Lampe lighting series from Danish design brand Friends & Founders provides lighting for floor, ceiling and wall. Together the collection offers clean, geometric shapes designed to be layered and viewed from different perspectives. The thin silhouettes produce a balancing act of both bold design and subtle lighting. www.friendsfounders.com

Designed by Tangent and Vezzini & Chen Kihou sees air bubbles, illuminated by LEDs, rise through a clear viscous liquid and break a dark silicone oil surface. The rhythm of bubbles, organic motion of the viscous liquid and contrast between golden light and the dark surface breathe life into this unconventionally fluid lighting experience. www.tangent.uk.com

Cameron Peters Fine Lighting’s first inhouse collection begins with the Nelly table lamp by Brogliato Traverso made with mouth-blown Murano glass. The lamp base is of white frosted mould-blown glass, while the 'hat' is free-blown in translucent coloured glass, available in five colours; blue, green, brown, violet and grey. www.cameronpeters.co.uk

4. Spillray Axo Light

5. Lute Ebb & Flow

6. Seed Janie Knitted Textiles

On show: designjunction

On show: 100% Design

On show: Tent / Superbrands

Axo Light’s Spillray features multi-faceted cups of light as an elegant and eclectic collection where all potential combinations create delicate fluid movements and intricate nuances of light. Spillray is available in various versions, while the diffusers are made of glass and proposed in three sizes with a choice of five colours. www.axolight.it

Ebb & Flow’s tall and elegant Lute pendant lamp in topaz blue with gold is one of the latest additions in the collection's growing colour range. The shade pays tribute to the musical instrument, and the colours blend metallics with transparent hues of glass.

The result is an elegant pendant standing alone or suited to clusters. www.ebbandflow.dk

British wool has become the core material used by Jane Withers in her latest lighting collection Grain. Building on the success of last years’ Strand dip-dyed lights in 100% Merino wool, the new range, including Seed, features pared down contemporary shapes with Portland wool knitted on hand flat knitting machines. www.janieknittedtextiles.co.uk

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1. Fractal Cloud Brand van Egmond

2. Globe Industville

3. Balloons Matteo Gonet

On show: Decorex

On show: 100% Design

On show: Tent / Superbrands

Fractal Cloud is a hand folded sculpture, created in Brand van Egmond’s Atelier, using its hands on approach to alter the size and finish according to the client’s wishes. Currently produced in two sizes, the sculpture is available in black matt, white matt, brass grinder and stainless steel, with custom finishes available. www.brandvanegmond.com

The Globe collection is Industville’s newest edition to its range released exclusively at 100% Design. The combination of a sleek component design and high quality materials presents the new Globe pendant lights as a further illustration of Industville’s growing collection of light that can be tailored to any design brief. www.industville.co.uk

Matteo Gonet’s Balloons chandeliers are a classic in its collection. They represent the choreographically expression of a life-giving breath, of the free-thinker. The Balloons can be combined in a playful way to form a highly decorative object, while their opaline tint confers them delicacy in their nuances. www.matteogonet.com

4. Asilah Copper and Silk

5. King Edison Ghost Mineheart

6. Fairmont Myo Spain

On show: designjunction

On show: 100% Design

On show: Decorex

Available in several shade designs, Asilah is a table lamp inspired by North African woodwork. The Asilah lamp base, in a natural oiled or satin black finish, is a contemporary design with a striking silhouette hand turned by skilled craftsmen.

An elegant tapered lampshade finishes off the design. www.copperandsilk.com

The King Edison Ghost pendant designed

by Young & Battaglia combines the pure simplicity of an Edison lamp with the romance and glamour of a King chandelier.

It consists of a miniature brass chandelier inside a hand-blown black glass shade, offering ghostly glimpses of the chandelier inside. www.mineheart.com

The Fairmont collection by Myo Spain from Martinez y Orts group is a mid century style collection made with double white opal glass and brass. The Fairmont pendant comes with ten lights using E-27 and is customisable not only in colour but also in size. The fixture is also available as floor, table and wall light versions. www.martinezyorts.com

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1. Lloop Vij5

2. Protea Willowlamp

3. Eos Vita

On show: Tent / Superbrands

On show: 100% Design

On show: designjunction

Lloop is adjustable in height by extending or shortening the loop of electricity cable which comes as a the result of a wooden piece attached to the cable. With this, the function becomes the decoration, simple and clear with no hidden techniques. With different colour options available, Lloop is made in a copper or brass lampshade. www.vij5.nl

Protea is an iconic chandelier in the form of South Africa's national flower, designed using sacred geometry. The design is characterised by multiple tiers with the chain hung in layers of looped petals.

This design is available as both a ceiling mounted or suspended model in three different sizes. www.willowlamp.com

Vita's Eos lampshade is all natural and one of a kind, made from goose feathers. Eos gives a soft light and has a mesmerising elegance, standing as a striking piece, even when not illuminated. Customisbale with white, light brown and light grey feather available, Eos can be adapted to complement any interior. www.vitacopenhagen.com

4. Audrey Foldability

5. 90° Frama

6. Elysée Atelier Alain Ellouz

On show: designjunction

On show: 100% Design

On show: Decorex

The Audrey pendant is hand-folded using 115 squares of Italian parchment. Inspired by mathematics, the design transforms when illuminated, creating an array of tonal variations and patterns where the layers of parchment overlap. Each pendant is hand-folded and assembled in Foldability’s London studio. www.foldability.co.uk

Aiming to let the materials speak their own language, 90° is a design statement light with a strong character. Comprised of solid brass, copper or powder coated steel, the dual functionality and rich character of the 90° make it a strong design element in many situations and is available in a variety of finishes. www.framacph.com

Atelier Alain Ellouz’s main piece in natural crystal, the Elysée chandelier is a double ringed jewel. The Elysée is an ambient light fixture more closely resembling a sparkling piece of jewellery than a functional piece of lighting. The chandelier consists of interlocking rings set with 140 large rock crystals. www.atelier-alain-ellouz.com

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1. cacio&pepe In-es.artdesign

2. Provence Elstead Lighting

3. Voronoi Tala

On show: designjunction

On show: Decorex

On show: designjunction

In-es.artdesign’s be.pop collection is inspired from pop art and bebop jazz. cacio&pepe, the masterpiece of this collection, transforms an object of everyday use, like a cheese grater, giving it a new luminous function. Made in a material similar to rubber, cacio&pepe is available as a pendant, table or wall lamp. www.in-es.com

An expansion of Elstead's Provence collection launched at Decorex features a beautiful rose copper finish. The wall and table versions feature adjustable knuckle joints, while the pendants are available in a single drop with a black flex chord or with a rise and fall weight to adjust closer to the table or counter. www.elsteadlighting.com

Inspired by Tala’s sustainable ethos, the new Voronoi collection finds its origins in nature.

Inspired by the Voronoi patterns found in the forest canopy and the Fibonacci sequence that defines many natural forms, nature is a clear inspiration for the shape of the LED filaments combined with the hand blown glass. www.talaled.com

4. Aria Slamp

5. Bronze Quartz

6. Aperture Martin Huxford

On show: designjunction

On show: Decorex

On show: Decorex

Providing a graceful suspended centrepiece, Aria combines functionality with the characteristic fluidity of Zaha Hadid’s sculptural designs. The pieces marry fluidity of movement with changing patterns of illumination, animating the space with ripples of light cast through layers of delicate vertical fins. www.slamp.com

Quartz creates handmade lighting sculptures for residential, commercial and luxury yacht interiors, working largely with bespoke pieces for exclusive clients. Bronze incorporates new stylish fabric and woven materials with soft and ambient light with Swarovski crystal to sparkle over walls and ceilings. www.quartzlc.com

The Aperture Chandelier is a modern fusion of bold architectural angles and softer decorative elements. The design is constructed from a circle of interlocking flat planes, contrasting with the complex geometric facets of hand folded metal.

Aperture is available in a hand brushed metallic finish or powder coated. www.martinhuxford.com

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1. Roest Karven

2. Pistyle Designheure

3. Sola M Dex Design

On show: 100% Design

On show: 100% Design

On show: Tent / Superbrands

Karven’s Roest collection, meaning rust in Dutch, is defined by simplicity in its most basic form. Simplicity is highlighted in this series inspired by rough materials around Karven’s studio. The introvert shapes and rough oxidised surfaces appeal to the sense of typicality, presenting natural and familiar colours in unusual settings. www.karven.com

Inspired by the bird of paradise flower, Davide Oppizzo designed the Pistyle lighting collection to bring freshness and playfulness to the office. The collection’s lively colours and yo-yo like base brings a trendy and sophisticated design to the office. The result is a light that very much moves like a plant with intense life and vibrancy. www.designheure.com

The gentle form of the Sola wall lights is achieved by laminating construction veneers, which can be specified in a range of different timber species including black walnut. The light source comes from LED strips housed in aluminium profiles, with a choice of warm white or cool white, currently available in two sizes. www.m-dex-design.co.uk

4. MoM Penta

5. Liquid Serip Organic Lighting

6. Ella Nocturne Workshop

On show: Decorex

On show: Decorex

On show: designjunction

The MoM lamps are designed for Penta by Umberto Asnago, who developed a creative theme based on three keywords: metal, oxide, matte. They appear as a small suspended universe ruled by harmony, which offers a clear and amplified light from luminous elements, brightened up by colours. www.pentalight.it

Serip Organic Lighting presented the new Liquid collection inspired by living vines and the liquid state. These dazzling pieces are designed to a dense outcome, where the complex system of branches embraces the water, simulating movement. The liquid collection ensures the grandiosity required in demanding vertical spaces. www.serip.com.pt

Nocturne Workshop's Ella is designed as a characterful task light for a desk or a side table. Featuring a brass arm, aluminium shade and steel base, the shade design is based on a lathe work light from the workshop. Its finish is a polished brass arm, with the shade and base painted in guillotine blue. www.nocturneworkshop.com

Exhibition Awaken your curiosity From new talent and best of British design to established international brands, source cutting-edge products from an exhibition curated forThe hotel design. 22-23 November 2016 Hotel Design Event The Business Design Centre, London Register now and save ÂŁ30 using code SLP14 at www.thesleepevent.com

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1. Natura Lighthole

2. Dahl Northern Lighting

3. Whip One Foot Taller

On show: designjunction

On show: designjunction

On show: Tent / Superbrands

The Natura collection is an integral lighting system that is applicable to any lamp form, size and design. It consists of a highly transparent plastic material that carries the light and makes it last without any glare problems. With a square and elegant illuminated body, Natura features the Polline In, Camilla Out and Pioggia pieces. www.lighthole.it

This year, Northern Lighting commemorated the centenary of Norwegian designer Birger Dahl’s birth with the launch of this timeless glass pendant, originally designed by Dahl in 1956. The shade is made from mouth-blown glass and etched by a surface treatment that creates a smooth matte finish. www.northernlighting.no

Whip is a telescoping pendant made from slightly conical rings. It can be whipped out from flat in a second, while the rings can be pushed around to change the form. Rings can be taken off for a shorter lampshade, or pushed over to the side for directional light or to simply play with the appearance for a more tangled look. www.onefoottaller.com

4. Highlight Veronese

5. Galactic Woodlikes

6. Pitch Vitamin

On show: Decorex

On show: 100% Design

On show: designjunction

Highlight marks the first collaboration between Veronese and designer Dan Yeffet.

Highlight is a collection of contemporary floor and table lamps that gracefully combine Murano glass and marble. With its three different heights, the collection shows striking dimensions, with each made of one single piece of blown Murano glass. www.verone.se

Galactic by Woodlikes is a handcrafted desk lamp made of octagonal walnut shapes, each of which are linked together by solid brass connections to create an unorthodox shape. When illuminated by the warm white LED crystal bulb at its centre, it brings to mind images of galactic structures from outer space. www.woodlikesfurnituredesign.co.uk

Handmade in the UK, Pitch comprises a banded spun aluminium shade poised on an internal dome. The outer shade can guide light in any direction, while the bands of the outer shade create varying tonal strips of colour. With an iconic silhouette when hung alone, the lines of the lamp also complement each other as a cluster. www.vitaminliving.com

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ON SHOW

Biennale Interieur Review October 14-23 2016, Kortrijk, Belgium Infinity of Light Club Design by Delta Light Delta Light presented the Infinity of Light installation at Club Design in Kortrijk during Biennale Interieur, a curated design expo and installation during the day, and a club like no other at night. Infinity of Light is a black box that appeared to have crashed into an abandoned warehouse. Visitors were invited into the asymmetrically positioned cube, floating half a metre above the floor at its lowest point. While a clean black box on the outside, the inside offered a play of light and reflection. Indirect made-tomeasure LED profiles defined the inner contours of the box, combined with an intense grid of small mirrors. Delta Light’s unique Wireless Control System further upgraded the experience with different pulsating light scenarios. www.interieur.be www.deltalight.com

Rainy Day Beau & Bien

Framed Jacco Maris

Puro Brokis

Sylvie Maréchal designed the Rainy Day collection, inspired by tropical rain; soft and warm. Presented for the first time at the Biennale Intérieur, the collection is available in white, gold and carbon. Its simple shape adapts to every space, any decor and any situation to illuminate a restaurant, hotel lobby or bedroom. www.beauetbien.com

Framed is a collection of basic geometric shapes hot rolled into a steel profile. The lighting system is incorporated in the steel frame. The light against a wall, ceiling or table emphasises interior architecture in a unique way. The robust steel frame gives it a high usability and unbounded possibilities in terms of shape and scale. www.jaccomaris.com

Puro is a boldly minimalistic variation on atmospheric pendant lights. Inspiration for the collection and its name come from the Spanish word for cigar, meaning pure, and is a reference to the composition's clean lines.

The design creates an intriguing interplay between horizontal and vertical luminous cigar tubes. www.brokis.cz

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1. Lederam Catellani & Smith

2. PoPuP Davide Groppi

3. Laurent Lambert & Fils

The Lederam collection has been enriched by new wall and ceiling models to create a product family that distinguishes itself for its versatility and warm, delicate light. The minimalist design leaves the light pure and untouched, making the Lederam collection unique and valuable, while maintaing familiarity. www.catellanismith.com

PoPuP combines light and music, allowing the possibility of having music and light wherever you go and whenever you want it, thanks to the power supply from a rechargeable battery. The technical characteristics of this design make PoPuP quite exceptional in creating an exciting musical experience. www.davidegroppi.com

Lambert & Fil's presence in Kortrijk marked the first European showing of Laurent.

The contemporary collection combines the classic Bauhaus milk globe with sculptural forms that carve through space, moving between lines, surfaces and volume.

The different models combine in endless patterns to evoke subtlety and quiet power. www.lambertetfils.com

4. Eva Metalarte

5. Bai Parachilna

6. Mussett 88 Sammode

Eva is the result of Metalarte's collaboration with Lazaro Rosa-Violan - together they launched Metalarte's Atelier, producing unique items produced in small series, as in haute couture fashion, always handcrafted with quality materials. They are whimsical and original lamps that recall the beginnings of the brand in decorative lighting. www.metalarte.com

The Bai family, designed by Neri & Hu, features three hanging lamps of different shapes and sizes, one of which being the Bai chandelier. This is a suspension lamp with a bronze electroplated steel structure and canopy, creating the perfectly imperfect surface. The diffuser is in blown transparent, amber and grey glass. www.parachilna.eu

Sammode presented its home-use range for the first time at Biennale Interieur, including Musset 88 designed by Normal Studio, an exceptional interpretation of the Sammode tube. Musset 88 is a limited edition of the symbolic tube of Sammode, celebrating 88 years of the brand with 88 copies produced and numbered. www.sammode.com

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1. bow III tossB

2. Angle Trizo21

3. Selo Wever & Ducré

Since Roman times, the arch is one of the basics in architecture. It expresses deepness, strength and equilibrium. bow III, designed by David Dolcini, translates the essence of the arch into a minimalistic luminaire. Gravity and balance, combined with the arch, are the other ingredients involved in the design of this product. www.tossb.com

Angle is a portable light designed by Olga Bielawska. It is a fresh, subtle and delicate fitting based on the idea of a necklace. As a suspension light with a dynamic lighting effect, Angle creates a thin scintillating line that adds elegance to any interior. This radiating light jewel looks like a necklace that begs to be worn. www.trizo21.com

This delicate luminaire made of porcelain works just as well in the kitchen or the bedroom. With Selo's adjustable colour temperature, this is a flexible product suited to any mood from bright and friendly to subdued and romantic. Selo is available with a fluted or smooth surface, for an elegant or rustic look. www.weverducre.com

4. Keshi B.lux

5. Ade S Disegnoluce

6. Borne Béton Petite Nemo

A slender body and a voluminous head define David Abad's Keshi lamp collection, inspired by the eponymous traditional Japanese dolls. Keshi is a collection of table and suspension lamps crafted of sanded black Markina marble, and a metallic bar shade finished in matte black with an LED light source. www.grupoblux.com

The Ade S lamp is individually handmade blown glass. Its particularity is the unique fusion between interior and exterior glass, the fruit of craftsmanship handed down from father to son over decades of shared experience.This makes a distinctive and unique product suited to a variety of interiors. www.disegnoluce.com

Borne Béton Petite is a concrete outdoor and indoor floor and table lamp, conceived for the Unité d’habitation de Marseille in 1952. It was presented as part of Nemo's La Luce exhibition, offering insight into Le Corbusier and Perriand's archives to show their radical philosophy of light fullfilled by Nemo. www.nemolighting.com

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A look ahead to forthcoming design shows with a strong lighting element.

BD|NY • NEW YORK 13-14 November 2016 (www.bdny.com)

SLEEP • LONDON 22-23 November 2016 (www.thesleepevent.com)

DESIGN MIAMI • MIAMI 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2016 (miami2016.designmiami.com)

IMM COLOGNE • COLOGNE

NORTHMODERN • COPENHAGEN

16-22 January 2017 (www.imm-cologne.com)

9-11 May 2017 (www.northmodern.com)

MAISON ET OBJET • PARIS

RETAIL DESIGN EXPO • LONDON

20-24 January 2017 (www.maison-objet.com)

8-9 May 2017 (www.retaildesignexpo.com)

ARCHITECT @ WORK • LONDON

DARC AWARDS / DECORATIVE • LONDON

25-26 January 2017 (www.architect-at-work.co.uk)

May 2017 tbc (www.darcawards.com)

SURFACE DESIGN SHOW • LONDON

ICFF • NEW YORK

7-9 February 2017 (www.surfacedesignshow.com)

21-24 May 2017 (www.icff.com)

MAISON ET OBJET • SINGAPORE

INDEX • DUBAI

7-10 March 2017 (www.maison-objet.com)

22-25 May 2017 (www.indexexhibition.com)

DESIGN SHANGHAI • SHANGHAI

CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK • LONDON

8-11 March 2017 (www.designshowshanghai.com)

23-25 May 2017 (www.clerkenwelldesignweek.com)

EUROLUCE / MILAN DESIGN WEEK • MILAN

DESIGN BASEL •

4-9 April 2017 (www.salonemilano.it)

14-19 June 2017 (basel2016.designmiami.com)

BASEL

AD INDEX Alger-Triton......................................................................61

darc awards .................................................................. 06

Molo....................................................................................93

Archilume.........................................................................59

David Trubridge........................................................... 115

Neonlite.............................................................................77

Architects @ Work....................................................107

Fritz Fryer....................................................................... 113

Niche Modern................................................................... 2

Architonic..........................................................................111

Hubarton Forge........................................................... 49

Panzeri...............................................................................39

Artemide......................................................................... 116

Icone...................................................................................73

PLDC................................................................................. 54

Astro Lighting................................................................27

Illuminati...........................................................................79

Prandina.............................................................................17

BD NY................................................................................95

Ink Lighting ....................................................................67

Sleep.................................................................................105

Bover..................................................................................63

Jacco Maris.................................................................... 44

Terzani................................................................................21

Bright Goods..................................................................65

Lolloi e Memolli..............................................................19

The Light Yard..............................................................04

Contardi.............................................................................. 11

Louis Poulsen................................................................... 9

Yellow Goat Design......................................................31

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you didn’t take time out to visit The Smile during this year’s London Design Festival, shame on you! Designed by Alison Brooks Architects, in partnership with the American Hardwood Export Council, Arup and Seam Design, The Smile is an immersive urban installation that showcases the structural and spatial potential of cross-laminated hardwood using American tulipwood.

Measuring an impressive expanse of 34m x 3.5m x 4.5m, it is the first ever hardwood ‘mega-tube’ - engineered into a long curved rectangular structure. The pavilion seems to levitate on site, as though it is defying gravity; illumination at the base enhances the idea of floating by making the pavilion lighter. Once inside, the curved shape connects the visitors with the sky by hiding the horizon as if the pavilion and sky were continous.

The lighting guides the visitors to the ends, where it continues to the curve and extends the interior space into the sky. The Smile is about simplicity and weightlessness and the lighting feeds this concept by casting light along the ground where the pavilion touches, erasing the gravity of its mass. The lighting fills the interior volume with a warm luminous glow and the end result is like a lantern in the landscape, an intimate interior space luring poeple to come inside. www.alisonbrooksarchitects.com www.seam-design.com www.arup.com Pic: Dav Stewart

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