7 minute read
Stairwell Lighting
from darc 47
Lighting the Void
Illuminating the vast space within a stairwell provides an opportunity to flex creativity and create a beautiful lighting focal point. darc covers a handful of beautiful stairwell projects.
Private Apartment Manchester, UK
Luxxu saw no better place than Manchester to insert its brand-new luxury home, a prestigious apartment project right in the centre of the city. Manchester has a past vastly rooted in the industrial movement and a special focus on art and textiles. All of this rich history served as a major inspiration for many of the home’s interiors. When designing each space, Luxxu strived to create aesthetically pleasing yet functional living spaces. The apartment is fully furnished with a series of brand classics and innovative designs by Luxxu, among a few other surprises that offer this estate a multi-layered character while also paying homage to its location. Featured in the stairwell area of the living room is a cluster of Luxxu’s Waterfall round suspension lamp. The circular-shaped pieces are designed to give a glamorous sensation of waterfalls, as the name indicates. Preserving the inspiration on the natural sensation of waterfalls, the piece is made with high-quality brass and beautifully handmade ribbed tubes of crystal glass. www.luxxu.net
Legami Susui & More Bergamo, Italy
The exclusive Legami Sushi & More restaurant has chosen the “metropolitan garden” of Terrazza Fausti, looking onto the Quadriportico gallery of the Sentierone Avenue in the “Città Bassa” (the Lower Town) to open its doors to diners in Bergamo, offering a blend of fusion cuisine and sushi, for a unique taste experience in which the chefs’ creations bring out the very best in aromas and flavours from different cultures. This journey through flavours is made even more special by the contemporary design of the setting, embellished with lighting by Catellani & Smith, which for this project has supplied a selection of lamps in line with the mood of the restaurant. A custom composition of Syphasfera pendants light up the stairs with the irregular surfaces of its spheres placed at differing heights. www.catellanismith.com Images: Nava Rapacchietta
Private Residence Bozeman, USA
Stairwells are one of those difficult spots in both residential and commercial spaces for adding interesting and engaging decorative light fixtures. Christopher Poehlmann, lead designer and owner of CP Lighting in Philadelphia, PA, saw the need for functional yet sculptural stairwell pendants as an opportunity uniquely suited for his organic Rustic Modern light fixtures. Conceived as a sculptural vine-like structure the fixture comprises a series of branches that hook and rest on one another like the old Barrel Of Monkeys children’s toy. The newGrowth Vine fixtures can be easily configured from around two-metres in height to over 10-metres depending upon the size of the stairwell or atrium. The newGROWTH lights are all fabricated from lightweight aluminium, each branch element weighing no more than 10 pounds each. Installation is done from the top down, with one branch hanging from the last. The fact that most branches are between 1-2-metres further eases the installation logistics when creating a very tall fixture, not to mention the fact that the shipping container can be far more compact than for a single piece fixture. Pictured is one of CP Lighting’s newGrowth2 custom stairwell fixtures in a private residence in Bozeman, MT. The home and interiors were designed by Design Associates in Bozeman. This bespoke fixture was fabricated from aluminium with a black patina finish. Lamping is dedicated 12v LED modules that screw into the branch ends, which act as heat sinks. Each module is 4.3W, approximately 300lm, 2700k and driven by an ELV transformer housed in the canopy. www.cplighting.com
Chalet D Alps, Austria
Relaxation in the middle of the Alps, surrounded by picturesque mountains, is a dream become reality with Chalet D in the Austrian Alps. Chalet D was designed as a holiday chalet including a spa area, where several families can spend their holidays together. The contemporary redesign, by monovolume architecture + design, breathes new life into the existing building and sets it in dialogue with its surroundings. Oak wood, dry stone walls and exposed beams give the chalet a typical alpine flair. Inside, the cross beams have been restored and made visible through dark colouring, and large windows offer different views of the surrounding mountains on each floor. Light oak wood and numerous fireplaces create a warm environment and blue tones in the interior design are a nod to water - a central element of relaxation in the spa area. A modern kitchen as well as a large dining and spacious living area on the middle floor create a convivial space for communal living. In the lowest floor of the house there is the spa area. The use of soft materials, soft colours and colourful LED lighting contribute perfectly to relaxation. Penta’s Mom pendants are featured in the stairwell area in a dark, contemporary yet earthy tone. Designed By Umberto Asnago, the Mom lamps, created in borosilicate glass, are inspired by the Venetian tradition, and refer, in the shape and opaque finishings, to the classical Murano glass vases. www.pentalight.com www.monovolume.cc
Turn waste into wonders
Private Residence Berkshire, UK
The residential client discussed with Fritz Fryer about creating a stunning statement feature, which would descend through the atrium and be visible from all three floors. They still wanted to be able to appreciate the view of the sky from the sky lantern, so a challenge Fritz Fryer’s designers faced was to not obstruct the view completely while incorporating many of its beautiful Hereford shades that the client loved in a mix of sizes and glass types. The team worked closely with the client’s lighting designer, Steve Allen from Connect Intelligence Ltd, on this project. After some initial frame designs were sketched, Rich Nash of Fritz Fryer transferred them into SolidWorks and made a model of the cluster. Nash was then able to render the model for the client to visualise the different glass and metal finishes. The atrium in the customer’s home is large and circular, so the design team decided that a circular frame would suit the space. They opted for a double ring design so as to include enough pendants to fill the large area. Due to the large drop it was important to use the XL size to fill the space, and to also give the lantern another dimension. Once they had decided on the final design, the frame was ordered from laser cutters, and then sent off to be powder coated and finished in a specific RAL colour code, which the client requested to match their windows. Nash then wired up the 24 pendants at varying lengths and created a wiring harness inside the frame ready for the electrician to connect to the main feed. A ‘frame’ was used as opposed to a ‘tray’ so as not to obstruct the natural light that came from the sky lantern, and also allows a nice view of the sky when walking beneath. This design is a 24 Way Cluster chandelier, with a mix of 16 large and eight extra large ribbed and clear Hereford shades. It hangs from a circular aluminium frame that is suspended from an eye bolt, which was pre-installed into the centre of the roof lantern. It passes through a very unique circular atrium across three floors, which is over a 6.5-metres high. www.fritzfryer.co.uk
In the right light everything is extraordinary
A cultural heritage building located in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania, the Adam Galdik Museum and School of Arts has been renovated by interior design studio JP Interjero Namai, and features Nemo’s Crown collection. To recreate the fourth-century history of the building, where the Baroque, Renaissance, and Gothic intertwine, layer after layer of the ruined heritage was uncovered, revealing looted layers of Soviet wallpaper, the remains of amazing frescoes, and erected wall decals. All of this was possible thanks to the client who provided a lot of funds to save and return the original features. The biggest challenge was to combine the latest technologies - lighting, ventilation, and conditioning, so as not to compromise the authenticity of the building. In Italy, the team ordered special paints made according to the technologies of the 17th century. The floor tiles were made of special clay to replicate the authenticity of past centuries, and the window handles and chandeliers were made specifically for this building. The Crown collection brings together Classicism and innovation, two important traits needed to embrace the uniqueness of the Adam Galdik Museum and School of Arts. For this project Nemo selected different versions of Crown all in gold plated finishes, designed by Jehs+Laub. www.nemolighting.com Image: Vaidotas Darulis
