Bespoke Lighting

One of Kind

darc covers some of the latest international projects where bespoke decorative lighting has been created for specific requirements.

Galaxy Yacht International Waters

Re-delivered to her owner in March 2022, the opulent Galaxy Superyacht was transformed by Njord by Bergman interior design. The brief called for entertainment-led social areas with cosmic-inspired accents, personal touches, and eye-catching details. In just a short time, the yacht’s interior had been transformed into an “entertainment spaceship”, according to Sarah Colbon, co-founder of Njord by Bergman. The wallpaper is designed by Dylan Cole, concept art director of the Academy Award-winning film Avatar, to resemble a futuristic forest. Northern Lights has previously enjoyed forays into the world of marine architecture, however, this particular project provided its design team with new challenges, as this was for a much more personal vessel - essentially a residence on water. The yacht’s main saloon benefits from a diverse range of beautiful bespoke decorative lighting that has been carefully handcrafted and skillfully finished by Northern Lights’ artisans. Towards the rear of the room, where the sea views encompass one’s vision, its sightful quartz chandelier haloes a marvellous round table surrounded by individual plush leather seats. The fitting comprises 32 individual old English brass drops that each hold small, medium and large quartz rocks that refract the light from the recessed lamps beautifully. The chandelier uses shakeproof washers to ensure that the vibration caused by the boat travelling does not compromise the fitting. The round table and other parts of the living areas are delicately enlightened by its contemporary old English brass wall lights. The metrehigh fixtures profit from a laser-cut rod that takes the form of a column. The installations are fixed to fabricated brass outer pans to match, while radiant LED strips fixed within the fixtures shine beautifully onto the walls behind them. Illuminating the corners of the walk-in wardrobe is a duo of pillarlike alabaster and old English brass wall sconces. The lamps benefit significantly from a built-in LED lamp that produces a mesmerising aura, which beautifully displays the natural veining within the stone. The elegant brass details have been grooved using Northern Lights’ CNC machinery. In the lounge and bar area, Joseph Klibansky’s ‘The Thinker’ statue sits atop a purpose-built white gloss pillar adjacent to a fully illuminated marble bar. Fixed to the marble bar is Northern Lights’ patinated natural brass framework that houses seven brass ‘drums’, each complete with natural alabaster discs. The intricate framework ensures that the light travels to every corner of the room, maintaining thorough luminance throughout the area. The master bedroom uses a pair of entirely bespoke, wall-fixed, light old English brass and alabaster bedside lamps. Delicately turned white alabaster shades are amplified by interior puck lamps refracted by quartz smoked crystal. The guest bedroom bedsides are illuminated by two Iveston lamps from its Signature Range. The Iveston table lamp has a unique design that comprises an old English brass body atop a granite base with an English brass shade. www.northern-lights.co.uk Images: Jack Hardy

Fitzrovia London, UK

Nulty Bespoke has produced a cast glass pendant for the reception area of a luxury residential development in Fitzrovia. Designed to draw the eye to the concierge desk, the cluster pendant consists of 27 glass globes arranged in a powder coated metallic frame. Each of the cast glass globes features a swirl of pigment that creates a beautiful painterly effect throughout the glass. An LED filament lamp in each sphere highlights the movement of the pigment detail and emits a soft glow of diffuse light to illuminate the concierge desk beneath. The glass components were made by a specialist glass worker who used an injection mould process to create the globes, then carefully inserted the pigment to create a subtle flow of colour that follows a different pattern every time. The geometric composition of the luminaire was designed to work in parallel with the structured lines and materiality of the interior scheme. The juxtaposition of glass and metal directly references a pair of framed glass doors that surround the piece, while the smoke-like tone of the pigment corresponds with the rich wood used for the concierge desk and panelled walls. The delicacy of the design masks the technical precision that went into the production and installation of the piece. Three metallic drop rods were used to affix the luminaire to the ceiling and deliver a sleek, understated finish that works in complete precision with the rectilinear lines of the room. A subtle lip detail on the frame conceals the functional components of the luminaire from view. Each of the collars used to attach the glass globes to the steel and aluminium frame have been bronze plated to ensure every single element works seamlessly with the overall scheme. Alex Craig, Senior Product Designer, Nulty Bespoke comments: “The glass globe pendant is a perfect example of how artistic touches during the manufacturing process can make all the difference. Whilst the composition of the piece is measured and restrained, the fluidity of the swirling pigment elevates each glass globe and brings a sense of playfulness to the overall piece.” www.nultybespoke.co.uk

2 Bessborough Street London, UK

Hand & Eye Studio’s recently launched Melina family of lights is a circular story of bespoke lighting. Born as a design for a site-specific one-off project it is now available in a range of standard options as well as bespoke configurations. Long-time Hand & Eye collaborators, design duo Mentsen, created a new light for Hand & Eye in 2021 called the Mela (‘apple’ in Italian) due to its rounded shape with bottom dimple and stalk-like fitting. When Mentsen was commissioned by The Crown Estate to design the furniture and feature lighting for the renovation of a listed office building at 2 Bessborough Street in Pimlico, the duo decided a feature chandelier would be perfect in the oak-panelled lift-hall. They used a miniature version of the Mela glass shade to create a 3.8-metre installation, hanging the shades on loops of gently swagged flex. Along with the glass shades in their soft shape and translucent glass, this added fluidity and softened the look of the rigid hallway as well as adding a stunning focal point to the space. Mentsen and Hand & Eye loved the chandelier design so much that they decided to turn this into a series of standard pendants available to the market. The pendants share the same aesthetic as the original project, designed as a series of vertical chandelier arrangements. Strung onto the bronze-coloured flexes like jewels, the clear-etched glass shades hang delicately from their bespoke cast bronze fittings and emit a gentle inner glow. Each cluster creates a sense of suspended animation, connecting spaces vertically with its delicately floating and glowing shades. These pendants are available in standard set-ups of single, double, and triple shades on one loop, or as four, five or six shades on a double loop of flex. These can be customised for different spaces by changing the flex lengths and, going full circle back to their original inception, can be designed as much larger bespoke configurations. The range also includes two wall light options and coming later this year will be two versions that allow for more horizontal arrangements, the Melina Ribbon using the same fluid flex design, and the Melina Linear using a metal bar to suspend the shades. www.handandeyestudio.co.uk

054 | BESPOKE LIGHTING FEATURE kHaus Basel, Switzerland

The transformation of a pre-existing building into a new cultural centre has become a model for circular architecture and re-use: built 150 years ago as a military barracks, this seminal building has just become a new public nexus in the heart of Basel. In 2013, Miquel del Rio and Hans Focketyn of Focketyn del Rio Studio won the international competition to reconceptualise the existing Basel Barracks main building, creating a cultural beacon that, after an eight-year transformation process, is now open to the public, the city, and the future. The new and updated kHaus provides the city of Basel with a contemporary and multifunctional cultural facility and new public areas in a historic and central location. The conversion unites two of the most iconic public spaces in Basel: the river and the Kaserne courtyard, which are now linked for the first time and publicly accessible on both sides. This new urban hub facilitates connections on a city-wide scale, creating a new gathering place for the community, animated by multiple activities. The large pendant lights hanging in the atrium of the space were designed by del Rio and Focketyn and made by Durlum. The pieces add a contemporary addition to the new scheme, with sleek clean lines that complement the smooth lines and curves of the architecture. www.fdrstudio.ch