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LONDON & PARIS DESIGN REPORT PROFILE: ANTONI AROLA NOBU LAS VEGAS

BY A BY . &AP.G. . & P.G. CA ST CA IG ST LIO GL NIIO N I

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INTRO & INFO

Welcome #05 As you’ll gather from the pages that follow, the darc team spent much of this September split between London Design Festival and Paris Design Week, seeking out the best bits to bring to your attention and hopefully spark some inspiration in your own work. It was during LDF that we were introduced to Lucio Longoni, lighting buyer for UK store Heal’s. With a keen eye for the popular appeal of decorative lighting pieces, Lucio is well placed to assess current and future trends and so an ideal guide to the international design festival circuit. To kick-off our round-up of London and Paris, we asked him to give us an insight into current and emerging styles, as well as pick out some of his favourites from this year’s London Design Festival and beyond.

When it comes to inspired creativity in lighting, designer Antoni Arola is among the greats. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to meet up with him at his studio in Barcelona: a space complemented by hundreds of found objects, the source of the leftfield thoughts and indirect inspiration that lead to the creation of his many classic pieces. His ability to see the possibilites in the spaces between existing objects is perhaps something we should all aspire to. You can find out more on his design approach in our profile on page 20. - Pete Brewis • darc Editor

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JAMIE’S TRATTORIA • LONDON

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PF CHANG’S • LAVAL

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JOHN LEWIS • LONDON

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NEUEHOUSE • NEW YORK

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NOBU HOTEL RESTAURANT & LOUNGE • LAS VEGAS

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PROFILE: ANTONI AROLA

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FOLIO: RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL

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COMMENT: THE FESTIVAL SPIRIT

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MAISON ET OBJET

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NOW! LE OFF

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100% DESIGN

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DESIGNJUNCTION

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TENT

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IF...

COVER IMAGE: Nobu Hotel Restaurant and Lounge, Las Vegas. © Eric Laignel EDITOR : PETE BREWIS : p.brewis@mondiale.co.uk

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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 • ISSN 2052-9406 • NOV 13

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PROJECT / JAMIE’S TRATTORIA, RICHMOND, LONDON, UK

THE CASUAL APPROACH Jamie’s Trattoria is a relaxed sibling to the popular Jamie’s Italian. Blacksheep have produced an interior scheme with a scattered charm that resounds with a sense of independence.

Since first appearing on UK television screens in the late ‘90s, chef Jamie Oliver has risen from fresh-faced newcomer to gastronomic impressario, presiding over an ever expanding restaurant empire. Now the Jamie’s Restaurant brand has been joined by a new off-shoot, Jamie’s Trattoria.

Jamie’s Italian wanted to create a smaller, more intimate dining experience for a new venture in Richmond, South West London.

Their aim was to produce a memorable environment that would reflect a local, independent feel, while still retaining the style to which regular diners at Jamie’s have become accustomed.

Design agency Blacksheep was commissioned to create a look for the trattoria, the tenth restaurant Blacksheep has designed for Oliver over a four-year period. The team were tasked with a ‘no design’ approach

in order to create a relaxed and laid back setting that would appeal to the local community.

The layout of the restaurant combines a range of different seating options - booths, an informal lounge area and a bustling shop front - all catering to a variety of clientele, from those wanting the typical Italian feast with all the trimmings, to those just nipping in for a coffee or a gelato.

Emma Freed headed the design team at Blacksheep. “One of the biggest challenges on the project was that it had a tight schedule, which meant that some aspects of the build and the design were actually being implemented simultaneously,” she explains.

“Although we didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, this process in itself actually served to add to that slightly ‘scattered’ charm we were trying to create.”

In searching for the furniture that would be used in the trattoria, Blacksheep were inspired by Jamie Oliver’s passion for all things authentic and natural, which underpinned much of the development of the design.

“We sourced the W.C. cubicle doors from a salvage yard in Dorset, tiles from a local church were re-used and the booths were constructed from reclaimed scaffolding planks,” says Freed. “We added layer upon

Above: A mixture of reclaimed fixtures have been used in the new Jamie’s Trattoria in order to support the fortuitous nature of the interior design.

Right: The reclaimed lighting features were supplied by The French House, Retrouvius, In The Woodshed, Trainspotters, The Architectural Forum and Fritz Fryer.

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PROJECT / JAMIE’S TRATTORIA, RICHMOND, LONDON, UK

layer of different reclaimed materials from local antique suppliers, adding novelty items such as Oliver’s own pictures and vintage pieces from his warehouse, until the desired effect was created. Nothing matched, it felt much like one’s home would feel, the result of a long journey.”

The lighting fixtures play an essential role in ensuring the restaurant feels like a fully integrated part of the community.

During Blacksheep’s past work with Jamie’s the practice has developed a tradition of selecting eclectic light pieces and the Richmond trattoria was no exception.

“We have used a real mix of lighting,” says Freed, “from feature murano glass chandeliers and delicate opaque glass shades through to reclaimed factory bulkheads and EDL lamps. We also reinvented some items, such as the reclaimed anglepoise shades on brightly coloured flexes which are clustered over tables throughout the restaurant.”

With the exception of the task lamps over the waiters stations all the fittings are 230V and all are mains dimmable, as, notes Freed, “dimming is integral to any Jamie’s Italian environment.”

Where the shades cover the light sources, low energy LED bulbs have been used, but in instances where the source is visible, as with some of the small opaque glass and enamel shades, Ferrowatt squirrel Cage Filament bulbs have been specified.

Indeed, these have become a Jamie’s Italian standard over the years. The exterior lighting and high level spots were supplied

by Davey Lighting, while all other fixtures were reclaimed and sourced via a number of suppliers including The French House, Retrouvius, In The Woodshed, Trainspotters, The Architectural Forum and Fritz Fryer.

“It was integral to the design concept that everything had a story to tell, so the emphasis was on reclaimed fittings,” comments Freed. “Lots of the fittings were reclaimed enamel shades, however, there was also a feature murano glass chandelier and opaque glass pendants. This wasn’t possible with the exterior lighting so we specified standard Davey Lighting fittings in a traditional style.”

As Blacksheep CEO Tim Mutton observes the new Jamie’s venture, perfectly captures a shift in tastes towards a more immediate, homely aesthetic. “The inception of Trattoria itself came as no surprise to me,” he says. “More and more of today’s modern brands are quickly realising that less is more and that in a consumer driven marketplace, demand is high for venues that support an independent and local vibe. People like to feel that a restaurant is ‘their’ restaurant, a home away from home and I think Jamie’s Trattoria captures the beauty of this movement in restaurant dining perfectly.” www.blacksheep.uk.com

Left and centre: The reclaimed lighting complements the thrifty look of the space.

Reclaimed anglepoise shades on coloured flexes are clustered over tables throughout the restaurant and LED bulbs were used when the shade covers the fitting.

PROJECT DETAILS Jamie’s Trattoria, Richmond, London, UK Client: Jamie’s Italian Interior Design: Blacksheep

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Davey Lighting - Exterior lighting Davey Lighting - High level spots Bespoke lighting pieces supplied by The French House, Retrouvius, In The Woodshed, Trainspotters, The Architectural Forum, Fritz Fryer

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PROJECT / PF CHANG’S, LAVAL, CANADA

All photos: Peter Ford Photography

GOING FULL CIRCLE

Aria Group Architects have worked with P.F. Chang’s on a number of occasions. Their latest collaboration brought fresh, modern lighting to a new restaurant in Quebec.

P.F. Chang’s is an Asian inspired restaurant with 204 branches across North America, South America and the Middle East. It is a growing brand that tries to produce a sleeker face with every new incarnation it opens.

Aria Group Architects, Inc. have a long running history of designing interiors for P.F. Chang’s, as well as for a number of other chain restaurants such as Nando’s and Shake Shack. The agency was again engaged by P.F. Chang’s to design their recently opened Laval restaurant in Quebec, Canada.

The restaurant chain insisted that the new build be LEED-certified, an accolade awarded by the United States Green Building Council only when a building is judged to be completely ecologically sound. Aria Group ensured the new building met all the necessary credentials for certification,

implementing many new green initiatives along the way, which will be carried forward to the development of future P.F. Chang locations.

“P.F. Chang’s is not a cookie-cutter brand,” says Shannon Sterne, a senior architectural designer at Aria Group. “The design intent of this location was to maintain the recognisable feel of P.F. Chang’s and apply that to a different market using fresh, modern lighting and design elements.”

Bloom Lighting Group was chosen to develop a range of custom lighting fixtures for the project in order to achieve the aims of the design team.

On entering the restaurant ten brass ring chandeliers are immediately visible, the metal circles dominating the stylish reception and bar area.

This impressive lighting arrangement, a modernised take on the traditional P.F. Chang style, features slimmed down frames and exposed lamps, producing an industrial feel, juxtaposed against a refined atmosphere of painted stone and varnished wood.

Three different sizes of chandeliers are used, ranging from 78” to 126” in diameter.

Each fixture features vertical rods, hosting light sources at both ends, distributed around the circumference of the rings.

Set at different heights, and laid out in an

Above: Ten brass chandeliers immediately catch the eye. Provided by the Bloom Lighting Group, the circles represent a modern take on the traditional P.F. Chang style.

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PROJECT / PF CHANG’S, LAVAL, CANADA

Top Left: The pendants, custom fixtures developed

by Bloom Lighting Group, work well with the Asian themed wallpaper.

Top Right: The booth seating areas are lit by custom pendant fixtures from Bloom Lighting Group.

Bottom Right: The brass chandeliers bring a modernistic touch to the dining room.

Bottom Left: Lighting suspended from the ceiling in the dining room.

irregular fashion, these powerful lighting statements provide a dynamic effect that adds depth to the space.

Antique finished brass pendants hang over the host stand and seating booths are complemented by brass features throughout the restaurant’s interior. Their geometric, faceted edges offer interesting and elegant detail while providing natural warmth to the space as light softly reflects off the brass finish.

The restaurant’s community table, specially designed for this setting, is illuminated by six pendants that run across the length of the space, providing a subtle glow for group

get-togethers. The line of fixtures rigidly follows the shape of the table, producing an impressive visual impact.

Four matte black metal aircraft cable arms connect each light to the ceiling and three watt G4 LED lights are enveloped in amber etched glass shades that maintain the feeling of welcoming warmth throughout the bistro.

“Sometimes lighting doesn’t get noticed, but this is impactful,” says Sterne. “Patrons will notice and remember the lighting in this restaurant.” www.ariainc.com www.bloomlightinggroup.com

PROJECT DETAILS PF Chang’s Laval, Canada Client: PF Chang’s Interior Architect: Aria Group Architects Lighting Design: Bloom Lighting Group

ph. Andrea Pancino

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PROJECT / JOHN LEWIS, LONDON, UK

SILK & SPARKLE A series of bespoke chandeliers, produced in collaboration with Austrian lighting specialist Kolarz, bring a contemporary glamour to John Lewis’s jewellery and lingerie departments.

For many department stores - particularly those that have long remained rooted to their historic homes - the creation of an effective, engaging interior can throw up a constantly evolving series of challenges. The benefits of occupying a prime retail location are often accompanied by the restrictions of a tight floorplan and the pressures of fitting a 21st century shopping experience into a 19th century space.

Over the years, the high street’s major players have become well-versed in adapting these interiors to produce the ideal image for the product sold within each specific area.

The flagship John Lewis department store on London’s Oxford Street has undergone many evolutions and renovations over its lifetime, each one designed to keep the store relevant to modern tastes. Most recently, the brand’s internal design team

focused their attention on the jewellery and lingerie departments, developing a look that could be rolled out to stores across the UK. To achieve the right balance of style and glamour, the team worked with Austrian lighting manufacturer Kolarz to create a series of bespoke, decorative pieces.

“In developing our concept for jewellery we wanted a signature chandelier that could be adapted to the different requirements of each shop,” explains Nicola Bover, Retail Designer Interiors for John Lewis. “Working together with Kolarz we designed a chandelier which fitted our brief, was contemporary in its design and gave the jewellery department a stunning focal point.”

The lights were specially designed and produced at the Kolarz factory in Austria.

Over 8,000 sparkling Kolarz crystals on each structure were combined with 200 LEDs to

provide a suitably subtle light level that is low maintenance and energy efficient.

The pieces introduce a sparkling light that is picked up in glass surfaces throughout the space, while its shape provides a visual flow that draws the eye across the room.

In the lingerie and fashion advice departments, the designers took a more intimate approach. Clusters of silk organza shades, strung with Kolarz crystals that appear to float below each pendant, create a series of seductive focal points. The warm, sensual mood lighting produced perfectly complements the products on display. www.kolarz-leuchten.at

Above left and opposite: Kolarz crystals hang from silk organza shades in the lingerie department.

Above centre and top: Bespoke chandeliers each comprising 8,000 crystals and 200 LEDs offer a focal point above the jewellery counters.

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FOCAL POINT / NEUEHOUSE, NEW YORK, USA

HOUSE LIGHTS NeueHouse in Manhattan embodies the latest evolution in office working. Designers Rockwell Group collaborated with Focus Lighting to create fixtures that would provide a warm, welcoming, hospitality-style environment.

Our understanding of what constitutes a modern office environment has long been in a state of flux. From early experiments in hot desking, to the more recent advent of Cloud-based workspaces, individuals and companies have enjoyed an ever growing freedom to work in whatever way - and in whatever location - suits them best.

NeueHouse on Manhattan’s East 25th Street is the latest embodiment of this shifting landscape: a shared working space, open to a curated membership of small-scale, entrepreneurial companies. Its interior, created by the Rockwell Group, is a radical departure from the traditional office model, borrowing instead from the world of hospitality design in order to create a space that not only meets the highest standard of technological integration, but will also facilitate interaction between members and perhaps spark fresh inspiration and collaboration.

To support this approach, Rockwell worked with Focus Lighting to develop lighting that would deliver a warm and comfortable, yet functional workplace environment within

the space’s raw, industrial shell.

The ground floor’s custom, six-foot diameter, glass globe pendants (which lower into the space at night to create a feeling of intimacy) provide the apparent source of illumination, while ceiling-mounted LED fixtures above provide task and accent lighting. To ensure that the pendants have the perfect light quality and correct physical size, Focus built and hung full-scale mockups both within their own double-height studio space and on site. The fixtures, manufactured by Lucos Group, feature glass globes supported on a metal structure with an antique brass finish.

On the upper office floors, a three-foot diameter version provides the same ambient glow within each floor’s central lounge, while indirect fluorescent lighting, hidden in the top rail of the studio’s flexible partition walls provide the primary workspace lighting. www.rockwellgroup.com www.focuslighting.com

NeueHouse features a rich variety of spaces in which members of the various tenant companies can work. The communal lounge areas feature bespoke chandeliers designed by Rockwell Group and Focus Lighting and manufactured by Lucos Group. Each piece can be manually lowered by using a wall-mounted pulley system to create a more intimate atmosphere.

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All photography: Ryan Fischer

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FOCAL POINT / NOBU, LAS VEGAS, USA

THE WABI SABI WAY For the new Nobu Hotel Restaurant and Lounge, Rockwell Group created a series of big and bold lighting pieces befitting their Las Vegas location.

The Nobu brand is synonymous worldwide with the quality cuisine of Michelin star chef Nobu Matsuhisa and the Hollywood glamour of co-founder Robert De Niro.

Though already boasting a global family of over 27 restaurants, often attached to world-class hotels, the group recently took the Nobu experience to a new level with the launch of Nobu Hotel Restaurant and Lounge, the first-ever Nobu Hotel. Located in the Centurion Tower at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the new venture is the product of a multimillion-dollar refurbishment project, with a new identity delivered by interior architects the Rockwell Group.

Rockwell has a longstanding relationship with Nobu and, for each of the venues they have designed, the team has married local influences with a natural, hand crafted approach using textured materials that reflect Nobu’s roots in rural Japan, as well as the freshness and delicacy of the cuisine.

For this latest location, Rockwell Group combined Nobu’s signature style with a series of oversized elements that echo the

largess and excesses of the Las Vegas landscape. This approach is best reflected in the restaurant itself where massive pendant pieces dominate the dining pods that line the room.

The Nobu restaurant is the largest of the all company’s eateries. Its interior concept was inspired by the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, a design aesthetic of simplicity, evocative transience and beauty in unexpected and natural rawness. The bar and lounge area feature hand-chiseled black Kadapa stone flooring, custom sofas upholstered in Donghia fabric and tables with green marble table tops.

The main dining area features five semi-private dining pods that create unique spaces that are both screening and revealing. Rockwell Group designed giant lighting fixtures, inspired by vibrant Japanese kimonos, to hang in each pod. The pieces are covered in a dark woven Chilewich fabric and are lined with purple and orange suede with a silver zig-zag pattern from Moore and Giles. With a single light source at the centre of each,

Top and opposite: Giant pendants, inspired by vibrant Japanese kimonos, dominate the restaurant’s five dining pods.

Above: Custom paper lanterns from Molo Designs float across the rest of the room.

the pendants provide a protective presence and intimacy within the 342-seat space.

The pendants are complemented by vast cloud-shaped paper lanterns - internally lit

by LED and custom created by Molo Designs - that float across the rest of the restaurant space. www.rockwellgroup.com

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All photography: Eric Laignel

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PROFILE

design file

ANTONI AROLA We visited the Estudi Arola, a trove of found ideas and the birth place of countless iconic decorative pieces, to talk technology, form and the domestication of light.

Tucked away in the Poble Nou district of Barcelona, a two-storey freight-elevator ride above street level, the studio of Antoni Arola is a trove of visual stimulation. All around, a menagerie of found objects huddle neatly on shelves and in cubby holes - a rubber ball, a child’s toy, a seed pod, a mechanical part - an eclectic mix of items pocketed by Arola during his travels around the world.

Models and prototypes of light pieces also punctuate the room, the early echoes of lamps and pendants made familiar by countless interiors. In many ways these too are ‘found’ objects, forms that have been carefully coaxed into existence by Arola in his role as both creative driver and conductor.

Sitting at his desk in one corner of the studio, the designer talks in his native Spanish about the elusive process of bringing a de-

sign into being. To find a good solution, he says, sometimes the most important thing is to forget there is a problem. This is where his library of objects plays a role: items that might not in themselves provide any direct solution can often act as the catalyst for a new set of thoughts, taking the designer down a new avenue of investigation. It isn’t a collection of objects, he says, rather it is a collection of ideas, a database.

Arola’s career began in 1984. Following his studies at the Escuela Superior de Diseño Eina, he started working at Estudio Lievore y Pensi before moving on to Associate Designers in 1990. Four years later, he established his own design practice Estudi Arola and has since worked in a variety of fields, including furniture, interior architecture and lighting design among others. In 2003, his body of work earned him the Spanish

National Design Prize, the jury citing his “great consistency, originality and passion.”

Over the years he has produced light pieces for the likes of Viabizzuno, MetalArte and most notably Santa & Cole, the Barcelona-based ‘editors’ of design who, in 1997, helped bring Arola’s first lighting piece, the Nimba, to completion.

Nimba started life almost by accident.

Arola was playing with a linear illumination system intended for architectural lighting applications when the idea of suspending it as a hoop came to the fore. By adding an opaque diffuser the ring of light sources became a soft halo. Its technical development was very long and complex, remembers Arola, but the tenacity and instincts of Jordi Mirlbell, then editor at Santa & Cole, saved it from the rubbish heap. It was the beginning of a long fruitful collaboration

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Opposite: Antoni Arola with a piece from the BlancoWhite series, a family of pieces made possible by the maturing of LED technology.

Above, clockwise from top left: Thin slats of birch wood knot around a stainless steel frame and powerful light source to create the Leonardo; the Cirio incorporates a capsule of LED lights that provide a candle-like light around which a variety of shades can be place - from white porcelain, to anodised aluminium or white opal glass; the glowing halo of Nimba, Arola’s first light piece; BlancoWhite pendant pieces; the superimposed shades of Moaré create a ripple effect.

that continues to this day.

Light, Arola says, is the most interesting of materials to work with. Its ubiquitous role as the provider of life, and the very means by which we engage with visual design itself, makes it wondrous. The physical materials used in the creation of a lamp are allies with which to tame the light, not to dominate it, but to domesticate it.

Changes in technology have opened up a new paradigm in lighting design. Instead of working around a single point source, and relying on material structures to harness the light’s best qualities, LEDs have allowed the designer a new freedom. In the case of the 2012 BlancoWhite series for example, Arola approached Santa & Cole with the idea of working with LED. BlancoWhite is now an extensive family of lamps that share the same subtle, one-centimetre thick structure that

houses the LED light source. The pieces have a lightness of form that would previously have been impossible.

A lamp has to be something in its own right, like a person, Arola says. And when a design is like this it can go in a neoclassical or extremely modern setting, or indeed anywhere; it always endures.

In 2007, an exhibition of his lighting pieces went on tour across Europe to mark ten years since the launch of the Nimba. Now well in to his second decade, does he ever get the urge to revisit old pieces, to tweak his designs, to amend some elements?

Every day, he replies wistfully. But in this area he heeds to the advice of artist Joan Miró, another great Barcelonan: “To start a painting is really easy. The difficult part is knowing when to stop.” www.estudiarola.com

A small selection of Arola’s database of ideas.

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PROFILE

folio

Langham Chicago CHICAGO, USA

Our regular feature highlighting the importance of decorative lighting in the work of one interior design practice. This issue, we present Richmond International.

Richmond International provides a bespoke service responding to each brief’s individual requirements. With more than 45 years experience, the London-based company not only creates brilliant new and refurbished buildings, it also takes into consideration the economic and social impact of their work on the immediate environment.

Richmond International’s clients include a broad cross-section of individuals, institutions, developers, banks and hotel companies. Indeed their perview is not restricted to terra firma; the group recently completed the Lotus Spa on board the Royal Princess, the latest addition to the Princess Cruises fleet.

Above all the practice specialises in hospitality design and has been involved in the creation and/or refurbishment of many of the world’s landmark hotels including The Langham Hotels in Chicago and London; the Four Seasons Hotels in Amman, Mauritius, Hampshire; and the award-winning Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest. www.richint.com

Photo: © Richmond International

Four Seasons Gresham Palace BUDAPEST, HUNGARY The falling of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe revealed many surprises, not least the Gresham Palace, a 1906 Secessionist masterpiece that had lain derelict after decades of neglect and decay.

Richmond undertook what became an award-winning restoration, bringing in master craftsmen to sensitively recreate the former glory of this stunning World Heritage landmark.

The focal point of the main lobby was a piece manufactured by Preciosa.

Inspired by decorative jewellery pieces from the secessionist period at the turn of the century, this chandelier comprises hand shaped crystal leaves, each approximately 60cm in length, illuminated by the 76 halogen bulbs that sit among them.

Continuing their long-standing relationship with the luxury Langham Hotel Group, Richmond recently completed the brand’s third US-based hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

Originally designed as offices, the project involved the refurbishment of floors two to thirteen of the 52-storey, iconic Mies van der Rohe-designed tower. Richmond’s design challenge was to create a series of interiors in character with Langham’s traditional design sensibility, yet set in an iconic mid-century modern building.

The team was able to cut new spaces into the Miesian plan to create double height ceilings throughout the main public spaces to allow the light and the cityscapes to become part of the interior architecture.

For the main lobby area of the hotel Richmond worked with Jana Ruzickova and Tomas Hovorka, in-house designers at Czech manufacturer Lasvit, to create a bespoke chandelier piece. The installation is comprised of hand-blown glass pebbles in two sets of colours, which are suspended at varying distances and lit from above with LEDs. The bubble-like pebbles are each unique in shape and internally coated in liquid metal, a visual reference to the Chicago River, which flows past the hotel’s south side.

Photo: © Mike Schwartz

Photo: © Mike Schwartz

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Trianon Palace VERSAILLES, FRANCE Photo: © Paul Thuysbaer

Four Seasons Baku BAKU, AZERBAIJAN Positioned prominently on the Caspian waterfront promenade, the Four Seasons Hotel, Baku, Azerbaijan is the Group’s latest European hotel.

Taking inspiration from the French Riviera, Richmond created sumptuous interiors that merge the French BeauxArts style with contemporary twists, resulting in an environment finished to the highest quality.

Richmond worked with UK-based Dernier & Hamlyn to create a number of bespoke lighting pieces, including three crystal and polished brass chandeliers for the hotel’s rooftop restaurant Kaspia. Based on the concept of ‘fire and ice’ and complementing the restaurants undulating views of the Caspian sea, the fittings include sail-like chrome plated panels and solid acrylic cubes that reflect the light in a similar way to water.

Elsewhere, for the hotel’s private dining room, a single 40m piece of brass was strip rolled and heated to allow it to be coiled into a 1.5m high cage.

Famously one of King Louis XIV’s original royal pleasure palaces, Trianon and its extensive gardens in Versailles were commissioned by the King as a woodland retreat far removed from the strict etiquette of the Royal Court in Paris. Over the centuries Versailles has witnessed many residents and transformations: from Marie Antoinette and Napoléon, to the upheaval of the French revolution.

The Trianon Palace, built at the turn of the last century, is universally acclaimed as one of France’s finest luxury hotels, famed for its redefined decadence and home to Gordon Ramsay’s first French venture.

Richmond’s respectfully restrained approach was employed to give the hotel its latest ‘chic countryside retreat’ aesthetic. From their first glimpse of the main lobby and gallery space, visitors are left in no doubt of the experience ahead. A series of chandeliers, inspired by the drawings displayed at the Paris Grand Exhibition of 1938, hang throughout the space. Each is created from woven Murano glass that fades from light to dark through the length of the fitting.

Photo: © Richmond International

Photo: © Richmond International

Photo: © GrandHôtel

Grand Hotel Stockholm STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN The Grand Hôtel - overlooking the Royal Palace and Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town - has been home to celebrities, high-profile events and everyday bon-vivants since 1874. It is also the location of the classic Swedish Veranda restaurant, renowned for its traditional smörgåsbord, Mathias Dahlgren’s Michelin star restaurants and the spectacular Cadier Bar. Richmond designed a series of light fittings that were not only a contemporary interpretation of the hotel’s original chandeliers, but also made by the local manufacturer Tomas Kerbs, whose father produced the original fittings. It is a link to the past that gives the space and its new look an added layer of historic integrity.

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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COMMENT

THE FESTIVAL SPIRIT Lucio Longoni, lighting buyer for London’s iconic Heal’s store, begins our coverage of London and Paris, with his professional perspective on the international festival scene and favourite encounters from the London shows.

As a lighting buyer, international design festivals are hugely important. Most brands will save their major launches for events like Euroluce in Milan and Maison et Objet in Paris, taking on vast stands and going to great lengths to impress the visitors who come from all over the world to take part.

As one of those visitors, it’s fantastic. You can feed off what everybody’s doing and it really helps you to assess trends, not just based on what you see, but also the conversations you have on stands and at parties; talking to people and finding out what they’re doing next.

In terms of current trends, I think it’s safe to say that copper continues to be important. It’s been around for a long time now - Tom Dixon started it - but I think lighting trends, unlike many homewares, have a much slower cycle. Copper is reaching its peak now and there are still loads of really amazing, new, up-and-coming designers who are finding it a really beautiful material,

wanting to play with it and using it in new designs. It also feeds into, and complements, the ‘industrial’ look. Brass, filament bulbs or anything with an industrial or vintage look is key right now.

Pastels were around in 2012, but again, we saw even more this year – especially in lighting - and I think that will carry on through the next twelve months.

At Heal’s we see ourselves at the forefront of these trends, so we have many collections that are new to market, whether it’s new designs or new collaborations, often doing them in a beautiful, capsule way right at the start of the trend and then bringing in more commercial pieces as it peaks.

When it comes to shows, Euroluce every two years is of course the main event internationally, and at Maison et Objet there are some nice things to be found – more so in January than September - but for Heal’s as a UK store, London Design Festival is particularly important.

The Festival was non-stop for us this year.

We held a big party to mark the re-launch of our lighting department on the Wednesday evening, but either side of that, I just went to as many shows and events as possible. It’s exhausting, but hugely valuable; Heal’s is a British design company and although international brands have played an important role throughout our history (hosting Italian and Scandinavian Design Festivals in the 1950s and holding in-store events to mark the first-to-market UK launches for many international designers), the thing that’s always run through the collection at Heal’s is ‘British Designed and Made’.

Tent was particularly fruitful for new talent: people that had just set up their own business with husbands or wives; recent graduates on their own; or two brothers collaborating; I met a lot of people from different situations who just wanted to have a go and really get involved in design and start their own business. I think Tent and

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Designjunction were the perfect places to do that – and that’s certainly what we were looking for at Heal’s – or what I was looking for in lighting. It was good, again, to see the trends - because in a London festival, you’re more likely to see the trends that are going to appeal to the English market.

There were a few brands in particular that stood out this year. International Studio and Dyke and Dean were amongst my favourites at Designjunction. They’ll both be coming to Heal’s in January as exclusives for six months. We’re going to replicate the pickand-mix assortments of both brands in our lighting departments. I think that aspect of mass personalisation is very important at the moment and will be for some time. The collections allow customers to put elements together and make it their own. People love having their own story element to buying a product, something they can tell friends or family about, or a talking point at dinner parties.

I’m a massive fan of Rothschild & Bickers, who were also at Designjunction. Their new lighting was fantastic and one of their new pieces, the Standing Pendant will be exclusive to Heal’s next year.

I saw a lot of interesting people at Tent, including Obe & Co, David Derksen and Alexandra Raben - a fantastic girl from Norway who had woven wool shades using big metal structures as their bases - very expensive, but amazing and very different.

It was just one example of the many pieces coming through with that craft aspect, and in many ways I think those were some of the real highlights; just to know that people were getting involved with making, and weren’t afraid to go into making craft and still present it in a commercial and modern way.

Lucio Longoni, is Lighting Buyer for Heal’s. www.heals.co.uk.

For more on Heal’s new lighting department, including details of the new Bocci chandelier on the store’s historic Cecil Brewer staircase, visit darcmagazine.com

Main graphics courtesy of Vector Open Stock and webdesignhot.com

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MAISON & OBJET As well as providing a platform for the city’s smaller studios and galleries, Paris Design Week also encompassed the September edition of the Maison & Objet hyper-bazaar.

Among the sprawling halls of the Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition grounds, the regular home to Maison et Objet, there were both fresh decorative pieces and flourishes of creative inspiration to be found. Notably, leading lighting designers Motoko Ishii and Akari-Lisa Ishii had taken up an invitation to create a series of thematic spaces that explored the character of light. Their ‘Light Essentials’, took

visitors on a journey through the multifaceted nature of light. Within consecutive rooms, the mother and daughter team delivered experiences that were in turn calming, mysterious, energising and glamourous - a diveristy made possible by the constant advance of lighting and control technologies. www.motoko-ishii.co.jp www.icon-lighting.com

From left to right: Light sculptures on display in the ‘Light Garden’; RGB shadows in ‘White Made of Colour’; an interactive LED chandelier with lighting scenes inspired by natural phenomena in the earth’s six climate zone.

Firefly Chandelier Hive Recreating the natural magic of bioluminescent insects, the Firefly Chandelier comprises a collection of hanging glass jars, each containing a line of LEDs. Each light point is coverded by a twin fish scale formation to give the illusion of a winged form, glowing in the night. www.designbyhive.com

Nénuphar Designheure

Sabeen Nahoor

The Nénuphar collection takes its inspiration from Japanese scenography and aquatic life. The piece’s bold elements punctuate the surface of an interior, providing intriguing colours, shapes and perspectives. The collection is available as sconces, ceiling lamps and adjustable pendants. www.designheure.com

Designed by William Pianta, the Sabeen family of table, floor and wall lamps takes its lead from the title character of Billy Wilder’s 1954 movie Sabina - in particular the line: “If you should have any difficulty recognising your daughter, I shall be the most sophisticated woman at the Glen Cove station.” www.nahoor.com

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White Osmosis Catherine Lovatt

Blown SW3 &tradition

For her new piece, Catherine Lovatt was inspired by the process of osmosis - the transition of water molecules through a membrane to the side with the greatest concentration of dissolved impurities. It forms part of Lovatt’s ‘52 Weeks’ project: the creation of a sculptural lamp for each week of the year. www.catherinelovatt.blogspot.co.uk

Blown is Samuel Wilkinson’s first lamp for &tradition. A mouth-blown pendant lamp with a quilted pattern, it comes in two versions: a translucent variant with a silver lustre and a sandblasted version. Blown is fitted with a powder-coated metal suspension and a E27 light source. www.andtradition.com

Lampe Jeanne Boboboom Boboboom, pride themselves on a fierce commitment to upcycling and environmentally conscious production.

Lampe Jeanne is a case in point. Recycled glass lamps are equipped with one of fifteen coloured cables. Free from set production moulds, the Jeanne is available in a variety of sizes. www.boboboom.com

May Ay illuminate

Pathleaf Serip

May is a graceful hanging light designed

by Mark Eden Schooley and Ay Lin Heinen. Based on Ay illuminate’s classic, the Twiggy collection. Produced in either brown or natural bamboo braided around a slightly conical cylinder, May comes in two sizes: 75cm or 95cm. www.ayilluminate.com

Further developing their ‘organic’ design concept, Portuguese company Serip have expanded their collection of rich lighting pieces with Pathleaf.

This latest addition comprises a flow of golden bronze leaf shapes that extend across an expanse of wall or ceiling to provide a warm, inviting glow. www.serip.com.pt

Mackintosh WOKA In 1900, Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibited at the Viennese Secession.

The show, curated by Josef Hoffmann, saw the introduction of the ‘New Style’ for which Mackintosh received international recognition. Among his work was this piece, originally designed as a street lamp for the Glasgow School of Art. It marks a departure from the floral touches seen in his earlier works in favour of a cleaner, cubist approach. www.woka.com

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Maison & Objet continued...

Filament Silver Ango Ango have introduced a new iteration of their acclaimed light jewellery series, among them the Filament. Each piece produces a myriad of light points, created by multi-layered steel filigree, formed free-hand before being coated in nickel. The piece is 310mm in diameter and 445mm high. www.angoworld.com

Blue Lejos Paris au mois d’août

Lampe Boule Matejewski

As you’d expert from a company that takes its name from ‘the time of the year when Paris becomes more dreamy and even more charming’, Paris au mois d’août creates, hand-made pieces from natural materials like cotton, silk and blown glass, to create lamps with warm, organic forms. www.parisaumoisdaout.com

A flamboyant playfulness marks out the work of French designer Hervé Matejewski. Lampe Boule takes the form of an explosion of coloured goose feathers. Available in a variety of diameters, these sphreical feather boa pendants are supplied with a suspension system and an energy saving bulb. www.matejewski.com

Carallo Ideal Lux Carallo is one of the latest pieces from theclassically influenced lighting studio Ideal Lux. At its core, the Corallo has a spherical chrome heart from which twelve light sources spring. These illuminate the twisted blades of handcrafted, coloured glass that give the piece its volume. www.ideal-lux.com

Umo Les Fourmis Bleues

Grown Zava

Umo is one of a range of pieces from Les Fourmis Bleues that use textile, paper and polyethylene elements to form larger glowing sculptures with a flexible, modular structure. The company is focused on using natural, recycled or renewable materials along with energy efficient light sources. www.fourmisbleues.fr

Designed for Zava by Delineodesign Studio, Grown is a family of lamps created from a sequence of wire thread that interweave to form the outline of two interlocking volumes. Available as a floor, table or pendant light, the piece amplifies a rhythmic interplay of light and shadow throughout a space. www.zavaluce.it

www.tyson-lighting.co.uk facebook.com/TysonLighting +44 (0)1254 266000

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ILLUMINATIONS Within Maison et Objet, Elizabeth Leriche brought together a curated collecton of lighting pieces that inspire.

As with all the best shows, Maison et Objet was concerned with more than just presenting new products. As part of a series of mini-exhibitions, held under the umbrella title ‘Energies’, Elizabeth Leriche curated a special selection of emotionally engaging lighting pieces.

Illuminations was an investigation of light’s cosmic roots and its role as a vehicle for, and ‘memory’ of, all energy.

In the words of the show’s guide: “Light is thought without words, pure emotion, absolute immateriality which, like a ‘total theatre piece’, invite us to experience a different material state and a new perception of ourselves.”

DESIGNERS: 1 Sky artist luminous fabrics by Astrid Krogh

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2 Eclipses by Geoffroy Gillant (left) with Transit by OS and OOS 3 ODYSSEY from Etienne Rey 4 CMYK Corner Lamp by Dennis Parren 5 Lunaire by Ferreol Babin for Fontana Arte 6 Ripple by Poetic Lab (right) 7 AIR from Etienne Rey 8 Lumiblade living shapes OLED wall by Philips 9 Tension lamp by Front Design for BOOO

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KOLARZ速 - TuRning DReAms inTO ReALiTy Bespoke lighting for commercial and residential interiors

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NOW!

&next Pic: Benoit David. Taken at La Cachette d’Alibabette in Nantes

Across Paris at ‘Les Docks Cité de la Mode et du Design’ on the banks of the Seine, Now! le Off provided an opportunity for fresh, independent and emerging design talent to exhibit their work. Here we present a selection of the lighting pieces on show and introduce the creative minds behind them. www.parisdesignweek.fr

GIORGIO BONAGURO The “Fina” Lamp is a portable table lamp inspired by one of Sarfatti’s masterpieces, the model 607. Giorgio Bonaguro’s lamp is formed from a single piece of laser-cut aluminum, which is subsequently bended to produce its simple shape. A group of warm white LEDs provide the illumination, though the design could also hold an OLED source. www.bonagurogiorgio.com

PIERRE STADELMANN As politicians across Europe began to turn their critical eye of legislation on the iconic spherical fish bowl (following suggestions that its confined dimensions might constitute animal cruelty), designer Pierre Stadelmann was inspired to devise a new market for the glass bowl industry. His solution was Fish Tank, a series of table and pendant lamps that combine turned wood brackets with the traditional bowl shape. These bowls can be etched, frosted, patterned or left clear. www.pierrestadelmann.com

ZAKARIA KHALFAOUI Pic: Andrea Basile - www.andreabasilestudio.it

RODRIGO VAIRINHOS Hanging “proud as a peacock,” (as designer Rodrgio Vairinhos puts it), Vanity is a reinterpretation of an origami birdform, abstracted into a series of folded planes. Depite its name, the piece encompasses an admirable depth of design. Its skin uses high-quality Davina MD fabric from Kvadrat, making it an acoustically absorbant addition to a space.

With Osram LEDs as its light source, Vanity delivers practicality alongside its graceful good looks. www.rodrigovairinhos.com

An industrial and product designer currently residing in Italy, Zakaria Khalfaoui presented a series of lamps made entirely from cardboard and inspired by his longstanding cross-cultural research. Each lamp is designed to be cut from a single sheet and build into three dimensional forms that echo both arabic and european influences.

A simple, standard LED torch provides the light source, making this an accessible, instant design addition to a room. khalfaoui.zakaria@gmail.com

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VIOLAINE D’HARCOURT NONAGE DESIGN The Lampione series draws on the skills of a range of craftsmen, combining rich, natural elements into three poetic lamp types.

Blown glass, turned wood from pear and and ash trees, lacquered steel, molded concrete and worked leather are all used together to make the Lampione I (168.5cm tall), Lampione II (160cm) and Lampione III (56.5cm).

Forthcoming pieces will also be availble in walnut and beech woods. www.violainedharcourt.fr

Nonage (aka designer Henri Dejeant) became intrigued by the process of transforming matter into solid forms when visiting the souks of Marrakech. It led him to develop a technique of creating a bio-plastic mixture using over 90% recycled paper material that could be moulded into lighting pieces. The finished fixtures have an appealing polished concrete aesthetic.

The studio produces a small series of objects with a handmade quality and strong eco-credentials. www.nonage.fr

UGLJESA VRCELJ

LOREN MANQUILLET Loren Manquillet, product designer and interior architect, graduated with honours from the École Camondo in Paris. With her Alchimie series she reuses glass jars, morphing them with heat, but retaining their screw thread as a means of connection to a supporting structure. www.lorenmanquillet.com

Windturbine 3 is an expression of designer Ugljesa Vrcelj’s love of nature, in this instance the positive power of the wind.

Its turbine structure is intended to evoke memories of wind as a natural phenomenon and the experiences that would not exist wtihout it: sailing, skiing, mountaineering, mountain biking, etc. “My desire is to recreate these moments and the energy of wind in any space,” Vrcelj explains. www.ugljesavrcelj.com

MARIANNE ANDERSEN Klubben (a Norwegian Designers Union), used Now! to exhibit a collection of work by its members, each inspired by a different hour of the day. Marianne Andersen’s contribution was ‘Sleep on it’. Inspired by the eureka moments of clarity that can come in the middle of the night - the sudden solution to the previous day’s problem - her contribution is a simple, wall-mounted lamp, consisting of a wooden bracket and painted aluminium reflector. www.marianneandersen.com

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100% design Seminars, international pavilions and dynamic features made Earls Court a worthy design destination.

For some, 100% Design’s Earls Court location has made it the straight man of a London circuit that increasingly favours dusty warehouses and workshop events.

It nonetheless remains the first stop for many London visitors and there is still much to recommend it, particularly following its 2012 reboot.

This year, visitors were once again fasttracked through a miasmic corridor of colour (the work of creatives Thomas.Matthews and Studio Design UK) to the show’s central bar. Hanging above

this circular refreshment space, Czech lighting design brand Preciosa had created a special chandelier, dubbed Hurricaine of Inspiration.

Based on the InSpiral collection by Preciosa-Lighting’s Chief Designer, Jaroslav Bejvl Jr, the piece comprised three interlocking ribbons, made from over 4,000 individual, cut crystal prisms.

Illuminated by RGB LED, the chandelier was able to switch effortlessly from fresh cyan, to soothing violet and dramatic red. www.preciosalighting.com

Polka Lamps Plant & Moss Polka Lamps are a series of small, playful, concealed LED lights housed in smooth candy-coloured shells. The range includes the Polka Mouse, a surface mounted piece that can be used to highlight specific objects, and the Polka Drop, a pendant with ample cable to allow positioning exactly as required. www.plantandmoss.com

Cullan Dish Wall Light Mullan Lighting Emanating warmth through its shadowed patinated back plate, the Cullen Dish wall light from Irish-based Mullan Lighting embodies the richness of the brass work it is constructed from. The reflection from the back plate engages the eye, making you step back in time with its industrial look. www.mullanlighting.com

Enso Lamp Laokoon

Equo Ergo / Koncept

Laokoon is a plastic expandable skin of interlocking scales. Sheets can be folded and curved in on themselves to create sweeping, wing-like shapes, as demonstrated by the Enso Lamp. Its user-customisable shade stands around a central perspex column that provides illumination and structural integrity. www.laokoon-co.com

With the latest inductive charging platform incorporated into its base, this new version of the Equo has the ability to charge compatible smart phones wirelessly. Ergo and Koncept LED Lighting have incorporated the system as an optional extra into pieces across the Koncept range. www.ergoltd.co.uk www.koncept.com

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Stoneware Lighting Adam Cornish

AUSTRALIA PAVILION

Inspired by a droplet of water frozen in time, the Droplet Pendant mimics the beauty and elegance of a fluid form.

Available in black or white aluminum-spun top, and a wooden ring of American oak, spotted gum or black walnut, these pendants are appropriate for both ambient and task lighting. www.viktorlegindesign.com

The Stoneware range embraces the Japanese philosophy of Wabi-Sabi - a belief in the beauty of honest design and production processes. Each piece is completely hand made from natural, locally sourced material. Ripples and grooves created by the hands of the artist make each piece unique. www.adamcornish.com

AUSTRALIA PAVILION

Droplet Pendant Viktor Legin

Topaz Edward Linacre

AUSTRALIA PAVILION

‘Amber quartz’, the literal translation of ‘Topaz’, provided the coneptual starting point for this piece by Edward Linacre. The precise yet seemingly random crystalline form found in nature has been translated into an illuminated, asymmetrical, sculpture that looks unique from every viewing angle. www.edwardlinacre.com

Chandelier Fog Baranska

Fairy Series #2 SoonCho Textiles

The Chandelier Fog collection is created using handcrafted glass tiles that hang in parrallel planes in evocation of the way fog hovers in layers above ground. Models differ in size and the number of glass tiles used. They are internally illuminated by an LED light source. www.baranska.pl

In Soon Cho’s Fairy Series, layers of fabric hang down in a skirt-like form around the central light source, giving it a feminine appearance. Beading has been added to form a ‘dew drops’ effect around its edge. This sculptural series is intended as a poetic blend of art and design. www.soonchotextiles.com

Lightfalls 3M & Todd Bracher Born from the marriage of designer Todd Bracher’s creative vision and 3M’s technical prowess, Lightfalls capitalises on the laws of physics to distribute light in a revolutionary way. Lightfalls extends the reach of a single LED further than ever before. The near 99% reflective 3M material is shaped in such a way that it efficiently bounces the light of a single LED from one sconce to another, resulting in an easy-to-install, high impact feature wall. www.3marchitecturalmarkets.com

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100% Design continued...

SOUTH AFRICA PAVILION

Capsula Brokis The Capsula pendant light is composed of two ovoid capsules, the larger ‘absorbing’ the smaller, around a tubular light source that is held in place by wooden stoppers. By combining the clear crystal shell and coloured inner glass form, designer Lucie Koldova creates a stimulating visual tension. www.brokis.cz

Fuschia Chandelier Willowlamp

Vagabond Confidence in Light

This design, based on the form of Fuschia flowers, is one of a wide range of graceful chandeliers from Willowlamp, constructed using a patented system of attaching coloured ball-chains to laser-cut steel frames. Illuminated by a suspended spiraling arrangement of G4 Halogen 20W lamps in Pyrex glass balls. www.willowlamp.com

Vagabond is designed to be plugged in to a standard electrical socket and then hung anywhere within a space. The shade can then be height adjusted to suit. Vagabond is available as a pendant (53,cm 42cm and 19cm in diameter) and as a wall lamp (two versions, both 19cm in diameter). www.confidenceandlight.com

Water Drop Ceramicstudio Mee

KOREA PAVILION

The Water Drop Shade is slip cast in three different coloured layers, before the facets of the piece are shaved away, allowing the various colours to shine through. By using the slip casting process Ceramicstudio Mee are able to produce a lighter, more translucent material. minnie0109@hotmail.com

Bright Clouds KS Design Attracted by the quality of light transmitted through raw cotton materials, Keren Shiker created this series of wall, floor and pendant pieces. Cotton wool, wrapped around a wire core, can be manipulated into any desired position to create custom formed, glowing clouds. www.kerenshiker.com

KOREA PAVILION

Peaked Hat YdesignY The Peaked Hat shade is inspired by the way our clothing changes between seasons and offers a similar idea for interior spaces. Ranging from floral prints to muted felt, the conical shades can be unzipped and swopped with an alternative to bring a room in line with the changing of the year. www.ydesigny.com

London’s Commercial Design Exhibition

May Design Series returns to ExCeL on 18-20 May 2014 The fresh, intelligent, commercially focused event for the architecture and design community, attracts over 10,000 contract buyers, retail buyers and specifiers.

Be a part of it in 2014 Call Joel Butler on +44 (0)20 7921 8712 or email joel.butler@ubm.com www.maydesignseries.com

“A tremendous success - it exposed our brand to clients that we didn’t know due to the pull of districts within the May Design Series, such as kbb and DX.” Ian Stanton, Sales & Marketing Director, iGuzzini

May Design Series 18-20 May 2014 London ExCeL

Featuring:

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ON SHOW / LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

Photos: © Nick Barr 2013

Around London...

LIGHT AT THE MUSEUM As the notional hub venue for London Design Festival, the Victoria & Albert Museum provides a prime location for large scale installations with the power not only to impress the international design community, but engage the wider general public. For this eleventh edition of the festival, the Canadian design brand Bocci was invited to create a chandelier that could deliver on both fronts.

Bocci creative director Omer Arbel responded with 28.280, a site-specific piece that cascades through the museum’s main atrium, a 30-metre void that cuts through the entire height of the mid-19th century building.

The installation is built around Bocci’s popular 28 pendants. The 28 pendants

result from a complex glass blowing technique whereby air pressure is introduced into and then removed from a glass matrix, which is intermittently heated and then rapidly cooled. The result is a distorted spherical shape with a composed collection of inner shapes, one of which is made of opaque milk glass and houses a light source.

280 of these discreet 28 units were suspended by an erratic, vine-like, heavy copper suspension system that commands as much presence as the glass pieces it supports.

The chandelier will remain in place at the Victoria & Albert Museum until 21 November this year. www.bocci.ca

Omer Arbel’s 28.280 hangs from the cupola at the top of the V&A’s 30 metre atrium.

www.tyson-lighting.co.uk facebook.com/TysonLighting +44 (0)1254 266000

preview, Š Cyril Lagel. Fotolia, Getty Images. SAFI organisation, a subsidiary of Art de France and Reed Expositions France

Home collections 24-28 JAN. 2014 PARIS NORD VILLEPINTE www.maison-objet.com The show for home-fashion Trade only Visitors: Promosalons UK Tel. +44 208 216 3106 mathilde@promosalons.co.uk

ON SHOW / LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

DESIGN junction

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For its third year, designjunction again took over the Sorting Office on London’s New Oxford Street, filling out three floors with a solid mix of established designers and lesser-known studios.

The introduction of ‘lightjunction’ - a new dedicated lighting section, sponsored by LED light-source manufacturer Megaman - consolidated regular exhibitors and new additions in one place.

Organised in partnership with Cameron Peters Fine Lighting, a UK specialist in decorative lighting specificiation, the lightjunction sub-section provided some glowing gems within the brutalist 1960’s industrial space. designjunction will next emerge in Milan for their EDIT strand during the 2014 Salone del Mobile. www.thedesignjunction.co.uk

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This year’s event dedicated one of its floors to a new ‘lightjunction’ strand.

About 50 different kinds of lamp units can be created from the selection of pressed metal elements in the Prān lamp range. The shapes and textures used are inspired by Indian culture. www.pos1t1on.com

Standing Pendant Rothschild & Bickers These beautiful pressed metal and glass pendants take playful inspiration from vintage standing lamps with their whimsical twist on the familiar. By combining smoked grey and bronze glass with copper and brass finishes, these lights are the perfect accessory for any stylish modern interior. www.rothschildbickers.com

Daikanyama Zero The Tokyo district of Daikanyama inspired Thomas Bernstrand to design this pendant and cable grid system. The wires, which support and supply power to the colourful pendants, can be arranged in zigzags, formal geometry or even chaotic configurations between walls, ceiling and poles. www.zerolighting.com

Reeds Artemide

Apollo International Studio

Designed to softly illuminate gardens and green spaces, Reeds is a modular light unit comprising seven tall, supple ‘stems’, up-right rods lit by LEDs at the base. Designed by Klaus Begasse, the softly swaying movement of the rods is intended to conjure the tranquility of the breeze blowing across a lakeside. www.artemide.com

Apollo is a modular system of light shades designed to be arranged in customisable layered combination. The four different forms nest in a multitude of configurations on a standard screw cup lamp holder. Made from spun 1mm aluminium, each shape comes in either solid or perforated versions. www.international-studio.co.uk

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designjunction continued...

Oak Wall Light Offkut Offkut are a two man, London-based design company making architectural lighting from reclaimed timber and steel. The Oak Wall Light uses wood salvaged from a canal that was removed to create the London Olympic Park. A long life carbon filament reproduction lamp provides the light. www.offkut.co.uk

Sonobe Collection Foldability

Glaze Innermost

The Sonobe Collection is a series of hand-made light fittings based on a traditional folding technique. Each lamp is made by the designer, Kyla McCallum, using a number of hand-folded, modular segments. The designs are fabricated in either East London or Glasgow and are available for delivery within the UK. www.foldability.co.uk

Designed for Innermost from Corinna Warm, Glaze appears to fuse delicate sections of metal and ceramic together seemingly seamlessly. The result is a mix of warm copper and ivory; the design fits within a classic home interior or an ultra contemporary bar or restaurant scheme. www.innermost.net

Birdy Northern Lighting This table, wall and floor lamp series originally designed by Birger Dahl in 1952, has been re-launched by Northern Lighting, with original shape and highly functional features preserved. The lamp series is available in an off-white finish with satin nickel finish and matt black finsih with brass metal finish. www.northernlighting.no

Single Fold Sibley Grove

Star Örsjö

Sibley Grove aim to deliver design where aesthetics, quality, cost, sustainability and social impact are afforded equal parity. The Single Fold is made in London and constructed using sustainable materials and inks ensuring that the product is compostable at the end of its lifecycle with no environmental impact. www.sibleygrove.com

When designer Jonas Bohlin was commissioned to refurbish the Stadshuskallaren restaurant, location of the Nobel Prize ceremony banquets, he developed several new versions of Star.

Single spots, individual pendants and a large round pendant in copper or white with brass details now join the range. www.orsjo.com

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designjunction continued...

Escape LZF With a shape characterised by LZF as “the domino effect in lighting, a chain of self supporting squares falling into a ring of light”, Escape is a new piece by Irish designer Ray Power. The ‘domino pieces’ form a colourful circle, frozen in a state of perpetual, gravity-defying collapse. www.lzf-lamps.com

Bio Mass lights Jay Watson Design

Duo Olio Objects

Inspired by biomass heating systems that re‐use natural and urban residue to produce heat and electricity with less impact on the environment, Jay Watson developed the idea of using forest‐foraged ash branches. The patterns and texture of the bark are preserved and a hot white LED source added. www.jaywatsondesign.co.uk

The Duo series of furntiure pieces is created from a palette of copper and wood. “I want people like my friends and family to be able to afford designer pieces that are hand made locally,” says their creator Georgina Lewis, who first conceived of the range when on a week long trek across Tasmania. www.olioobjects.com

Around London...

STRING THEORY It took a single meeting, conducted in the back of a black cab as it hurtled across London, for Flos CEO Peiro Gandini and renowned designer Michael Anastassiades to agree on a collaboration. The vagaries of international travel had delayed and postponed their scheduled discussions so many times that the pair eventually agreed to talk on the move, as Gandini rushed to catch a flight.

In many ways it is this ‘can do’ attitude, the willingness to do whatever it takes to achieve a plan, that has defined Anastassiades’s creative relationship with Flos, and together enabled them to realise his two lighting families: IC Lights and String Lights.

The success of String Lights in particular relied on the Flos team’s ability to retain the piece’s design intention and achieve the technical precision required

to make them a success. The piece – which received its UK debut at Anastassiades’s London studio-cum-home during London Design Festival - uses black electric wire to set up a relationship with the architecture of a space, becoming part of the lines formed by the walls of a room. Stretched out along these lines are two different light source choices: one in the shape of an isosceles triangle, the other in the form of a sphere. A system of tensors give volume and three-dimensionality to the form outlined by the lightweight wires, while the two LED lamps emit a carefully selected, warm white light. www.michaelanastassiades.com www.flos.com

Clockwise from top left: Michael Anastassiades with String Light; String Light installed at Michael Anastassiades’s London home; the balancing spherical globe of IC Light.

ids@forumevents.co.uk

Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2014 New design, big ideas and profitable meetings Brand-new arrivals of furniture, the latest lighting design, innovative solutions, important meetings and hot trends.

Don’t miss out when 750 companies present their new products. It’s the opportunity of the year to get inspired, meet new contacts and do good business.

See you at Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2014 – the world’s largest meeting place for Scandinavian furniture and lighting design – from February 4th – 8th.

Welcome to Stockholmsmässan during Stockholm Design Week.

stockholmdesignweek.com

northernlightfair.com

stockholmfurniturefair.com

4-8 February 2014

ON SHOW / LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

TENT Further east, the Truman Brewery hosted the return of Tent.

“All shows should be judged by their content and not their hype,” noted Jimmy MacDonald, Tent’s Founder and Director after the conclusion of this year’s show. “As such I was overwhelmed by the efforts of our exhibitors’ truly amazing content.”

Indeed there seemed a wider range of exhibitors at the Truman Brewery on Brick Lane for Tent 2013. The high-end brand entrance, provided by Super Brands London, segued seemlessly into the Super Design Gallery - a curated collection of work by well-known international design talent. Beyond this, the Crafts Council of Ireland had a stylish selection of pieces on show in a side exhibition to the main Tent Event, which was itself a platform for a familiar mix of independent start-ups. www.tentlondon.co.uk

Bark Iain Howlett Bark is a collection of hand crafted furniture pieces made of ash structures and finished with the bark harvested from the same tree. The bark is dried, ground and mixed with paper pulp before being returned to the timber structure as combined ash, bark and brass pieces. www.iainhowlett.com

Copper Lights David Derksen Simply by folding, a thin copper sheet can be used to construct stable forms.

This principle defines the shape and aesthetics of the Copper Lights. For precise bending, the lines have been etched halfway into the material before the sheets are folded and assembled by hand in the Netherlands. www.davidderksen.nl

Nonla Pendant Lights Paul Crofts Studio A series of three conical pendant lights manufactured from spun aluminium with a powder coated finish and contrasting turned oak top. Originally conceived by Paul Crofts Studio for an interior design project at La Petite Bretagne a London Creperie. The prototype fittings are now in full production. www.paulcrofts.com

Willow Sharon Marston

PREN range Louise Tucker

Created specifically for the industrial space at SuperBrands, Willow provided a delicate, natural contrast to its surrounding environment. Over 10,000 woven brass petal forms, enhanced by fibre optic light, were incorporated into the piece, bringing a sense of movement to the space. www.sharonmarston.com

Inspired by traditional weaving techniques and organic forms, the PREN lighting range has been woven out of sustainably sourced wood. Each PREN light pattern is developed by making intricate small scale models. The design is finalised when this pattern balances with the subtle beauty of the wood. www.louisetucker.net

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ON SHOW / LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

Tent continued...

Ash & Copper OlaWihlborg As designer Ola Wihlborg explains, “My motivation in the design process is to give people an experience that is out of the ordinary by combining function and aesthetics in a way that surprises.” His Ash & Copper series sees the eponymous materials combined to form stunning, clean-lined pieces. www.olaqwihlborg.se

Starry Light Anagraphic

Bubble Light Curiousa & Curiousa

The Starry Light collection by Budapest-based duo Anna Farkas and Miklós Batisz produces downward illumination while also projecting a starscape onto the ceiling above. It is available in four different colours and features an illustration of the constellations on its inner surface. www.starrylightlamps.com

Taking their queue from the funky ‘70s, the Bubble Light boldly combines a striking Emerald and Garnet. The Orb Light, also pictured here, plays with purple and red, creating a beautifully intense combination of colour. Any colour combination can be used with these lights. www.curiousaandcuriousa.co.uk

Globula Emma Winter Emma Winter used the small, whitecube booth at Tent to demonstrate her bespoke sculptural and spatial design work, for which she is increasingly in demand. These included Globula, nestlike forms, cast in resin and covered in gold leaf. Surface finish can be made to client specifications. www.emmawinter.com

Make&Mold Domelight Handmade Industrials

Rebay Studiojonmale

The Make&Mold series has been expanded with the Dome Light. Available in two sizes, these pendants are manufactured using a patented moulding technique that allows the inner surface of the shade to retain its rough recycled polypropylene aesthetic, a contrast to its smooth outer skin. www.handmadeindustrials.com

Jon Male takes original glass lampshades, sourced from ebay, and brings them together to create experimental pieces that play with form and colour. The style of each Rebay light is informed by the period of the original lampshade used. This latest series is influenced by the Memphis style. www.studiojonmale.com

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CONDITIONAL THINKING

if...

you visited 100% Design this September, you may already know the story of the Big Sexy Diamond. Its creator, bespoke chandelier designer George Singer, was invited there by 3D printing specialists iMakr to discuss the piece’s production, from chance encounter with artist Guy Portelli, through to the Diamond’s installation at the Saatchi Gallery as part of the new Strata Art Fair (pictured). The chandelier is a comment on the transformation of the area around Sloane Square and Kings Road (location of the Saatchi) from hub of ‘60s fashion and ‘70s punk to its current state of gentrified affluence.

During the Diamond’s conception, Singer discovered iMakr on Clerkenwell Road. The second-largest rapid prototyping store in the world, iMakr offered Singer their expertise and within three weeks he came away with a completed design and specially printed joints for the Diamond’s construction.

Gold-anodised aluminium channel was combined with 50 metres of highest quality LED self-adhesive strip (donated by Ideaworks) and connected by the bespoke joints.

“The whole project was organic, efficient, rewarding and very well received,” reports Singer.

The piece can currently be seen at iMakr’s Clerkenwell store. www.georgesinger.co.uk

See our 28.280c installation at the V+A until 15.11.2013 28 Series by Omer Arbel Standard fixtures and custom chandeliers

www.bocci.ca info@bocci.ca

photography by: Gwenael Lewis

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