MILAN 2013 REVIEWED PROFILE: PAUL COCKSEDGE HAMPTON COURT PALACE
BY R . & E . B O U R O U L L EC
AIM
2013
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F LO S .C O M
info@vividlighting.co.uk www.vividlighting.co.uk
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INTRO & INFO
Welcome It may seem like a lifetime ago, but for many the impact of Milan Design Week creates waves that ripple across the entire year. It’s easy to see why; with each return, Italy’s seven-day design-frenzy seems to sprawl ever further into the city’s cracks and crevasses to the point that one week just isn’t enough to catch everything on offer. For each design district ticked off the list, a fresh bevy of must-see Spazi and Salone come to light, until surrender becomes the only option. I say all this by way of a caveat-laden introduction to the (almost) comprehensive selection of Milan highlights that dominate this issue. If you think we’ve missed something unmissable - and undoubtedly we have - get in touch and put us right! Expansive and exhausting as it is, there are some who mischievously suggest Milan Design Week may be losing its crown as the year’s one essential design show, that the many ‘domestic’ shows across Europe now offer a more amiable, ‘boutique’ (for which read ‘less frenetic and far more coherent’) alternative. Certainly that proved part of the appeal of the May Design Series, a new London event pulling together four shows in one, introducing visitors to new faces and sparking fresh collaborations. If you missed it, you’ll find a full report concluding our April-May coverage. - Pete Brewis • darc Editor
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IL MILIONE • HONG KONG
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NANETTE LEPORE BOUTIQUE • TOKYO
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CALF & BLOOM • AMSTERDAM
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HAMPTON COURT • EAST MOLESEY
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FOLIO: YOO DESIGN
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MILAN DESIGN WEEK
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EUROLUCE
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PROFILE: PAUL COCKSEDGE
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MOST
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VENTURA LAMBRATA
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TORTONA DESIGN DISTRICT
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NHOW HOTEL • MILAN
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BRERA DESIGN DISTRICT
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EDIT BY DESIGN JUNCTION
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CARTIER BOUTIQUE • MILAN
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MAY DESIGN SERIES
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COMMENT: SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE
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IF...
COVER IMAGE: Mirror Chandelier, Hampton Court, East Molesey. © Studio Roso EDITOR : PETE BREWIS : p.brewis@mondiale.co.uk EDITORIAL DIRECTOR : PAUL JAMES : p.james@mondiale.co.uk ADVERTISING : JOHN-PAUL ETCHELLS : jp.etchells@mondiale.co.uk / JASON PENNINGTON : j.pennington@mondiale.co.uk PRODUCTION : DAVID BELL : d.bell@mondiale.co.uk / MEL ROBINSON : m.robinson@mondiale.co.uk darc is a supplement of mondo*arc magazine ltd, Waterloo Place, Watson Square, Stockport SK1 3AZ, UK Printed by Buxton Press, Palace Road, Buxton, UK
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PROJECT / IL MILIONE, HONG KONG
ONE IN A MILLION Into Lighting helped realise designLSM’s luxurious interior scheme for new Hong Kong restaurant Il Milione. Il Milione in Hong Kong is the first Asian venture from Michelin-starred chef Marco Gubbiotti. Operators the Savors Group wanted to create a chic, elegant setting befitting Gubbiotti’s high-class Italian cuisine and so turned to UK-based designLSM to produce interior design and brand identity for the new restaurant space. Associate, Anne Rhind and Architectural Director Simon Spiteri headed up the designLSM team, creating a luxurious theatrical scheme. Diners enter the venue through a grand, golden doorway before climbing a narrow stairway towards the main dining room. On the way, they pass an intermediate level space that accommodates an informal bar area. The main room is a windowless space that receives very limited levels of natural light. This, coupled with a low, fixed ceiling height, meant a number of visual tricks were required to ensure the space felt cosy, rather than confined. As part of this process, designLSM contacted Into Lighting for help bringing their designs to life. The lighting design creates layers of warm white light that glows from concealed architectural details and from bespoke ‘halo’ feature fixtures.
The ceiling of Il Milione’s main room is covered by a repeated pattern of bespoke feature lighting. LED strips give the shallow bowl shapes a golden glow and, at the centre of each, a circular mirrored panels helps create the illusion of an extended ceiling height. UK-based Enigma lighting manufactured a series of classic brass pendants with traditional tungsten light sources.
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project / Il Milione, Hong Kong
The halo pieces cover the entire ceiling of the main room. Each comprises a shallow bowl shape, designed by designLSM and manufactured in China. Flexible Luci-Led strips, specified by Into, sit within each piece, concealed by a circular mirrored panel that helps to create the illusion of an increased ceiling height. Into specified a DMX dimming control system from Lutron to ensure all LED lighting could be brighter during lunch service and then smoothly dimmed to a very low level in the evening. Between the ceiling halos, surface mounted, low-glare fittings from Precision
illuminate the dining tables. Long snoot and honeycomb louvre accessories ensure minimal glare, even when lighting tables at an angle. To complement the circular ceiling pieces, Into drafted in UK-based luminaire producer Enigma Lighting to realise a series of decorative fixtures in line with designs by designLSM. Into provided the technical specification for these bespoke fittings with Enigma then developing the most suitable manufacturing techniques. As well as delivering all pieces on budget and within the project’s tight lead time, Enigma had to ensure they were robust
enough to survive the journey from the UK to Hong Kong, so specially designed timber packaging was developed to remove the risk of damage in transit. The first of these pieces sits at one end of the restaurant bar. A steel framework with a powder coated gold finish supports a black dupion silk shade with gold silk lining. This structure is echoed and inverted in the design of three ceiling pieces that hang at the bar’s other end, though this time the frame is used to hold incandescent architectural tube lamps. Within the main room, a line of custom brass lamp holders fitted with tradition-
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Opposite (top): Swarovski Sinar 100MM pendants hang above the private dining space directing an even illumination below while casting bands of light and shadow from its edges. Opposite (bottom): Artek Golden Bell A330 pendants are positioned above the banquette seating in a narrow section of the restaurant. Left and above: While ascending to the main room, guests pass a more informal bar area that features two bespoke fixtures by Enigma Lighting, created following technical specifications provided by Into Lighting.
al-style filament bulbs hang above the server counter. Their twisted braid silk flexes provide a luxurious, period finish. In one narrow section of the restaurant, a line of Artek Golden Bell A330s were used. These classic pendants in ring polished brass were originally designed by Alvar Aalto in 1954 and blend seemlessly into the rich, retro-inflected interior scheme. The restaurant’s private dining room features Swarovski Sinar 100MM pendants. The precise faceting of the Sinar crystal reflector ensures light is distributed evenly below, while throwing scattered bands of light out around its edge.
As Spiteri notes, the high-end finish of Il Milione is particularly impressive given the international scope of the project and the difficulties posed by such a restrictive location. “Overall, the project is a testament to the careful attention to detail given at site level and despite the challenges, the project has turned out beautifully and beyond everyone’s expectations,” he concludes. www.designlsm.com www.into.co.uk
PROJECT DETAILS Il Milione, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong Client: Savors Group / Ricky Wan Interior Architect: designLSM Lighting Design: Into Lighting
LIGHTING SPECIFIED Decorative Lighting Sinar 100mm pendant - Swarovski A3303 pendants - by Alvar Aalto for Artek Bespoke fixtures - Enigma Lighting Bespoke ceiling dome lights - Anchises China (with LED by Luci-Led Japan)
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FOCAL POINT / NANETTE LEPORE SHOWROOM, TOKYO, JAPAN
THE SPRING RANGE A series of ‘floral explosions’ help create character for an American fashion label’s new Tokyo boutique. Over the last two decades, designer Nanette Lepore has become one of the leading names in contemporary American fashion. Born in Ohio, USA, she began her business as a small start-up in New York City’s Garment Center, gradually building a reputation for her bold colours, evocative prints and signature silhouettes. Today her empire stretches across the United States, Europe and Asia - including boutiques in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London. Joining this list last September, a new Tokyo boutique opened its doors, bringing the full range of women’s apparel, swimwear, accessories and fragrance to the Japanese capital. The Nanette Lepore style - heavily influenced by her bohemian childhood along with a self-proclaimed “passion for a good party” – has been translated into a gentle, feminine interior design that is shared by all of the brand’s boutiques around the world. Calm, white-cream interiors allow the character of the designer-wear to stand out, but it is the addition of floral light pieces by Italian firm Lucecrea Class that make the space work. La Primavera, an explosion of white roses rendered in matt white metal, provides the focal point for the boutique, complemented by wall fittings from the same series. Together they avoid the space appearing stark, by hinting at the label’s flower-child roots. www.tokyostyle.co.jp
PROJECT DETAILS Nanette Lepore Showroom, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Client: Nanette Lepore / Tokyo Style Co Ltd
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PROJECT / CALF & BLOOM, AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS
All photography: Ewout Huibers for Concrete
BEEFED UP With their rebranding of a cafe space in Amsterdam, Concrete Architects have brought the al fresco dining experience to an ‘industrial’ influenced, indoor setting. Situated on the ground floor of the Kalvertoren shopping centre on Amsterdam’s Singel canal, Calf & Bloom is a new eatery, created as a direct replacement for the site’s former incarnation, Replay Cafe. Far from making a few minor cosmetic changes, the venue’s owners opted for a total overhaul, drafting in Concrete Architects to create a new interior design and branding. The new identity reveals a fresh set of aspirations for the venue. The new name an anglicised amalgamation of two nearby landmarks, the Bloemenmarkt (flower market) and Kalverstraat (calf street) - gives the brand an international flavour. As well as indicating its own location in a flourish of American-style shorthand, it promotes the notion that this is a public space, a hidden indoor square in which to meet and relax with friends. A wall of opaque light panels and louvers, set within a raw steel framework, separates the front of house and behind-the-scenes
services, and includes a variety of functions by serving as a menu board, newspaper display and chalkboard. Sweeping between the venue’s front and rear facades, this wall with its illuminated panels underlines the ‘exterior space’ aesthetic, a concept further emphasised by silhouetting the Calf & Bloom name against the panes in large, steel lettering. The new interior is given an industrial feel with the inclusion of high-bay style lighting. Measuring 78cm in diameter, these Lozz Extra Large shades are part of the Frezoli collection from TierlanTijn Lighting. TierlanTijn began producing the range four years ago, with each piece designed, developed and produced in-house at their Netherlands atelier. Each shade is formed from aluminium and suspended either from the ceiling by chains or from one of the venue’s cylindrical pillars using a metal bracket, custom made for the project by TierlanTijn. www.concreteamsterdam.nl
PROJECT DETAILS Calf & Bloom, Singel 461, Amsterdam, Netherlands Client: Replay Café, Willem Honnebier Interior Architect: Concrete Architects General Contractor: Horstermeer Interieuren
Above: Illuminated panels run along the wall that divides dining area from kitchen. These are used to throw the bold steel lettering, spelling out the venue’s name, into silhouette. Opposite top: Custom brackets were created by TierlanTijn Lighting to support their Lozz Extra Large shades. The style of these is mimicked in the custom table lamps along the wall. Opposite bottom: Long wooden benches and stone flooring help create the outdoor feel.
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PROJECT / HAMPTON COURT PALACE, EAST MOLESEY, SURREY, UK
DAY IN COURT Studio Roso’s new daylight chandelier adds a contemporary - and complementary - twist on the lush baroque interior style of Hampton Court Palace. London based, Danish design collective Studio Roso have created a special chandelier for the grand rooms of Hampton Court Palace in Surry, England. Installed to coincide with the ‘Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber’ exhibition that runs until November, the piece was commissioned by design consultancy Universal Design Studio to provide a modern twist on the distinctive baroque style of the palace. Hanging above a stairway that leads to the court bedchambers, Mirror Chandelier is a continuation of Studio Roso’s disc series. It comprises thousands of metallised discs suspended on an intricate branch structure that act as supporting arms. Large windows supply the daylight that allows the piece to sparkle as if lit from within and, after dark, several discretely placed spot fixtures take over. Founded in 2008 by Sophie Nielsen and Rolf Knudsen (who both graduated from Design Products at the Royal College of Art), Studio Roso is an inter-disciplinary practice that
fuses an interest in architecture, art and design, to create poetic, site-specific and highly bespoke installations and commissions. Influenced by nature, craftsmanship and making the extraordinary happen with every-day materials, their work plays with the ephemeral qualities of nature; the fleeting moments of reflection, light and shade. The Mirror Chandelier is their 21st century artistic take on the key themes of the baroque style: magnificence, brilliance, effect and illusion. Its clean metalic and mirrored finish cuts through the palace’s rich interior, while at the same time complementing its dramatic grandeur. www.studio-roso.com
PROJECT DETAILS Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey, UK Client: Universal Design Studio Lighting Design / Production: Studio Roso
Studio Roso’s Mirror Chandelier hangs above the staircase that leads to the bedchambers at Hampton Court Palace. Natural light flooding through the adjacent windows act as the light sources during the day and discretely placed spotlights illuminate the piece at night.
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PROFILE
folio Our regular feature highlighting the importance of decorative lighting in the work of one interior design practice. This issue, we present international design firm yoo Studio. The yoo Studio is a unique design house with experience of cutting edge design in over 24 countries. Serving the yoo tribe internationally, the studio has completed individual residences and hotels as well as bringing to fruition the visions of Creative Directors Philippe Starck, Marcel Wanders, Jade Jagger and Kelly Hoppen. Headed by Mark Davison, the studio’s experience is enhanced by its diversity of over 20 architects, interior and product designers, sourcing the best quality fittings and furniture from around the world to create interiors that are imaginative and individual. The studio has developed a unique understanding of global design, creating projects that respect and enliven their host location. “We’re not here to export European design around the world. We do a lot of research on the local context and weave that back in to the project,” says Davison. The yoo Design Studio was originally established to service the ideas of its star designers providing what Davison calls “the glue between the designers and the developers.” Over time, however, the group has inevitably developed a unique intelligence and identity of its own, taking on residential and hotel interiors, restaurants and larger architectural projects. www.yoo.com
Mira Moon WANCHAI, HONG KONG
San Souci VIENNA, AUSTRIA Opened at the end of 2012, the San Souci Hotel & Residences marked yoo’s first project in Austria. In converting this classic building in the heart of Vienna’s Museum Quarter, their aim was to balance the essence of Viennese opulence with a contemporary design aethetic, producing an ethereal calm that allows guests to relax and exercise according to their needs. As well as offering breath-taking views of Vienna, the San Souci provides visitors with stunning interiors. The hotel lobby is filled with daylight by a skylight, below which hangs a chandelier created in the Veneto Region in Italy by Masiero. In the spa pool room too, a touch of glamour is provided Balance, a piece by Germany company Windfall. Each piece contains Swarovski Strass Components and mouth blown glass candles.
Set to launch in September this year, the Mira Moon in Wanchai, Hong Kong, is the first of yoo’s hotels to be created in collaboration with Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. Its interior design is inspired by a traditional Chinese folk story whose three characaters - a moon goddess, a rabbit and the moon itself - are represented in different forms throughout the hotel. Perhaps the most striking example of this can be found in the foyer in the form of three handcrafted timber lantern pendants, one for each character. 168cm in diametre with wood veneer and a graphic relief pattern, the pendants were designed specifically by Wanders and yoo for the project. The use of ceramic, carved timber and cut crystal materials not only pay homage to Chinese workmanship but also relate to the Dutch influences and inspirations inherent in the work of Wanders and yoo Studio.
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Barkli Virgin House Moscow, russia In 2009, Kelly Hoppen was awarded an MBE for her services to interior design, a mark of the quality she brings to all her projects, from the yachts and jets of private clients, to the more commercial hotels, restaurants, offices and aircraft across the world. Barkli Virgin House, located on the most elite corner of the most desirable neighborhood in Moscow, is one of her contributions to the yoo portfolio. The interiors are very tactile, featuring different fabrics and textures to create depth and contrast, ensuring the scheme is consistently warm and inviting. While including many of her own designs, Hoppen has also chosen a number of third party pieces. In the lounges for example, she has specified the Arctic Pear Chandelier by Ochre -three tiers of solid clear-glass drops held in place by a patinated bronze frame.
The Jade Hotel New York, USA Jade Jagger began her career as an artist in the late 1980’s, before turning her attentions to jewellery design and eventually interior design in 2005 as one of yoo’s Creative Directors. The Jade, situated in the heart of New York, was Jagger’s first project for the studio. The project includes 58 units that draw from a series of design palettes entitled Aristo, Techno, Disco and Boho. Jagger selected a series of semi-mirrored, spherical pendants to illuminate the entrance lobby - fitting perfectly with the floor-to-ceiling mirrored tiles. The overall effect is sleek, luminous and full of glamour.
Aqua Boracay BORACAY ISLAND, PHILIPPINES Aqua Boracay by yoo is the island’s first branded resort offering one and two-bedroom luxury apartments and penthouses tucked away in a lush setting on stunning Bulabog Beach. Lying only a few hours plane ride from Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Shanghai and Seoul, and just one hour from Manila, the location offers a year-round getaway for Asian travelers. Each one and two-bedroom residence is designed for indoor-outdoor living, featuring sliding glass doors that open onto spacious terraces offering endless views of the crystalline waters. The residences have been designed for turnkey luxury, with modern, sophisticated interiors featuring locally sourced light fixtures and fittings.
If you’re an interior designer with an eye for decorative lighting and have five projects worth sharing, contact: editor@darcmagazine.com
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MILAN DESIGN WEEK
We bring you our highlights from seven days of Salone style and design...
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Prandina Triennale di Milano There was a touch of the Forum Magnum about the Triennale Design Museum during Design Week: a bustle of sights and scenes, as brass bands meandered through the crowds and visitors swarmed between exhibits and free bars. Lighting manufacturer Prandina contributed to the spectacle by inviting Milanese designer Filippo Protasoni to create a celebration of glass production - an essential element of many of Prandina’s light pieces. Limited edition blue-green Gong pendants were displayed alongside the sand that made them, and a frieze of glass-blowing tools underlined the rich array of skills involved in producing the finest glass pieces. www.prandina.it
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MOST
TORTONA DESIGN DISTRICT (PAGE 32) Baroncelli Spazio Rossana Orlandi Murano glass specialist Baroncelli transformed a space within Spazio Rossana Orlandi with a special installation of vintage chandelier remnants – an eclectic mix of hand-blown ferns and flowers salvaged from Baroncelli’s workshop and store rooms . “The dialogue between individual glass elements and their arrangement creates a dynamic work evoking the idea of urban green spaces and introspective moments,” Creative Director Giovanni Corrado said. Continuing the garden theme, Baroncelli also launched the Arbor series: comprising a flat, circular ring of metal from which curved spokes arch up to create a shade. Within the clean lines of the structure flow ridged curls of glass blossom, which can be adapted to suit individual tastes. www.baroncelli.com
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Yradia Via Aleardo Aleardi
EOQ- Joseph Entrata Libera
Yradia is a lighting agency born out of the partnership between Design Group Italia, a major design practice, D’Alesio&Santoro, a young firm of lighting specialists, and Huub Ubbens, an experienced lighting designer. During Milan Design Week, the group created a special installation that used blue lasers to create a virtual volume before hitting a remote phosphor panel. The excited phosphors emit a beautiful white light which is reflected by the inner surface of a suspended ring. www.yradia.com
During the Salone EOQ launched three new designs by Michael Young, taking over a small house attached to the prestigious design store ‘Entratalibera’ and filling each room with pieces. Among them was the soft Asian silhouette of the Joseph collection: lighting crafted from a solid piece of extruded aluminium. www.eoq-design.com
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BRERA DESIGN DISTRICT (PAGE 38)
Gino Sarfatti Flos As well as having a major presence at Euroluce, Flos also threw open its Milan showroom to launch a special re-edition of lamps designed by the iconic ‘50s and ‘60s Italian designer Gino Sarfatti, hailed by Flos President Piero Gandini as “undoubtedly one of the greatest talents that lighting design has ever known, endowed with incredible originality and fertile creativity.” www.flos.com
100% Design Preview Vivienne Westwood There can be few designers that embody innovative, high-end British design quite like Vivienne Westwood, so the decision to use the fashion house’s flagship store in Corso Venezia to highlight the best of new British design talent seemed particularly apposite. The exhibition was a selection of pieces curated by ‘communications designers’ Thomas.Matthews as a preview to this September’s 100% Design. Taking up pride of place in the window displays and tucked throughout the store, pieces included: Gold Clamp Lamp by Plant & Moss; Decode’s Wire Light by Viable and Vessel Light by Samuel Wilkinson; White Wire Lamp from Deadgood; Anglepoise’s Duo 1227 Floor Lamp; and a display of Globe, Madonna and Rosa Lamp by Curiousa & Curiousa (pictured). www.100percentdesign.co.uk
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EUROLUCE Part of Milan Design Week’s distant heart out in Rho. It has been several years since the Salone del Mobile - the original core of Milan Design Week - shifted out of the city centre to take up residence at the Fiera Milano in Rho, but this disconnect from the heart of the town has done little to dampen its popularity. This year, as ever, its huge gravitational pull ensured it was the first port of call for many a design pilgrim as they arrived for an annual fix of creativie overload.
Lighting pieces within Nouvel’s Office for Living included Jake Dyson’s Csys floor lamp (centre bottom) and Luceplan’s Otto Watt desk lamp (bottom right).
Making its biennial return, the Euroluce exhibtion took up four of the Fiera’s halls with enough decorative, designer and architectural lighting to keep a visitor occupied for the show’s full five-day run, even without the additional distractions of features like architect Jean Nouvel’s Office for Living - a series of spaces that suggested a reimagined work-life experience. www.jeannouvel.com Pic: Saverio Lombardi Vallauri
Pic: Alessandro Russotti
Pic: Saverio Lombardi Vallauri
Flaps Turnlights A new lighting ceiling mounted lighting piece by Vicenza-based Turnlights, Flaps comprises a multiple system of rotating Philips Lumiblade OLED panels. By twisting through two axes these panels can be individually orientated to adapt lighting effects and luminance levels. www.turnlights.it
Jardin de Verre La Murrina
Ascent Luceplan
The Jardin de Verre collection by Alessandro La Spada is inspired by the work of 19th century English Doctor, Nathaniel B. Ward and his observations on the metamorphosis of a chrysalis. Murano glass masters have recreated his ‘Wardian cases’ and filled them with delicate glass flora and fauna. www.lamurrina.com
Designed by Daniel Rybakken, Ascent takes the same archetypical head used on Counterbalance and mounts it on a slender vertical stem. By moving the head along this stem, the light intensity goes from being turned off at the bottom position, to gradually ascending to the full light output at the top. www.luceplan.com
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Loos Zero
Empatia Artemide
Inspired by Scottish tartans and the rectilinear facades of modernist buildings, the Loos series comprise three felt layers - each featuring a laser-cut pattern - that can be independently rotated past each other to create a user defined aesthetic - an interplay between light patterns and shadows. www.zero.se
Empatia combines LED with traditional Venetian glass blowing techniques that allow the craftsmen to play with the transparency and opacity with each glass bubble. Light is directed towards the glass diffuser through a transparent pipe with a very low absorption coefficient. www.artemide.com
Gresy Lucente Gresy was created in partnership with design studio ‘Claudio Cambi, Francesco Scatena, David Turini architetti’. Its windmill-sail shape exploits the features of the elasticised fabric in a continuous blur of folds, light and shadows. It is available in 80cm and 120cm diameters, in ivory or dark red. www.lucente.eu
DropLit Swarovski
Empty Oluce
Available in an variety of configurations, DropLit comprises smooth silicone and precision-cut crystal. As with designer Stephen Burks’ last piece for Swarovski (Inside/Out) the crystals used in DropLit act as a functional element, translating dimmable light into glamorous yet purposeful luminosity. www.architecture.swarovski.com
For his first collaboration with Oluce, Swiss designer Jörg Boner plays with materials and styles. Empty is constructed from two overlapping canopies. The inner is a multifaceted metallic form with an industrial aesthetic. The outer, in contrast, is a smooth stove-enameled surface. www.oluce.com
Libe Round S90 Masiero This piece continues the eco-conscious approach of Masiero’s Flashwood range. Made entirely of natural oak and fitted with warm white LEDs, the piece is shaped to evoke the wings of a dragonfly. The warm LED light is combined with Lozenges of Egyptian Asfour crystal (containing a more eco-friendly 30% lead) to amplify and refract the light, to create a wave of illumination that flows down from the ceiling. www.masierogroup.com
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Euroluce continued...
Fairy Axo Light Fairy has been created to add a magical sparkle to a room. Its multifaceted crystal diffuser creates an interesting play of light, either from the light source within or from natural light, creating a kaleidoscopic spray onto nearby surfaces. Available as a ceiling, wall or single pendant light. www.axolight.it
Faro Ante
Bud Chandelier Baguès
Designed by Jörg Zeidler, Faro is an LED uplight that sits atop three tall metal legs. The dimmable head section is attached by a joint that allows the disc shape to be angled as required. The lamp is just under two metres tall and available in either a white- or black lacquered finish. www.ante.de
An example of Baguès’ ability to create bespoke pieces in a classical style, the French company reproduced this Bud Chandelier using a watercolour painting by the designer Armand-Albert Rateau as their guide. The piece was first created for the ‘Pavillon de l’élégance’ at the 1925 Paris Exhibition. www.bagues-luminaires.com
Delphinium Gold Brand van Egmond Customised variants of the Delphinium series were amongst the pieces on show from Brand van Egmond – including this special gold version of the wall lamp. As ever the twisted garlands of metal and delicate glass elements combind to deliver the practice’s trademark magical realism. www.brandvanegmond.com
FormaLa Cini&Nils
Cosmo Delightfull
This flexible LED lamp allows a designer to generate an infinite array of shapes - straight or curved lines, symmetric and asymmetric forms – that scrawl across a surface. As a lighting idea, it is suitable for interior designs that targets a unique, personal approach to illumination. www.cinienils.com
Inspired by planetary systems, Cosmo is a dynamic piece full of energy and versatility. Its eleven different-sized spheres can each rotate along two axes, allowing the piece to cast light into any part of a room. Comprising an aluminum and brass body structure, Cosmo uses 33 G9 lamps (3 per shade). www.delightfull.eu
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La Primavera Class
Grapeflut Italamp
In homage to Vivalid’s ‘Four Seasons’, Class have produced a series of four pieces that represent the constant change of nature over the course of the year. Among them is La Primavera, an explosion of roses, rendered in classical white, that evoke spring’s triumphant floral displays. www.lucecreaclass.com
Grapeflut is a new piece designed for Italamp by Stefano Traverso and Roberta Vitadello. It comprises a complex but harmonious flurry of blown glass bubbles, clusted together in a voluptuous, fruity bunch and nominally bound together by looping threads of Swarovski Elements. www.italamp.com
Paralume Kolarz The Paralume range of pendant lights has been crafted using only the finest materials including 24-carat gold-plated, chrome, silk organza and Swarovski crystals. The shades – available in a choice of colours - are made from gently pleated organza allowing the halogen lamps to glow through. www.kolarz-leuchten.at
Peacock Kundalini
Orient Lightyears
A twelve-armed chandelier designed by Noé Duchaufour Lawrance to emulate the smooth graphic style of elegant peacock tails. Each of the repeated ‘feathers’ has an LED source shielded by a glass diffuser. 80cm in diameter and 53cm height, the piece comes in white or acid-etched brass. www.kundalini.it
The Orient was created by Jo Hammerborg in 1963 for one of the most important Danish lighting companies of the time, Fog & Morup. Exactly 50 years on, Lightyears has relaunched the pendant. Woven black cord, a rosewood top and a copper body combine in a rich organic style. www.lightyears.dk
Le Pietre Luminose Lithos Design Le Pietre Luminose is a collection of eight back-lit, modular stone coverings that use light to drive the design. Each module (60x60cm) comes equipped with a luminaire that incorporates an independent fluorescent light source to allow a relatively simple relamping process. www.lithosdesign.com
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Euroluce continued...
TechnoLUgy LU Murano Fabio Fornasier has made a break with tradtion and embraced carbon fibre technology. Shapes formerly created in Murano glass have been translated into a super lightweight structure making it suitable for applications where the weight and fragility precludes the use of glass. www.lumurano.it
Caud LZF
Iside Martini
Designer Burkhard Dammer has created a piece that may at first glance seem a simple, architecturally sober solution. But when the concealed T5 light source is switched on, the piece reveals a glowing beauty, emiting light not just through the white diffuser, but through the veneer edges too. www.lzf-lamps.com
Standing approximately 180cm tall, Iside is an extruded aluminium profile that appears to fold over and almost close in on itself. The coloured LED light that illuminates the inner surface of the piece is allowed to seep out through the canyon-like rift running down its length. www.martinilight.com
Spiff Northern Lighting Inspired by old, solid wooden toys, Spiff is constructed using traditional wooden joinery techniques, with a brass joint that allows the angle of the lampshade to be altered. The matt white silicone shade cap transmits a translucent light beam. It can be used on the table, floor or wall. www.northernlighting.no
Spigolo Omikron
Alya Nemo
The simple frame form of the Spigolo creates a virtual block, the perimeter of which houses high-efficiency LED tubes. These extruded aluminium profiles connect through an orientable joint that can provide either direct or diffused lighting. The piece fits snugly around existing furniture. www.omikrondesign.com
Dynamism and lightness - the direct translation of the Arabic word Alya – perfectly characterise this new pendant from Nemo. Three LED strips are curled upwards, providing a gentle ambient light. A single spot at the base of the piece illuminates the area directly below. www.nemo.cassina.it
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Impromptu Schonbek
Aria Slamp
Impromptu, a premium statement piece, combines Schonbek signature finishes with a subtle touch of embedded crystal. Its visual rhythm is created by a play of layers around a warm inner light. Made with Swarovski Elements, Impromptu is now offered in two new finishes, Blue Rhythm or Red Harmony. www.schonbek.com
Designed by Zaha Hadid, Aria combines dramatic architectural features with the intrinsic weightlessness of Slamp’s patented techno-polymer Cristalflex. The piece comprises a central structure of six light sources, capable of flooding a space, and a downward spot. It is 130cm high with a diameter of 90cm. www.slamp.it
Didi’ Status Designed for Status by Italian studio Tonettidesign, Didi’ is a family of polycarbonate pieces that produce both direct and diffuse LED light. The simple square-frame body incorporates a glowing, diffuse edge. Didi’ is available in table-top, suspension and wall-mounted versions. www.status.it
HeadHat Santa & Cole
Counterweight Roll & Hill
This flexible system of pendant lamps can be fitted with a range of shades (or ‘Hats’) of differing sizes and materials thus allowing a multitude of customising options to the core light capsule (the ‘Head’). The first five shades in the series come in ceramic and aluminium. www.santacole.com
Counterweight is made of gently arching, steam-bent wood that uses marble and brass as ballasts. Whether acting as a cantilever to the arms of the mobile version, or fixed as the base of the floor lamp version, the mass of stone and metal acts as a foil to the otherwise lightweight frames. www.rollandhill.com
In & Out Forestier Designed for Forestier by Paris-based creative Arik Levy, the In & Out is a lamp-cum-table with the durability to be used outdoors and the gentleness of style to be perfectly at home indoors. The piece is fitted with an 11W E27 CFL light source and measures 53cm in diameter. www.forestier.fr
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PROFILE
Above: Paul Cocksedge with Shade, a collaboration with Flos, launched at this year’s Salone del Mobile. Opposite (clockwise from top left): Bourrasque (2011) installed outside the Hotel de Ville in Lyon for the city’s Festival of Light; Crystallize (2005), a crystal and laser chandelier designed for the Swarovski Crystal Palace Collection; Kiss (2009) encouraged couples to lock lips under the mistletoe, a connection that sent pulses of lighting into the domed ceiling of Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II; NeON (2003), winner of the International Glass Design Award; inspired by the swirling shapes of the BMW 6 Series FullLED headlights, Cocksedge created a display of SESTOSENSO red and white conical lamps (2011) at one Flos showroom. Stepping inside the red version revealed a hidden video of the 6 Series Coupe projected on the surrounding walls. Portrait: © Marcello Bonfanti
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Pic: © Mark Cocksedge
Pic: © Andrea Ferrari
Pic: © Mark Cocksedge
Pic: © Richard Brine
design file
paul cocksedge Created for Flos by London-based designer Paul Cocksedge, the genre-defying Shade provided a refreshing highlight of this year’s Salone del Mobile. Amidst the wash of new lighting pieces introduced at Milan Design Week, there were few as visually intriguing as Shade. Created for Flos by London-based Paul Cocksedge Studio, Shade borrows from both the traditional suspended ceiling lamp and the floor lamp to create an object that exists in a category entirely of its own. Floating in mid air, its form is reassuringly familiar and yet the total absence of heavy power cables or support structure gives it an engaging surrealist edge. Stripped of physical clutter, Shade allows the end user the freedom to place a light source wherever they want, without feeling tied to a building’s predetermined wiring grid. Easily installed, near invisible capillary-thin wires hold the paper shade section in place, while an LED floor fitting uplights the piece with a perfectly balanced, clean, warm white light. Shade typifies the approach of Paul
Cocksedge, a designer whose work spans architectural projects, design products and sculptural pieces – infusing each with a sense of simplicity, joy and wonder. Though this is the first commercial piece to join Flos’s permanent portfolio, Cocksedge has previously collaborated with the Italian firm on a number of one-off works. With each encounter, the designer has been impressed by an openness to ideas and appreciation for his design intention, not least during discussions with Flos president Piero Gandini. “Those meetings are the stand out moments for me,” says Cocksedge. “A lot of times when you meet someone who owns the manufacturing company, the discussion quickly goes to finance and numbers, whereas with Flos its always about creativity - how to keep the essence of the idea and translate that into an industrialised object. Flos are used to dealing with
creative people - and they’re very creative themselves - so it’s a moment of two creative energies coming together; it’s kind of a designer’s dream.” Importantly, for Cocksedge the process is not about producing ‘a lamp’, rather it is an expression of his on-going engagement with light as a material. “For me I’ve just always been fascinated by light and its mechanics, by how it works in so many ways,” he explains. “It’s mysterious; it’s beautiful; it feeds us; it’s everything. So the objects that appear in my portfolio are just about showing people the wonders of that in different configurations. They’re not disconnected, they’re one, they’re a theme.” For more on the projects featured above and other works from Paul Cocksedge, visit our extended profile on the darc website. www.paulcocksedgestudio.com
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MOST
The Tom Dixon-curated creative hub returned to Milan for its second year.
In the years before he established MOST, designer Tom Dixon would often escape the creative-cacophony of Milan Design Week with a visit to the Leonardo da Vinci Museum of Science and Technology in the city’s downtown district. When the decision struck to enter the fray with an exhibition space of his own, the Museum became the natural choice. Returning for its second year, this curated hub of forward thinking creativity has maintained a spirit of cool calm, whilst delivering some top-notch exhibits for visitors to discover, scattered amongst the museum’s permanent collection. Taking up the prime position at the main entrance, the full Tom Dixon display comprised a warehouse of new launches and exciting classics, including the Gem, Bell, Flask, Cell, Spun and many others. The team also took the opportunity to formally launch Tom Dixon Bespoke, a way for specifiers to commission custom versions of existing pieces. A super-sized copy of Etch, hanging overhead, stood as testament to this anything-is-possible
approach. Event partners Megaman were also much in evidence within the space. The high-performance, low-energy light source manufacturer recently began working with Tom Dixon to help them pre-empt legislative moves to ban traditional light source technology. “Because we spend a lot of our time thinking of the latest lamps and lighting effects in our work as product and interior designers, we leapt at the opportunity of a partnership with Megaman, one of the leading companies in the world specialising in low energy light-sources,” says Dixon. “The illumination field is so important from a sustainability standpoint and so exciting from the technology perspective, that we are delighted to take the first step in what we believe will be an ever evolving partnership to collaborate, develop, test and communicate the benefits and aesthetics of the new sources of illumination.” www.mostsalone.com
Stacked and unpacked: Tom Dixon’s display at the entrance to the Museo Nazionale della Scienza e della Tecnologia included examples of the practice’s new Bespoke service (main picture).
Gem Tom Dixon Gem is a family of angular lights, tables and mirrors which all take inspiration from the facets of cut gemstones. Each product bears indentations of the sand used in its making. Instead of filing these away for a smoother finish the designers at Tom Dixon have embraced the rough and textured feel. www.tomdixon.net
Crown Brass LED lamp Megaman The Tom Dixon collection was complemented by a range of lightsources from Megaman, each carefully chosen to work with the luminaire’s design and produce the perfect effect. The Cell Wall Light, for example, launched with an exclusively designed Megaman Crown Brass LED lamp. www.megamanlighting.com
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Ceci Lamp Sander Mulder
Apollo Jake Phipps
Designed by Sander Mulder, this range of ‘broken’ lightbulbs plays with our preconceptions of traditional light sources. The open-bottomed, empty glass shapes remain functional thanks to an LED lamp in the head of the piece. The bulbs are hand-blown from heat resistant Pyrex glass. www.sandermulder.com
Apollo is made largely from coconut fibre, a material with huge environmental and social benefits. This fibre is extracted from the husk protecting the coconut fruit (which grows to full size in just 45 days) and comes via an array of local cottage industries from harvesting through to construction. www.jakephipps.com
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New Zealand-based Resident Studio have created this hexagonal shaped Pendant as part of their 2013 collection. Constructed from aluminium channel, it contains a warm white LED light source concealed behind a recessed poly-prismatic diffuser. Stylish illuminated geometry. www.resident.co.nz
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The Shadow collection is a homage to the timeless French ‘atelier’ shade. The collection comprises a series of glass shades that slide over a wooden neck in which an LED light source is hidden. A large metal canopy is available with the pieces, designed to hang a total of ten luminaires. www.brokis.cz
Plainly put by designers Studio Job, this is “an authentic office desk lamp with a ludicrously oversized switch. For those days when one thinks it could not get any worse, we have provided a button to take it out on.” The large head contains an LED source covered by an opaque diffuser. www.lensvelt.com
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Shadow Brokis
Seam Pendant Annika Frye Linked to the work of Annika Fryes’ PhD project on improvisation in the design process, University of Arts and Design Offenbach were displaying pieces created using their self-made rotational moulding machine - part easel, part gyroscope. The variability of the process results in each piece taking a unique form, subtly different from its siblings. Among the creations was a series of pendant lights, whose rough forms were shown alongisde the machine itself. www.hfg-offenbach.de
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VENTURA LAMBRATA
Away from the city centre lay a cohesive district of design talent. Stretching the orbit of Fuorisalone out to the East of the city, Ventura Lambrate returned for its fourth year as Milan’s only fully-curated design district. A mix of established names and fresh design talent came together in the more relaxed environs of Lambrata to present an eclectic array of pieces. The first Ventura Lambrate was created by Organisation in Design in response to
the efforts of Mariano Pichler, an architect and cultural entrepreneur, to redevelop the former industrial area into a new creative hub for the city. Its continuing success is evident in the wealth of visitors who took the leap beyond Milan’s inner ringroad - perhaps lured by the promise of crowd-free pavements, and a pleasing absence of endless carpeted aisles... www.venturaprojects.com
Gradient Lamp Studio WM Made from hand-blown glass, this diffused lampshade features a subtle gradient that fades from coloured opacity to total transparancy. Custom coloured yarn is braided onto the electrical. Because the colour provides a fluent transition into the glass, it gives the lamp a soft, floating apperance. www.studiowm.com
The pop-up Foscarini/Diesel cafe gave visitors a space to refuel underneath high style illumination, including Cage and Glass (top) and Fork (above).
Lederam Catellani & Smith
Petrona Fred & Juul
The Lederam collection includes wall, ceiling and floor lamps. Each comprises aluminium discs (17cm or 25cm in diameter) lined with copper coloured leaf. These are illuminated or thrown into silhouette by a warm white (3000K) light produced by a concealed 17W LED module. www.catellanismith.com
Each pendant in the Petrona range comprises two basic shapes in primary and secondary colours that are combined around a light source to form a complex shape of hand-blown glass and gunmetal-patina brass. Looking through both glass elements, a tertiary colour is created. www.fredandjuul.com
Booo Bulbs Formafantasma for Booo There were plenty of chances to see Booo Bulbs in various locations and in various forms around Milan. At Ventura Lambrata, the Formafantasma-designed leaf-shaped Booo Bulbs were presented on a large wall overgrown with plants. The installation flickered playfully in response to approaching visitors. www.booo.nl
18-21 September 2013 | Earls Court London Register FREE at www.100percentdesign.co.uk
A Media 10 event
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TORTONA Lasvit Constellation Officine Stendhal Officine Stendhal provide the destination for a special show of Lasvit’s latest collection, Constellation. As well as building on the company’s earlier collaborations with Ross Lovegrove and Japanese studio Nendo, the Czech glassmakers invited more of their international design heroes to contribute to their portfolio. The collection comprises Plisse Cloud by Maurizio Galante, Jar RGB by Arik Levy, Nodules by Ross Lovegrove (pictured), Patchwork by Nendo, Galaxy Luminia by Bořek Šípek, and Superclover by Michael Young. www.lasvit.com
Moooi Area 56 Moooi transformed the 1,700m2 space at Area 56 on the via Savona into a series of colourfully dressed living spaces. Among the mix of new and existing collections, visitors were able to enjoy the high-stream inventiveness of Joost van Bleiswijk’s Construction lamps and the graceful symbolism of Lorenza Bozzoli’s Juuyo lamps. www.moooi.com
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Light Your Heart various locations Conceived and coordinated by Leucos, the Light Your Heart project saw ten renowned designers - Arik Levy, Chris Bangle, Flavio Manzoni, Karim Rashid, Jozeph Forakis, Massimo Iosa Ghini, Patrick Jouin, Roberto Paoli, Satoshi Umeno and Valerio Cometti - each create a fresh look for a Great JJ - the king-sized version of Jacob Jacobsen’s classic 1937 lamp. The finished pieces were displayed in spaces across Milan and will be auctioned off in June to raise money for Padova Hospital Paediatric Onco-Hematology ward. www.leucos.com
Aiko Telgen Temporary Museum for New Design With displays at both Ventura Lambrate and the Temporary Museum for New Design in the Tortona District, Aiko Telgen was one of those designers whose work seemed to be a recurring presence throughout Milan Design week. In particular, his Ion series of pieces, illuminated by ionised plasma gas that reacts to the human body, proved irresistibly tactile. www.aikotelgen.de
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designjunction
— London’s leading design destination — The Sorting Office 21–23 New Oxford St. London WC1A 1BA — thedesignjunction.co.uk
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PROJECT / NHOW HOTEL, MILAN, ITALY
FLUID MOTION By using pieces from his own portfolio, Karim Rashid’s redesign of the nhow Milan bar binds the high-style hotel to its Berlin sibling. When nhow Milan opened for business in 2006, it quickly became a vital part of the city’s social scene, offering a richly designed, boutique addition to the NH Hotel chain. During Milan Design Week, the venue unveiled its latest injection of visual style in the form of a new bar area, created by renowned designer Karim Rashid. Rashid was heavily involved in the interior concepts for the nhow Berlin, which opened in 2010, and is a regular visitor to the Milan site, so he had a deep understanding of the nhow chain – and its potential for creative evolution. “After spending many nights staying at nhow Milan, I thought it would be interesting to subtly change the bar where I have had countless meetings, cappuccinos, interviews and glasses of wine,” Rashid explains. “I wanted to create a sense of positive energy by furnishing the bar in my new designs from Spain, Portugal and Italy. I added new works that bring a sense of connectivity, like a conduit for meeting, deal making, engaging and flirting, with colours, forms and materials that speaks about the digital age, making the bar a microcosm, a human global intersection”. Among the key design features was the Nafir, a pendant piece, which Rashid had recently designed for Axo Light. The Nafir design grew out of an original concept to create a piece that dripped in a fluid-like form from the ceiling of a space. Over the course of its development, the pendant
Karim Rashid’s Nafir pendants, created for Axo Light, pour from the ceiling. Their organic, trumpetlike form takes its name from a traditional North African musical instrument.
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All photography: Giuseppe Creti
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PROJECT / NHOW HOTEL, MILAN, ITALY
began to take on a more organic, trumpet-shaped form. Two options emerged: as a single flute or as a tripled-headed version with three individually suspended shapes that merge together at their base. During this process, Rashid had been making a number of trips to Egypt and it was here that the conceptual link to the Nafir, a traditional musical instrument of North Africa, emerged. The slender, keyless trumpet shares broad similarities to Rahid’s finished fixture, which is produced in injection moulded white plastic with a gold-coated interior and LED light source. The Nafir is packed with associations. It conveys the idea that light, like music, is pure emotion. It is also a tribute of sorts to Rashid’s Egyptian roots, which along with English, Irish and Algerian links make up the designer’s cultural heritage. The Nafir pendants are joined by further
design pieces to create a coherent identity for the bar. “nhow Milan has a consistent theme of orange throughout their hotel branding,” says Rashid. “I chose to highlight this theme throughout the bar by keeping a minimal colour scheme of white, orange, chrome and gold with an accent of lime. I’ve included the Axo Light ‘Nafir’ lamps in white/gold, Casamania ‘Kant’ stools in orange and the Redi ‘Kat’ chairs in lime. The ‘Tak’ tables by Redi have been customised with unique graphics printed with HP’s digital technology. To continue the graphics and colour scheme throughout the space, HP has created custom films I designed to apply to the bar mirrors.” The completed bar provides a conceptual link between nhow Milan and Rashid’s work on the nhow Berlin. A third in the series, nhow Rotterdam opens in the Autumn. www.karimrashid.com
PROJECT DETAILS nhow Milan, Via Tortona, 35, Milan, Italy Client: NH Hotels Interior Concept & Design: Karim Rashid
Rashid’s concept takes the orange scheme used throughout the hotel, complemented by white chrome and gold hints, with an accent of lime green. The gold interior of the Nafir pendants throws warm LED light onto the swirling patterns applied to the tops of the Tak tables, also designed by Rashid.
ONE GREAT CITY. FOUR GREAT SHOWS
MAY DESIGN SERIES / 20-22 MAY 2014 EXCEL LONDON
FOUR CO-LOCATED DESIGN EVENTS FOR LONDON
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ON SHOW / MILAN DESIGN WEEK
BRERA Seme / Seed Foscarini Spazio Brera TURN TO PAGE
EDIT by designjunction
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Part art gallery, part showroom, Foscarini’s new Spazio Brera is the first of a series of planned ‘spaces’ that will act as a contact point for each region around the world. As well as showcasing the latest and greatest pieces from the lighting brand, each space will include a commissioned art installation. This Milan Spazio opened with Seme / Seed a multifaceted metallic pod created by artist Attilio Stocchi. www.foscarini.com
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Anselmo Parete Viabizzuno Showroom Like many showrooms across Milan, Viabizzuno threw open their doors for a special garden party event. Guests were introduced to a selection of new luminaires, including the huge Anselmo Parete wall lamp (left), designed by Mario Nanni. www.viabizzuno.com
Lee Broom Crystal Bulb Pop-up Shop Brit designer Lee Broom transferred his Crystal Bulb Shop concept from its usual location in Shoreditch, London, to Milan’s Spazio Pontaccio for the week. Staffing this contemporary take on a traditional general store, the Broom and his team were on hand to introduce a series of new products based on the now iconic Crystal Bulb. www.leebroom.com
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EDIT
by designjunction Though now regarded as an established show at the heart of the London Design Festival, designjunction began life in 2011 as one of Milan’s many Fuorisalone. This year, the team returned with an edited version of the event. Admired for its more relaxed approach, EDIT presented a typically artful selection of global brands with a focus on quality design. 25 international manufacturers and makers and 22,000 visitors came to La Pelota over the event’s six days, including the 1,500 guests that flocked to the opening party, making it one of the more vibrant destinations at this year’s Salone. As well as the odd flourish of London life (a mobile Transport for London tea shop and VIP bar by Apartment58), EDIT also allowed the Creative Project Foundation a chance to showcase the best work from a selection of young Polish designers (see right). www.thedesignjunction.co.uk
Polish Designers at EDIT
Gdansk Bashko Trybek Designer Bashko Trybek turned to his home town for the inspiration behind his task light, Gdansk. Its angular shape echoes that of the shipyard cranes used in the port city. The construction of the lamp itself plays a role as a conductor and lets the arm stay wireless and plain. www.bashko-trybek.com
Froginjar Velt Designed by Velt (real name Jeremi Nagrabecki), Froginjar has a hand-formed glass exterior that juxtaposes with the black and silver structure of the light technology within. Track mounted or placed atop a stand, the piece gleams as light passes through its thick glass body. www.velt.pl
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As part of her ASH series, Maria Jeglinska created a wall and desk lamp using very basic shapes that would allow the natural, unpredictable wood grain patterns to provide each object’s ‘essence’. Working alongside wood-turning craftsmen, she produced the Eclipse wall disc and the Mushroom table lamp. www.mariajeglinska.com
Billy BL Kalmar Billy proves that utilitarian design can both reflect an industrial heritage and perfectly accent a domestic environment. The floor lamp comprises three matt-lacquer metal pieces projecting from a hardwood stem, which is unstained but finished in a clear protective coating. www.kalmarlighting.com
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Hang On Honey Nevvvorks Three silicone buttons fix the lamp directly to the light bulb and give users the opportunity to change the cover quickly and without any hassle. “The lamp oozes the kind of simplicity that makes you think, ‘I could have thought of that’,” says Nevvvorks. “But the fact is that you didn’t. We did.” www.nevvvorks.com
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Three Wise Men Channels
Dent Innermost
Each of the Three Wise Men pendants is carefully turned from solid American white oak or American black walnut, creating a rounded form that tapers up to a slender neck. Available in three shapes, and in standard or large sizes, the pendants can be hung individually or as a group. www.channelsdesign.com
Contemporary and uncompromising; this inflatable piece from designer Chak gleams with a copper exterior, giving it the look of pressed or blown metal. 22.5cm high and 52cm in diameter, the shade is made from polyethylene, delivered flatpack and assembled in seconds. www.innermost.net
Mimosa Pendant Atelier Areti “Delicate in its proportions, yet solid in its construction and imposing in its size,” Mimosa is a large sculptural piece with a metre-long, horizontal armature of powder-coated meta that holds nineteen white glass balls, each equipped with a 2W warm white Megaman LED. www.atelierareti.com
Next stop: London...
Carbon Light Tokio
DESIGNJUNCTION 18-22 SEPTEMBER 2013
New Slovenian furniture and lighting firm Tokio brought their Carbon Light fixture to EDIT. An ultra-light, modular, carbon-fibre body incorporating the latest in 6W LED sources. It comes in 4-LED, 6-LED and 12-LED versions, although its modular design means that custom options are available upon request. www.tokiotokio.com
Balustrade collection Simon Moore Based in Notting Hill, London, the Vessel Gallery works with a selection of both established and emerging artists in their chosen fields, with the aims of fusing craft with industry. In Milan, for example, they introduced the Balustrade collection by glass artist Simon Moore. Combining beauty with functionality and suitable for a variety of spaces, Balustrade demonstrates Moore’s mastery of the glass medium and his keen eye for colour and drama. www.vesselgallery.com
With a successful EDIT under its belt, the designjunction team’s next stop will be The Sorting Office on New Oxford St as part of London Design Festival. Building on the success of their five-day event in 2012, designjunction returns with a typically stylish line-up of leading global brands and smaller cutting-edge enterprises. This year, lighting pieces will be brought together in a new section, lightjunction, featuring: Aditi, Anglepoise, Anthony Dickens Studio, Artek, Autoban, Baccarat, Beau McClellan, Benjamin Hubert, Bocci, De La Espada, EOQ, Gubi, Jason Bruges Studio, John Galvin, Örsjö, Jake Dyson, Steuart Padwick, VG&P, Vitamin, and more.
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FOCAL POINT / CARTIER, MILAN, ITALY
JEWEL PURPOSE A multi-storey chandelier by Barovier&Toso provides the glistening heart of Cartier’s freshly refurbished Milan boutique. While many of the manufacturers descending on Milan had sought out the city’s spare spaces to fill with temporary exhibitions, Barovier&Toso were able to direct visitors to a more permanent example of their creative skills. For several years, the chandelier manufacturer has been working with renowned jewellery brand Cartier to create centrepieces for all of the company’s new boutiques. In October 2012, the historic Cartier store on Milan’s Via Montenapoleone reopened after an extensive refurbishment programme and, once again, Barovier&Toso played a major role in creating a suitably high-impact interior. “Barovier&Toso has great affinity with Cartier,” says Jacopo Barovier, President and CEO of Barovier&Toso. “We share the same core values: the preciousness of the product and workmanship, the selectivity and exclusivity of each object and a creative ability expressed in the emotions the objects are capable of arousing.”
Bruno Moinard, the head architect and designer for all Cartier’s boutiques around the world, requested something exceptional for the Milan boutique (a former 19th Century mansion house) and Barovier&Toso responded with a specially designed crystal chandelier. Ten metres in height and two metres in diameter, the piece spans four floors, hanging through a circular well that runs from the very top of the store through to its lowest level. The chandelier, which was built by Murano glass masters at the Barovier&Toso workshop, forms the core of the new-look Cartier boutique, passing through circular display cases that hold similarly glistening examples of quality craftsmanship. The installation drew the praise of Cartier International’s President and CEO, Bernard Fornas. “It’s an amazing chandelier, which reflects the strength of our brand: it combines tradition and modernity, elegance and status,” he remarks. www.barovier.com www.cartier.com
Above: Design concepts for the refurbished Cartier boutique in Milan as imagined by chief architect Bruno Moinard. (©4BI Bruno Moinard)
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FRESH CONNECTIONS Four shows in one... The May Design Series concept was a simple one: bring together four complementary exhibitions (Interiors LDN, The ARC Show, kbb LDN and new design technology show DX) in one location and invite their different audiences to come and explore each other’s worlds. “This is about creating communities and a single sourcing solution,” explained show organiser Andrew Vaughan. “The more people you meet and the more you diversify, the more likely you are to win new business so we aim to be the definitive destination for inspiration for London-based interior design, property, architectural and retails communities that buy and specify for global projects.” Entering through a blaze of coloured and mirrored shards - part of a design concept by show curator Ab Rogers visitors were drawn through the shows four ‘design districts’, picking up new leads along the way.
Refinery Ilias Ernst Designed by Ernst Koning under the Ilias Ernst label, the Refinery comprises five adjustable, matt finished, Stainless Steel tubes with coloured polypropylene connector caps to hold four CFL or LED efficient lamps. The tubes can be pulled out and around to suit functional or aesthetic needs. www.iliasernst.nl
Chandelier II Bob Crook: First Glass
Just Desserts Jay Watson
Designed and manufacturered by British glass experts, Chandelier II is a contemporary twist on traditional cut glass techniques, referencing the history of traditionally blown cut glass. It is available in any one of seventeen different colours with any combination of the eight cuts pictured. www.bobcrooks.com
Designer-maker Jay Watson debuted, Just desserts, a cluster of ceiling pendants made from a unique selection of traditional glass dessert bowls (either mass produced or ‘one- of-a-kind’) sourced from flea markets and second-hand shops and cleverly reinvented as eyecatching luminaires. www.jaywatsondesign.com
Aria Astro British contemporary lighting designer and manufacturer Astro, brought the Aria to May Design Series: a new plaster wall light with cleverly designed converging ellipses that provide both bright reflected light, as well as a soft wash of illumination, to create a striking pattern and a soft glow. www.astrolighting.co.uk
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Combining four shows in one location, the May Design Series encouraged experts in lighting, interior design and architecture to explore each other’s worlds.
Bloom Prandina
SpacY Yask
Bloom by Prandina takes the form of two inverted bowl sturctures that together created a sculptural play of light. This pendant is available in Glossy Opal White, Ivory Crystal, Black Crystal, Black and Copper. Prandina were represented at May Design Series by UK distributor Tyson Lighting. www.prandina.it
The SpacY lamp was designed for Yask by Justyna Zubrycka. Copper-coated steel pipes form an open box in which the light source sits. The piece comes in small (30x27cm), medium (40x36cm) and large (50x45cm). Based in Scuol, Switzerland, Yask specialises in design that complements nature. www.yask.ch
Karim Rashid... One of the most prolific designers of his generation, Karim Rashid took centre stage at the May Design Series – hosting a keynote session in the Conversation Series on Monday and then DJ-ing on top of the DX bar for Monday’s late night party. A packed crowd came to hear his thoughts on how the move from analogue to digital has changed our material world. See Comment, page 48.
Lámpara Faz Vondom The Lámpara Faz belongs to the new collection by Ramón Esteve for Vondom. Inspired in the mineral forms found in nature, the piece is manufactured in polyethylene resins and has a metallic base. LED illuminated and IP65 rated, the piece is suitable for both indoor and exterior use. www.vondom.com
Shades Mihaela Ogarca Mihaela Ogarca designed this series of shades after experimenting with laser cutting technology applying them to plywood material. The lamps create an intimate atmosphere and a dusklight environment. They can be used as a pendant or free standing lamps, becoming a central point in any room. www.mihaela-ogarca-design.com
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ON SHOW / MAY DESIGN SERIES
DX Freight... At the entrance to the show, visitors were greeted with a series of four shipping container-sized crates, each packed with new design pieces. This was DX Freight: a pick of the best from the past year’s major design events. Paris, Cologne, Stockholm and Milan were all represented by curated collections selected by experts in the field.
Klyyvari series Scandinavian Carpenter Collective
Knot Lamps Vitamin Knot Lamps come in two different designs of hand blown glass shade each supported by a monkey fist knot. The knots are tied in to the brightly coloured cable - available in five colour options - and the narrowing inner neck of the glass shade wedges to hold everything in place. www.vitaminliving.com
Designed by Yrjö Wiherheimo and Kristiina Wiherheimo Klyyvari is a family of wall, floor and table lights inspired by and evolution of sailing boat design. Natural wood armatures hold the scooped heads that come with a variety of colourful interiors. www.carpentercollective.fi
FUSE Ex.t Inspired by traditional Italian craftsmanship and mixed with Nordic simplicity, FUSE is a lamp in which the tactility of the materials used play an essential role. The result is a soft ceramic penandt lamp with a wooden ‘fuse’ ready to burst into light. Available in two sizes and three colours. www.ex-t.com
Sous Mon Abre Ligne Roset Designed by Florian Brillet, Sous Mon Abre is an outdoor lamp with an organic shape that evokes a large flower head. It can be hung from a hook or - as the name suggests - from the branches of a tree. The shade is made from rust-proof aluminium and has an oil ash wooden handle. www.ligne-roset-city.co.uk
Conversation Series... The Conversation Series offered a rich array of talks throughout the three days. Consistently packed with an audience from a mix of specialisms, the Series fostered an exchange of ideas across the disciplines. Highlights included a session by Michael Grubb on how lighting design and interior design teams can work together to create the best schemes for the client.
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Stelle Filanti Venini
Classic Chandelier Saint-Louis
Murano glass experts Venini like to push the bounaries of glass design. Proof of this can be found in their recent collaboration with Swiss design creatives Atelier Oi whose Stelle Filanti suspension lamp collection recently launched in Milan to much critical acclaim. www.venini.it
Saint-Louis is a leading crystal designer and manufacturer based in France. Beside their history and techniques, they work in collaboration with internationally renowned product designers to develop unique collection pieces as well as bespoke crystal glass art installations. www.saint-louis.com
Broken Heart... A light art piece designed and realised by GNI Projects with support from KKDC, Broken Heart stood within the ARC Show section of May Design Series as a testement to the creative possibilities of light. Another example of technology-driven art could be found on Applelec’s stand, where artists Neil Musson and Jono Retallick had installed a min-version of their LED Light Sheet sculpture.
Vega Lazerian
Tulip Danalight
Vega is part of the Lazerian Lights of the Summer Triangle series. This laser-cut and hand folded paper light combines both hand craft and digital technologies to create an icosahedron. The Vega light can be used in various settings from living rooms to commercial spaces. www.lazerian.co.uk
Danalight strives to create new and different looks using a multifarious mix of design, colour and function. The new Tulip lamp comprises a black chrome support structure of stems each holding a hand blown glass shade, providing a warm glow to any space. ww.danalight.dk
Tree Series B.Lux Tree Series includes suspension, table and floor lamps versions. Each features an impressive shade, made from a single piece of aluminium, whose shape creates an asymmetrical light pattern. The series is available in white or black texturised lacquer with optional textured gold interior. www.grupoblux.com
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COMMENT
SUBSTANCE OVER STYLE Inspired by Karim Rashid’s keynote speech at the May Design Series, designer Thomas Wensma adds his own warnings on a culture that rates surface style above true innovation. “Most of us are not designing. We are styling, because we’re using imagery from the past.” This is one of many strong statements from Karim Rashid, taken from his thought provoking keynote talk at the ARC Show, part of The May Design Series. These days it seems as though we have forgotten what design really means. We are using imagery of the past to design new products, meaning we use old paradigms to design new solutions. And yet when we do this we are not designing, we are merely styling. This results in products that look different and new, but in reality do nothing to help us solve the problems and obstacles we face. Nor do they enable us to have better experiences and interactions. Styling is about the need for products to be compelling for customers, not about solving fundamental problems with better products. Yet, too often, this is a large part of what so many companies call innovation. Companies seem to be in a race with their
competitors to be fastest with new product launches, shouting just a bit harder about how great their products are and telling us how we all need to use their technology. But using new technologies does not automatically mean products are innovative. We need to understand that, while technology used the right way can enable the creation of brilliantly designed products, it is good design itself that is the main prerequisite to genuine innovation. For some reason the lighting industry is a boxed-in little world that designs around technology. This is what’s comfortable as it is what people in the industry have done for a long time. The problem is that this approach will not lead to the changes that are needed. Many times I’ve heard companies and even so-called ‘designers’ present new products by touting them as great design. I’ve lost count on the number of new LED outdoor (street) lights, for example, that do the same thing as the ‘old’ lighting solutions.
The only difference is the use of a new energy saving technology - LED. It doesn’t make the experience for everyone occupying that space any better. In some cases it makes the experience even worse. Think about our over-lit cities; these days it’s a rare thing to be able to see the natural beauty of thousands of stars that fill up our night sky. Using safety as a way to tap into the psychology of fear in a bid to sell more products is also a bad move and won’t result in meaningful progress. It’s a missed opportunity as LED and OLED are technologies that can enable us to design better, meaningful solutions. For me and other industrial designers, these technologies offer amazing opportunities to design great products that are at the core of different lighting solutions. Saving energy is important, but it’s only a small part of what we need to consider when designing.
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How does facade LED lighting full of flashy, moving advertising make our lives any better and our experiences more satisfying? If it means we have to have advertising on our buildings just to pay for these LED installations, we are doing something profoundly wrong as human beings. It means that we are just ending up with more stuff that screams for our attention. We have too much visual pollution already. If there is one big lesson to take from the ARC Show and the talk Karim Rashid gave there, it is to understand how important it is to look at the broader design community, designers and design driven companies for a sense of direction that will propel the lighting industry into the place it wants to be. The problem is that the visual appearance alone can be compelling enough for customers to buy a product, leaving them with stuff they don’t want or use after only a short time. Instead companies have a chance to be great, to take risks, to change
things, to care. Be confident that customers and users will want to have your products. If a product is good, but not great, start over. It is that simple and, at the same time, that hard. For us as designers one of the challenges is to change the relationship and type of interactions we as humans have with technology and products. Outside the lighting industry there are some great designers and companies that have done this successfully; Apple, in the ways we interact and use consumer electronics, Nest with thermostats, VANMOOF with bicycles and Vitsoe with furniture. Lighting is so important in our everyday life, for the feel of everything around us - “The root of aesthetic is feeling,” as Karim Rashid put it1 so how can we accept not to do better? We should start over. Start with a blank sheet, rethink and re-imagine the way we design products and solutions. Making changes and executing them is scary, unpredictable and subject to failure. Well,
embrace failure, because it is the best route to achieving success. We need to start asking questions like; why does this solution work this way? Why does a product have this look and feel? And how can it be better? Unless we take this design driven approach, we are in deep trouble. We need to stop designing the same things, restyled and repackaged. We need new structures and better-designed products. To start doing this, the lighting industry could do worse than looking outside its own industry. That is when innovation can really happen. Citations: 1 - Karim Rashid, May Design Series keynote speech, ‘Analog vs Digital’.
Thomas Wensma is founder of Ambassador Design. info@thomaswensma.nl twitter.com/thomaswensma www.thomaswensma.com
conditional thinking
if...
you were among the crowds of creative cognoscenti who visited the inaugural May Design Series, you may already be acquainted with the work of Sharon Marston. Exhibiting in the Interiors LDN segment of the Series, Marston displayed six pieces from her portfolio - Flight (pictured), Amber, Morelle, Dujardin, Diore and Cluster - each specially selected to illustrate the wealth of materials and components used to create her chandeliers. The designer’s popularity continues to expand globally, as underlined by her most recent commissions: to create six chandeliers for various key areas of the new Ritz Carlton Bangalore, and to supply three bespoke pieces for the Hyatt Regency Hotel in New Delhi. www.sharonmarston.com
Photo: Daniel Brooke
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