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LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2012 GOOGLE’S NEW LONDON HQ PROFILE: ISSEY MIYAKE JUICY COUTURE

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Can Can, design M. Wanders

26/09/12 10:01

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INTRO & INFO

Welcome Welcome to the inaugural issue of darc. As regular readers of mondo*arc will know, the main magazine’s ‘Decorative & Design’ section has long delivered insights into projects where the physical form of the fixtures themselves actively add to the aesthetic of a space. With the launch of darc we’ll be able to delve deeper into the issues surrounding these projects and indeed explore the very real benefits that can come from embracing feature lighting. This issue delivers some perfect examples of this. In Google’s new London Offices, for example, the selective use of quality lighting ensures their continued ability to attract and keep the best talent, while Norway’s Official Residences in Sri Lanka and Estonia use light pieces as part of an immersive showcase for Scandinavian design talent. And as you’ll also see in our reports on the Hippodrome Casino and Victoria Tower Hotel, just because it looks good, doesn’t mean it isn’t packing some cutting edge technology. In darc as in mondo*arc, our aim remains as it has always been: to focus on the best quality projects and products and to hear from those on the forefront of creative design. - Pete Brewis • darc Supplement Editor

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GOOGLE CENTRAL SAINT GILES • LONDON,

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SOCIETYM • GLASGOW / LONDON,

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SCANDIC VICTORIA TOWER HOTEL • STOCKHOLM,

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NORWEGIAN OFFICIAL RESIDENCES • COLOMBO / TALLINN

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HIPPODROME CASINO • LONDON, UK

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CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT • PARIS,

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JUICY COUTURE • LONDON,

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PROFILE: ISSEY MIYAKE

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PROFILE: THE RAG & BONE MAN

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FLOS AT 50

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COMMENT: DESIGN DISPOSABILITY

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LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

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100% DESIGN

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TENT

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DESIGNJUNCTION COVER IMAGE: Juicy Couture, London. © Nick Guttridge

SUPPLEMENT 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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28/09/2012 09:39

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PROJECT / GOOGLE OFFICES, LONDON, UK

SEARCH COMPLETE Interior design and architectural studio PENSON had to meet challenging economic, aesthetic and environmental targets in the creation of Google’s new London HQ. With their colourful facades glazed in sheets of green, yellow, orange and red tile, the 15 storey Central Saint Giles (CSG) buildings could almost have been created with Google’s logo in mind. The Renzo Piano-designed building is actually home to a number of international corporate tenants, as well as residential apartments, but none can boast the playful office scheme created for Google by leading interior design and architectural studio PENSON. Spread across several floors, Google’s new London HQ is designed to bring the company’s many departments closer to their clients. The 160,000sq.ft space covers an amazing variation of styles that incorporate the Main Reception, a Lala Library, Gymnasium, Cafés & Restaurants, a Town Hall space and many other delights, all with long reaching panoramic views of the London skyline.

With its reputation as a global leader in web technologies, it would be natural to assume

that all Google’s office developments are showered in money as a means of creating cutting edge working environments, capable of attracting and retaining the industry’s best talent. Whilst the CSG HQ does indeed meet the company’s ‘desirable’ image, the project was in fact developed to a strict budget and tight deadline. It required PENSON to work creatively with the whole project team to meet Google’s demanding environmental and aesthetic criteria.

Over the 23 week project, an incisive process of value engineering took place. The team worked continuously to apply creative solutions to areas such as joinery, lighting and wall construction – for example, replacing padded fabric panels with sprayed metallic wall panels – all without compromising overall vision.

The judicious use of quality decorative lighting pieces, placed throughout the different office spaces, was key to maintaining the desired high-end appearance of the

overall project.

Though very open and creative in feel, the 1,250 desks and 1,250 meeting chairs or ‘collaboration seats’ mean that workspace is actually equivalent to that of any standard office of similar floor area. The difference comes from the multi-textured feel added by a variety of zones.

The Granny Flat area on the sixth floor, for example, embraces the chintz-and-tassels look of a 1970s living room. Retro sofas and armchairs in a palette of dun, chartreuse and burgundy tones sit beside floral-patterned, deep-buttoned upholstery walls and

Above: The Granny Flat area is given a retro feel with regular lampshades used as pendants.

Opposite (clockwise from top left): a Wire Pendant from Deadgood hangs in one of the padded meeting rooms; a Cage pendant from the Diesel/ Foscarini collection accompanies a single aeroplane ejector seat in the corner of the Google Green; Nick Faser’s Fork Light; Zero’s Fisherman pendants.

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Photo: David Barbour

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PROJECT / GOOGLE OFFICES, LONDON, UK

beneath an eclectic collection of traditional lampshades hung from the ceiling as individual pendants. Franje wall and floor lamps from Dark are placed into the mix, their elongated tassels providing an exaggerated echo of the pendants.

The upholstered walls continue into the meeting rooms and private offices on the same floor. Cut off from the rest of the office by deep, sound-proofed doors, the rooms offer a secluded space to work undisturbed. Each is given added character thanks to a range of decorative pieces. A Wire Pendant from Deadgood hangs in one (and on the landing outside) like a delicate white birdcage, Grace Pendants from Bsweden hang in another, their doily-like white lace shades proving particularly appropri-

ate to the setting. In the Video conference booth, a Chester pendant from Dark was specified. In other schemes this deep-buttoned upholstery covered pendant from Dutch duo Bert van der Grift and Dennis van der Burchx would be a kooky highlight, but here it proves an ideal match for the wall surfaces.

The toy-town petticoat shape of Moooi’s Lolita desk and floor lights are found both in one of the meeting rooms and in the VP offices.

Up on the ninth floor, Google’s ‘green’ credentials are given a literal twist. An outdoor balcony space features a handful of mini allotments in which staff can grow their own vegetables plus a series of Secret Gardens – booths surrounded by low box hedging to

act as a windbreak and create privacy for the workers sitting there. Large oval bulkhead wall lights - Dar Lighting’s Salcombe - with stainless steel cage and frosted diffuser, provide a stylised industrial look.

Back inside, expanses of grassy green carpet demark the Google Green, a continuation of the balcony space. Nick Fraser’s Fork Light, a birdshaped shade on a stand shaped like a garden fork with prongs splayed to create a stable base, continues the outdoors conceit.

Colourful nets filled with opaque balls of light, Zero’s Fisherman pendants, supplied by Inform Lighting, hang around the space. In one corner, an aeroplane ejector seat stands apart from the other seating, complemented by a Cage pendant from the Diesel/Foscarini design series.

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Photo: David Barbour

PROJECT DETAILS Google London, 1 St Giles High Street, London, UK Client: Google Interior Design: PENSON Contractor: Parkeray Project Managers: CBRE

LIGHTING SPECIFIED 6th Floor Franje floor & wall lamp- for Dark (Granny Flat) Lolita floor lamp & pendants – Nika Zupanc for Moooi (meeting room) Grace Pendants - Louise Hederström for Bsweden (meeting room) Wire pendants - Deadgood Studio (meeting room) Chester pendant - Bert van der Grift and Dennis van der Burch for Dark (VC booth) 9th Floor Ogle pendants - Atelje Lyktan for Fagerhult (Cafe) Nud bulb - SCP (Cafe) Sparks - Daniel Becker (Lala Library) Trash Me table lamp - Victor Vetterlein for &Tradition (Lala Library)� Cage Lamps - Diesel/Foscarini (meeting room) Fisherman Light - TAF for Zero (Google Green) Salcombe Oval outdoor light - Dar Alert (Secrete Garden) Fork Light floor lamp - Nick Fraser (Google Green) 4th Floor Juicy - Salto & Sigsgaard for Lightyears (Market square) White Enamel pendants - Labour & Wait (Market square)

The Green links the reception and large Town Hall meeting and presentation space with the Lala Library area. As well as individual reading desks, each with it’s own Trash Me lamp by &Tradition, the Library features a circular seating area with the thorny white form of Sparks, a sculptural light piece by Berlin-based designer Daniel Becker, hanging overhead.

Though the ninth floor has it’s own café space – illuminated by Fagerhult Ogle pendants and SCP’s simple Nud bulb pendant – the main canteen, Market Square, is found downstairs on the fourth floor. Here very traditional, industrial white enamel pendants from London-based Labour & Wait hang easily beside their modern equivalent: Lightyears’ Juicy pendants.

As Lee Penson, founder of PENSON, notes, all the design elements work together to instil a healthy, happy productive workforce: “It’s all about human beings and that’s it!

Think sunken snugs, comfort, fun, comfy slippers, squishy carpets, cushions, daybeds, nice fresh food, gardening, vegetables, health, visual stimulation, relaxation, exercise, fresh air and you’ll get what its all about as HQ. Think efficient spaces for efficient Googlers wrapped up into a commercial property solution that ticks all of the fun and practical boxes. Its commercialism is there for all organisations to see that the Google stereotype is not in throwing money at it, it’s about designing your heart out with a ‘normalish budget’.” www.pensongroup.com

Opposite page (clockwise from top): Daniel Becker’s Sparks ceiling sculpture sits above the Lala Libary seating area; Franje wall lamp in the Granny Flat area; the ninth floor terrace with birch planters are used as staff allotments; a ‘thinking pod’, one of many snug spaces dotted around the office.

This page (clockwise from bottom right): Thick sound proofed doors insulate meeting rooms from the open plan spaces outside; another cage light, this time in a ninth floor meeting room; the Market Square canteen on the fourth floor features a mix of traditional white enamal pendants and their modern equivalents - Juicy from Lightyears; box hedging provides a wind-break in the Secret Garden booths - with low level illumination provided by industrial bulkhead wall lights; Fisherman pendants from Zero hang around the Google Green.

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PROJECT / SOCIETYM - GLASGOW, UK

HIGH SOCIETY Contemporary hotel chain citizenM has launched a new strand, SocietyM, to cater for the modern age of mobile business and creative collaboration.

The citizenM hotel chain was founded on a philosophy of delivering ‘affordable luxury’ to a clientele it characterises as ‘mobile citizens of the world’. With the opening of its new Glasgow site last year, the group extended their scope to deliver a new service aimed at the ‘business nomad’ – an emerging group of workers who perhaps don’t have a permanent office base in which to hold meetings and presentations with collaborators and clients. Dubbed SocietyM, this new strand is set to become an integral part of the hotel chain’s identity, and has since been incorporated into the latest citizenM, recently opened in London’s Bankside district.

GLASGOW Occupying a series of ground floor rooms

connected to - but separate from - the citizenM, the Glasgow societyM acts as a shared space with the good coffee and right facilities necessary to get work done - and project a dynamic image to prospective clients. As well as a communal club room, spacious ‘creating rooms’ are available to members, each complete with audiovisual equipment and wipe-clean walls for notes, theories and scribbles. There is also a screening room seating up to 50 people for larger presentations.

Design credits for the space go to Concrete, whose work on the main citizenM brand has played a vital role in the chain’s huge popularity. In addition to specifying Haloscan downlights from Modular (both single and double versions) to provide general lighting, they also selected a series of decorative

lighting pieces to ensure a high end, creative look for the space.

The heart of SocietyM is its main ‘club room’ space. Designed to evoke a modern, inclusive gentlemen’s club feel, the area provides a zone where members can work, meet and relax. In one seating area, a giant Anglepoise lamp offers a nod to the classic office desk, and in the opposite corner Moooi’s Random pendants - black mesh spheres designed by Bertjan Pot – hang overhead.

Two large cabinets run along parallel walls of the space and are filled with books and artworks for inspiration. Occasional desks and a robust wooden library table provide communal workspaces, the latter illuminated by a series of built in, bespoke task lights designed by Concrete and manufac-

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turered by Dutch craftsman Smederij van Rijn. Working booths are available for those who prefer a more focused working environment. Built in to alcoves in the bookcaseclad wall, these are filled with pendants from Tom Dixon’s Pressed Glass Light range, a theme that continues above the adjacentcoffee bar.

Members are able to hire out the screening room or one of the six ‘creating spaces’ – essentially private meeting rooms fitted with both chalk blackboard and white board walls so that ideas can be scrawled all around the room. Each of these rooms is given an individual character thanks to the installation of iconic feature lighting pieces.

These include Tom Dixon’s Pipe lights, Ron Gilad’s Dear Ingo from Moooi, and Cloud by Frank Gehry for Belux.

Glasgow societyM - Opposite page (clockwise from main image): A giant Anglepoise lamp in the club lounge gives a nod to the classic office desk; Random by Bertjan Pot; Dear Ingo by Ron Gilad; Cloud by Frank Gehry. This page (clockwise from main picture): The main club room library desk with custom task lights; booths illuminated by Tom Dixon Pressed Glass Lights; Tom Dixon Pipes in one of the private meeting rooms.

(Photos: Ewout Huibers for Concrete)

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PROJECT / SOCIETYM - LONDON, UK

SocietyM London (clockwise from above): bespoke lanterns by Frandsen Lighting hang over the courtyard space; low seating is situated along the glazed corridor between the individual meeting rooms and courtyard; meeting rooms share a design aesthetic with the Glasgow societyM; oak panelled spiral staircase connects guests with the ground floor; the Living Room space (with Arba Standing Lamps) is also available for guests as an additional breakout area.

(Photos: Richard Powers for Concrete)

LONDON At the London Bankside site, societyM is incorporated into the citizenM hotel itself.

A spiral staircase clad in oak takes guests to the first floor, where seven individually designed ‘creating rooms’ are placed around a central courtyard space, a similar palette of decorative fixtures are again used to create a distinct look for each space.

The fully glazed corridor alongside the courtyard, in front of the creating spaces, houses some low seating so that members can duck out of a meeting to make a phone call or consult away from the rest of the team. It is the courtyard, however, that acts as societyM’s main breakout area – a space for guests to meet other ‘citizens of the world’ and perhaps strike up new collaborations beneath custom design lanterns fabricated by Frandsen Lighting. In addition to this, guests have access to the hotel’s stylish Living Room space on the floor below. citizenM has plans to expand by building over 20 hotels the coming years, all incorporating its own societyM area. Designs are currently underway for three more hotels in London, two in New York and two in Paris and, as ever, Concrete is at the heart of each project. www.concreteamsterdam.nl

PROJECT DETAILS societyM, 60 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, UK societyM, 20 Lavington Street, London, UK Client: citizenM Interior Architecture & Design: Concrete

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Modular Haloscan single and double downlights Pipe - Tom Dixon Pressed Glass Light - Tom Dixon Dear Ingo - Ron Gilad for Moooi Anglepoise Giant 1227 Arba Standing Light - Matteo Thun & Antonio Rodriquez for Belux Random - Bertjan Pot for Moooi Cloud - Frank Gehry for Belux Custom tasklight - Concrete / Smederij van Rijn Custom lanterns - Frandsen Lighting

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PROJECT / SCANDIC VICTORIA TOWER HOTEL, KISTA, STOCKHOLM. SWEDEN

SEQUIN STAR The new Victoria Tower Hotel incorporates high quality design at every level, including a collaborative first between Flos and Megaman that delivers both style and efficiency.

Standing at 118 metres tall the new Scandic Victoria Tower is a sparkling addition to the Stockholm skyline. Located in Kista, a district to the north of the city, the hotel boasts 299 rooms across 34 floors, making it the tallest not only in Sweden, but also across all of Scandinavia.

The tower has received much critical acclaim for its attention to high quality design at all scales, from the stylish exterior scheme right down to the individual visitor experience.

Architect Gert Wingårdh took inspiration from a sequin evening dress when creating the building. The triangular planes of its glass and steel façade reflect the sky and sunlight to produce a shimmering surface. Windows follow the triangular grid, resulting in an equally intriguing pattern of illumination at night. The unusual fenestra-

tion also creates refreshingly individual interiors, allowing angular blocks of daylight to enter each room in a way that constantly reminds guests of the hotel’s structural aesthetic.

Construction of Victoria Tower was driven

by Norwegian investor Arthur Buchardt, who wanted the highest standard of finish for the hotel. He selected Flos fixtures for both private rooms and public spaces and, to ensure efficient, cost effective and environmentally friendly operation, these were twinned with Megaman lamp technology - a collaborative first for the two brands.

Throughout the hotel’s corridors and other public spaces, 900 bespoke luminaires, including both downlighters and wall fittings, have been designed to include Megaman’s LED Par16 7W GU10 reflectors, with 35 degree beam angle delivering 600 cd beam

power, and Megaman’s Liliput Plus 23W E27 CFLs. Flos’ Easy Kap Fixed downlighters, for example, run throughout the hotel’s corridors. These fit flush to the ceiling giving a smooth, understated and natural look, aided by the LED Par16 7W GU10 lamps.

Along the corridor walls, Flos’s Soft Spin fixtures sit plastered into the hotel structure to illuminate individual room numbers.

Inside the rooms, Flos’s classic Arco lamps are used to add a designer chic, while Philippe Starck-designed Ktribe floor and wall lights – fitted with Liliput Plus CFLs - add to the room’s warm ambiance.

Flos’ Mini Glo Ball luminaires, part of a range designed by Jasper Morrison, are installed around all of the hotel’s 300 bathroom mirrors. Made from white Murano glass to give off a soft white light, each is

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fitted with Megaman’s GU9 Series of 7W CFLs. In the public spaces, the decorative pieces are bigger and bolder in character. Both the Lobby bar and 34th floor Skybar feature Taraxacum pendants - bubbly explosions of light designed by Achille Castiglioni. The reception area is illuminated by Rodolfo Dordoni’s Ray-S pendants and Skygarden

by Marcel Wanders hang above the lobby lounge.

Whilst all the Flos fittings used ensure a high quality look, it is the lamp technology that ensures their sustainability with an estimated saving of over €300,000 and 175,000kg CO2 over the lifespan of the lighting installation. www.flos.com www.megamanlighting.com

PROJECT DETAILS Scandic Victoria Tower Hotel, Kista, Stockholm, Sweden Client: Scandic Architect: Gert Wingårdh

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Lamp Technology LED Par16 7W GU10 reflectors - Megaman LILIPUT Plus 23W E27 CFLs - Megaman GU9 Series 7W CFL - Megaman Fixtures Taraxacum - Achille Castiglioni for Flos Ktribe T2 Soft / W Soft - Philippe Starck for Flos Soft Spun small - Sebastian Wrong for Flos Glo-Ball - Jasper Morrison for Flos Ray-S - Rodolfo Dordoni for Flos Skygarden - Marcel Wanders for Flos Arco - Achille Castiglioni and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni for Flos

Opposite page (clockwise from top left): An Arco lamp in one of the dining booths; Taraxacum pendants in the lobby; Mini Glo Balls fitted with Megaman’s GU9 Series of 7W CFLs; Soft Spin fixtures are built into the hotel corridor walls while Easy Kap Fixed downlighters provide general illumination.

This page: The hotel’s rooms feature Arco and Ktribe lamps; Ray-S pendants above the reception (bottom left); Taraxacum pendants in the Skybar (top right).

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PROJECT / NORWEGIAN OFFICIAL RESIDENCES - COLOMBO, SRI LANKA

SOFT POWER DRESSING Dis Interiørarkitekter has brought Scandinavian style to two of Norway’s official residences to create showpieces for Norwegian culture and design.

It’s easy to overlook the importance of a nation’s overseas emissaries. Though most ambassadors only come to public attention during times of intergovernmental tensions – recalled or expelled as an expression of political will – their true worth is far subtler. In addition to providing a smooth conduit for political discourse, they play a vital role in developing and promoting a national brand. The benefits of this come not only as tangible increases in global trade, but also in the development of so-called ‘soft power’ – the use of national cultural identity to improve sway in the international political and business spheres.

As a venue for meeting and entertaining, the ambassador’s residence plays an important part in this process. No one knows

this better than the Norwegian Government who have undertaken a program of improvements to turn their official residences into cultural outpost that immerse guests in the very best of Norway’s homegrown craft and design.

In 2009, the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded a two-year tender to Norwegian interior design agency Dis, contacting them to undertake a series of projects in government spaces around the world. Such was their success in the role that the Ministry has since extended the agreement into 2012.

Dis’s work began with the Official Residence in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The team of two, Solveig Baalsrud Svoor and Ine Bangås Johansen, were given a very open brief on the

project. “We had never worked with an official residence, and the client wanted to use this as an advantage and not put too many constraints on us, so we would be able to see it with new eyes,” says Baalsrud Svoor.

The one proviso was that the majority of the furniture, lighting and other essential elements should in some way promote Norwegian design.

Their approach was to preserve the building’s traditional character but contrast this with feature pieces that expressed Nordic tastes. Colours were chosen that would emphasise the Scandanavian designs, but were at the same time inspired by Sri Lankan traditional clothing and their rich natural landscape.

General lighting was provided locally, but

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Dis had the task of choosing feature lighting that could be used to create different moods within the different rooms of the residence.

Some of the lamps - such as the Big Mama from Northern Lighting, located in the living room - add an element of humour to the space. A large floor lamp, Big Mama is made out of paper and wood, considered appropriately basic and eco-friendly ‘Nordic materials’ by the Dis team. An illuminated moose head wall light - Moo, designed by Trond Svendgårdh and Ove Rogne – hangs in the dining room like a kitsch hunting trophy.

As well as being a clever conversation starter, the piece works well with Camouflage, the pendant that hangs above the dining table. This piece throws out a scattered

pattern of light and shadow reminiscent of the Norwegian forests that make up the moose’s natural habitat.

Snow white drops of Artemide Castor pendants hang in the hallway while the lunch/ meeting room is given a splash of colourful stripes thanks to Zero’s PXL pendant.

In the library-cum-office a cluster of Established & Sons Torch pendants - PVC dipped polymer cones with clear, diamond textured polycarbonate diffusers – provide top lighting whilst a Luxo L1 desk light adds a classic touch.

More recently, the Dis team completed another residence, this time in Tallinn, Estonia. The design philosophy remained the same, though with a different climate and cultural location the end result was stylisti-

Opposite page: The Colombo residence’s main living room and hall spaces feature a Big Mama floor lamp form Zero and Castor pendants from Artemide.

Above top: In the dining room, the Moo wall lamp provides a conversation starter and the Camouflage pendant provides a forest-like scattering of light and shadow.

Above left: The office/library includes a cluster of Torch pendants from Established & Sons, with a Luxo L1 desk lamp finishing off the room’s contemporary-classic look.

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PROJECT / NORWEGIAN OFFICIAL RESIDENCES - TALLINN, ESTONIA

cally specific to host the city. Some pieces used in Sri Lanka make a reappearance: the Big Mama standard lamp stands guard in the living room this time joined by Northern Light’s Bender, a big-headed floor/reading lamp with a thin metal stand that coils up from the floor like a length of kinked rope.

Modernica’s reissue of the Saucer Pendantpart of George Nelson’s 1950s bubble lamp series – hang from the room’s existing ceiling roses.

In the hallway, three glazed-porcelein Bell pendants hang with cables intertwined. The muted tones of their exterior, inspired by the rocks and plants of Scandinavia, contrast elegantly with the pure white of their inner surface.

Berg wall and pendant lights in the dining room supply obvious symbolic links to Norway’s ice fields while above the dining table hangs a Hope pendant. Part of Luceplan’s collection, Hope has polycarbonate petals formed by Fresnel lenses that optimise reflection and refraction to scatter thousands of ‘icy’ shards of light across the space. www.dis.no

PROJECT DETAILS Norwegian Official Residence, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Norwegian Official Residence, Tallinn Estonia Client: The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Interior Design: Dis. interiørarkitekter mnil AS Art Manager: Kathrine Lund

LIGHTING SPECIFIED Colombo Moo by Trond Svendgård and Ove Rogne for Northern Lighting Big Mama by Estela+Nereo for Northern Lighting Camouflage by Front Design for Zero PXL by Fredrik Mattsson for Zero Castor by Michele De Luchi, Huub Ubbens for Artemide Torch by Sylvain Willenz for Established & Sons L1 by Luxo Tallinn Big Mama by Estela+Nereo for Northern Lighting Bell by Mark Braun for Northern Lighting Bender by Morten Kildahl for Northern Lighting Berg by Gerhard Beg for Northern Lighting Hope by Paolo Rizzatto and Francisco Gomez Paz for Luceplan Saucer by George Neslon reproduced by Modernica

Top left: The icy structures of the Hope pendant from Luceplan and Berg wall fixtures from Northern Lighting illuminate the Tallinn residence’s dining room.

Above: Big Mama was specified again for the Tallinn living room, this time accompanied by the Bender reading light and classic Saucer bubble light pendants.

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PROJECT / HIPPODROME CASINO, LONDON, UK

SEED MONEY With a fully restored interior that harks back to the site’s opulent heyday, the new Hippodrome Casino on London’s Leicester Square aims to change the face of UK gaming.

The launch of the palatial Hippodrome Casino on Leicester Square, right in the heart of London’s tourist district, ushers in what CEO and co-founder Simon Thomas believes will be a new era in British gaming.

“We will challenge the long-held conceptions of casinos in the UK as either too expensive for the normal man on the street, or tucked away in back alleys in the wrong part of town,” Thomas declared. “In fact we’re determined to not only challenge them, but redefine the way in which visitors to the West End celebrate an evening out.”

It’s a bold vision, but one made possible by recent changes to the country’s Gaming Act that allow venues to offer food, drink and live entertainment under one roof for

the first time. The adoption of the former Hippodrome Theatre fits perfectly with this desire to create a high profile, inclusive entertainment experience. Originally opened in 1900, it followed designs by the renowned theatre architect Frank Matcham and initially operated as a circus variety theatre featuring swimming polar bears and acrobats who dove into pools from the fourth floor balcony. Later incarnations as live variety theatres and nightclubs all left their mark on the building, and these layers had to be stripped away before a wholescale restoration of the site could begin.

The aim was to return the interior to its original glory. Following plans by architects Cadmium Design, the space was split into

cocktail bars, restaurants, lounges, casino gaming floor, poker deck, VIP gaming, salle privee rooms, a cabaret room and a smoking terrace.

Lighting designers Into were brought in to illuminate the space in a way that would reflect the history and grandeur of the building. Key to the brief was the need for low maintenance and energy efficient lighting that could endure 24-hour use. Appropriate lux levels were required to provide a shadow- and glare-free gaming experience for players, whilst providing the necessary light levels for security cameras to closely monitor play.

LED lighting forms the majority of the general lighting. LED downlights from

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Lucent were used with a deep baffle to minimize glare to gaming tables. LED cove and concealed lighting from UK LED was used to illuminate key interior design features - coffers, bottle steps, bar nosing etc - whilst providing subtle ambient illumination to circulation areas. For the theatrical elements within the Cabaret VIP areas, care was taken to produce a subtle design that would evoke an exclusive five star customer experience.

Decorative lighting elements provide a final layer of opulence to the space. The entrance hall sets the tone for the entire venue with a series of Bead chandeliers from Innermost that deliver a golden metallic glow to the surrounding space. Inside the

main room, rows of clear spherical fixtures hang from reclaimed pulleys running above the balcony areas that now house the bars and dining areas. Dubbed Crystal Rain, these pieces reference both the venue’s theatrical glamour and notions of Britishness – namely a stoic relationship to the occasional downpour.

The bar front in the main room is created using fibre optics that feed a multitude of crystal heads. Each head is set in its own individual tray with edges that catch the splay of light and shadow from the crystals.

Above the first floor bar, Artemide LED Net Circle fixtures hang from the ceiling and are repeated in the surrounding mirrored surfaces.

Since its opening in 1900, the Hippodrome building on Leicester Square in London has been through many incarnations, including a spell as ‘Talk of the Town’ nightclub - host to an array of musical stars such as Diana Ross, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jnr and Stevie Wonder - and an the eponymous venue of UK club impressario Peter Stringfellow.

The structural legecy of these past lives had to be completely stripped away before Cadmium architects could undertake a full restoration of the original Frank Matcham decor.

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PROJECT / HIPPODROME CASINO, LONDON, UK

Dandelion Clock fixtures by Mike Stoane Lighting recreate the fantastical look of the original Hippodrome and provide a neat solution to the practical needs of the casino floor. The spherical heads are constructed from replica birdy par cans. 1,100 individual cans were created for the installation. Each houses either a standard Cree LED (providing a pleasant glow), LED AR111 replacement lamps (for high light levels directed onto the gaming tables), security cameras, or audio speakers.

All of the interior feature luminaires were installed with energy efficient Osram Energy Saver Halogen lamps. Halogen was chosen for its colour rendering properties and warmth of the lamps when dimmed.

Undoubtedly the venue’s lighting showstoppers are found in the main casino room where giant ‘dandelion clock’ lighting pieces provide a mix of fantasy and glamour. These bespoke pieces were constructed

by Mike Stoane Lighting following a concept

by Cadmium MD Paula Reason. They were inspired in part by an 1899 Daily News article about the reaction of the first visitors to the newly opened Hippodrome: “They walked around the new building astonished, puzzled and delighted, like Alice in Wonderland,” it reads. “Every now and then they had almost to pinch themselves to make sure they were awake.”

In addition to adding drama, the pieces also had to fulfill a variety of other functions, such as housing CCTV cameras, audio speakers and of course providing increased light levels to the gaming tables.

Most of the spherical heads are mounted on curved armatures that are anchored into the ground between the gaming tables. By bracing them together in this way, stability is increased and movement is avoided – essential for the capturing of clear security footage. In addition to these, several individual pieces are suspended at different heights within the vast room, as if blown from their metal stems by a summer breeze. Their presence draws the eye up, prompting guests to admire the height and elegance of the space.

Each spherical head is constructed from clusters of individual lamp heads with simplified barn door fronts - manufactured to mimic traditional theatre par cans. These are attached in an array around a central ball. Though identical in appearance, the cans are fitted with either Cree LED lamps or LED AR111 replacement lamps, the latter used to provide brighter illumination for the tables. Where necessary, these par cans and their barn door fronts were designed to allow a degree of adjustment to enable the light to be precisely aimed. www.cadmiumdesign.co.uk www.into.co.uk

PROJECT DETAILS Hippodrome Casino, Leicester Square, London, UK Client: The Hippodrome Casino London Lighting Design: Into Lighting Architect: Cadmium Design

LIGHTING SPECIFIED General Lighting LED downlights - Lucent lighting LED cove lighting - UK LED Decorative Lighting Dandelion Clock bespoke by Mike Stoane Lighting Beads by Winnie Lui for Innermost Led Net Circle by Michele De Lucchi , Alberto Nason for Artemide

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FOCAL POINT / CHARLES DE GAULLE AIRPORT, PARIS, FRANCE

TAKING FLIGHT In its drive to make Charles de Gaulle Airport a modern, visually stimulating space, operators Aéroports de Paris installed an Artemide chandelier to add a touch of chic.

Earlier this year, Aéroports de Paris (AdP), operators of Charles de Gaulle Airport, unveiled a new building that promises to transform the experience of those linking between two of its terminals - 2A and 2C. In addition to reducing connection times, the new addition was designed as “a premium showcase for Aéroports de Paris’ know-how, and to show people what the future looks like for Paris- Charles de Gaulle Airport.”

The AC building features a 4,500 m2 luxury retail experience, The Avenue, designed in collaboration with Paris agency W&Cie. At its heart hangs an extended version of Mercury modular chandelier system, created for Artemide by Ross Lovegrove.

As well as establishing a high-end look for the space, it also links with the futuristic

metallic ripples of the exterior architecture, as Aéroports de Paris Senior Architect Marc Fidelle explains: “Our goal was to qualify the heart of the airport’s shopping area with a suspended luminous installation in the hall - imposing, yet subtle and poetic. The result was a plastic work capable of relating with the space and with the important brands on sale, as well as to establish a visual connection with the entrance to the halls on the lower floor. Our project is perceived as something characterised by light weight, reflections, and movements, and produces a surprise effect in the shopping area, creating an emotional contrast in the surrounding space.” www.aeroportsdeparis.fr www.wcie.fr

The Mercury chandelier incorporates two different elements - those holding the light sources are made of die-cast aluminium while those without are made from an injection-moulded, metallised thermoplastic material.

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All photos: ©Aéroports de Paris - Mikaël LAFONTAN & Olivier SEIGNETTE

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FOCAL POINT / JUICY COUTURE, LONDON, UK

Photo: Nick Guttridge

SWEET SHAPES A collaborative design process has resulted in a glamorous chandelier centrepiece for the new Regent Street home of Californian fashion brand Juicy Couture.

When US fashion retailer Juicy Couture decided to launch a new store on London’s Regent Street, their brief to architect and interior design practice MRA was clear. They wanted a boutique that reflected the playful aesthetic of their LA roots, whilst still maintaining a more glamorous edge.

Central to the completed scheme was a custom-made chandelier that would preside over the main retail space.

MRA Director Stephanie Srivastava headed up the design team at MRA. “The chandelier was always going to be an important part of the store – it occupies such a focal position - and it was clear to us that this had to reflect what we were trying to achieve with the rest of the design,” she explains.

“The central component of the chandelier is quite classic in design, but its sheer scale

and abundance of crystals lends it a whimsical style.”

Paul Nulty Lighting Design (PNLD) was brought in by MRA very early in the project, allowing a close collaborative design process to develop, one that ensured all elements of the lighting scheme would complement and enhance the project’s aesthetic goals.

“We had certain problems with the space due to its height and the difficulty of using recessed spots within the original concrete ceiling,” Srivastava continues. “The fitting therefore had to work really hard and to achieve this it is actually formed of two components. The central ‘candelabra’ adds visual interest and sparkle, whilst the handmade oval ring - which, with its embellishments, was envisaged as a contempo-

rary take on the ceiling rose - incorporates adjustable spotlights and up-lighting from a concealed cold cathode tube to give ambient light and accentuate the double height space.”

MRA worked with the creative team from Juicy Couture to establish the look and feel for the chandelier, and then turned to award-winning shop-fit production experts Prop Studios to deliver the finished piece.

With over 30 years of experience and a team skilled in working across a variety of materials, Prop Studios were able to meet the project’s tight deadlines and provide the store with its crowning centrepiece. www.propsstudios.co.uk www.mra.co.uk www.paulnulty.co.uk

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PROFILE

design file

ISSEY MIYAKE The renowned creator of courutre applies his philosphy of innovative beauty to a new range for Artemide.

Cross collaboration between disciplines has long existed within the design community.

For leading creative icons, the opportunity to apply a design philosophy to a completely new subject can prove an irresistible challenge – and one that can be rewarded with a two-way exchange of ideas and the development of wildly fresh end-products.

In the Pantheon of fashion, Issay Miyake is one such icon. After founding the Miyake Design Studio in 1970 he set about creating successive collections that explored the space between the human body and the material surrounding it. Always taking a single piece of cloth as his starting point, Miyake has constantly pushed towards designing for the future, whether it be his functional and versatile “PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE” series (1993-) or the “A-POC” (A Piece of Cloth/ 1998-) series, that introduced a sin-

gle process whereby continuous rolls of fabric, texture, and articles of clothing could be made from a single piece of thread.

In many ways the worlds of fashion couture and decorative lighting share a creative border, both producing pieces that can range in style from the flamboyant to the pencil sharp. So when Miyake’s research and development team, Reality Lab, was looking for fresh applications for a new production process they had developed, decorative lighting seemed an obvious choice.

The Reality Lab was formed in 2007 under the leadership of Miyake and two staff members, Manabu Kikuchi (a textile engineer) and Sachiko Yamamoto (a pattern engineer). They set themselves the goal of exploring future production methodologies, covering everything from clothing to industrial products. Their aim is to create

products that reflect what people need and to find new ways to stimulate creative production in Japan. In particular there is a strong drive towards building upon the distinctive characteristics of “regenerative” materials, a response to the issues surrounding ever-dwindling natural resources.

In 2010, the team unveiled “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE”, a new way of making clothes using 3-D geometric principals encoded in a mathematical program by Jun Mitani, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the University of Tsukuba. The technology allows the creation of a single piece of fabric that can fold completely flat, but also expand out into a wearable item of clothing.

It was this process that the Reality Lab felt could be applied beyond the fashion industry. Thus the team conceived the “INEI” series, a range of lighting pieces that

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were then brought to life by co-developers Artemide.

The Artemide team was led, as ever, by Ernesto Gismondi.

“I am extremely proud of this collaboration,” Gismondi says. “Issey Miyake devotes his extraordinary artistic commitment to a quest dedicated to men’s needs and existence. The same commitment you can see in The Human Light, Artemide’s mission and philosophy. We share Miyake’s values and visions”.

The project revolves around a fabric derived from entirely recycled materials: a retreated fibre made using PET bottles. The bottles are processed using an innovative technology that reduces both energy consumption and CO2 emissions up to 40% when compared to the production of new materials. Issey Miyake’s artistic vision, applied to

the new 3D mathematical process, combines the Japanese tradition of light with Miyake’s ability to translate tradition into modernity. Artemide animates these sustainable and striking shapes using LED lighting, the poster-boy of sustainable lighting solutions.

The IN-EI range – translating from the Japanese as “shadow, shadiness, nuance” – comprises a series of free-standing, table and hanging lights. Each lampshade is created using 2 or 3D mathematic principals, where light and shade harmoniously alternate.

Miyake’s unique folding technology creates both statuesque forms as well as sufficient solidity. The structure of the recycled material, together with an additional surface treatment, allows these shades to keep their shape without the need for an internal frame, and to be re-shaped when needed.

They can be easily stored flat when not in

use.

The innovative meaning of the “132 5. ISSEY MIYAKE” project lies in its numbers; 1 refers to the one-piece fabric used for each product; 2 comes from the 2D initial folding process; 3 refers to 3D; 5, preceded by an empty space, refers to the metamorphosis of turning folded shapes into clothing or objects. Five is also an auspicious number, and represents the desire for the clothing or objects to continue to assume new dimensions in the future.

“When you see them, you can’t help feeling moved,” notes Gismondi. “When you understand them, you are full of wonder seeing a future we thought unreachable and couldn’t imagine this beautiful.” www.isseymiyake.com www.artemide.com

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PROFILE

design file

THE RAG & BONE MAN A man with a talent for breathing new life and beauty into former pieces of scrap.

It takes a second to become accustomed to the scene that waits inside Paul Firbank’s Hackney workshop, a few moments to distinguish tools from materials; scrap components from works-in-progress. But then, as the brain adjusts, intriguing forms begin to pull in to focus: a wall lamp made from motorbike parts; a stool formed from a tractor seat – a host of furniture and fittings created from elements that once served a completely different purpose.

This is the home of The Rag & Bone Man, the company established by Firbank just one year ago as a brand for his unique range of reconstituted pieces. Much like the scrap he acquires on his regular trawl through the junk-yards and grease-shops of

East London, the Rag & Bone Man moniker has been adopted and repurposed for a contemporary age. Whilst his 19th century predecessors merely bought and sold waste as raw materials for others to process, Firbank is very much a craftsman, embracing 21st century ideals of reuse and recycling to produce items that seem totally fresh, but at the same time have an antiqued, vintage quality.

The success of the pieces is largely down to Firbank’s ability to identify the innate beauty of quality engineering – found even in the most functional of parts. It’s a talent that suggests he has truly found his calling after a circuitous career path through an array of occupations – from tattoo artist

to metal engineer and welder – eventually leading him back to his native Hackney where, in 2011, he set up the Rag & Bone Man alongside partner Lizzie Gossling.

“I started to make sculptures and lamps from found/scrap materials in my spare time,” explains Firbank. “The lamps would always generate most interest and lead to most of my sales and commissions so I decided to focus on these to see what their potential was. My first major show and launch was at Tent London 2011 where I had an overwhelming response and sold everything I had to exhibit in the first three days, giving me the confidence to go full time.”

The Rag & Bone Man returned to Tent this September after a hugely success-

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ful first year in business. On show were the workshop’s latest pieces, including a glorious chandelier, based around an old aeroplane rotary engine. Stripped down and thoroughly cleaned (using a local drivethrough carwash, much to the bemusement of the garage attendants), this central body section is embellished with lamp heads created from old fire extinguisher shells. The chandelier is earmarked for the lobby of a new hotel development, the first of what Firbank hopes will become a series of commissions for large scale projects.

The engine’s second life, however, is spread further than an individual lighting fixture.

As with many donor machines, different sections will eventually contribute to a vari-

ety of other works. The engine vent casing, for example, may become part of a chair, the back panel could end up as the surround for a wall clock. The continuous process of development means that the final nature of a piece will remain in flux until its completion, or until a perfect part can be found to complement a work in progress.

As word of his work spreads, Firbank’s search for materials has become ever easier, with members of the public contacting him directly to offer unusual bits of scrap.

And over time, as his ability to mentally carve up existing machines in to new forms develops, the wealth of future possibilities looks ever more appealing. www.theragandboneman.co.uk

Above: Paul Firbank’s workshop is a trove of found and scavanged scrap waiting to be given a new life as the component parts of lighting and furniture pieces. Since launching in 2011, The Rag & Bone Man brand has grown in reputation, with works being commissioned for a number of commercial projects - including an appearance on new documentary ‘Kevin McCloud’s Man Made House’, screened on Channel 4 in the UK. Opposite: An old aeroplane rotary engine formed the basis for a new chandelier piece that is soon to adorn the entrance foyer of a new hotel.

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BOOKS & MEDIA

FLOS AT 50 To mark their 50th Anniversary, Flos lighting have released a special iPad app that celebrates the company’s five decades of striking luminaire design. Developed by Mobile Dream Studio in Paris, the app acts as an interactive coffee table book, encouraging the user to explore the history of the company by looking around a 360º photo of the real life archive room located in the Brescia family home of Piera Pezzolo Gandini - wife of founder Sergio - and clicking on various elements within it.

In addition to video features (including MD Piero Gandini riding through Paris on the back of Philippe Starck’s motorbike) and an analysis of the cultural significance of Flos by journalist Stefano Casciani, the app offers users the chance to revisit the work of the many top designers who have contributed to the portfolio over the years.

Here we pick out just five key works past and present. www.flos.com

Chrysalis Marcel Wanders

Gun Bedside lamp Philippe Starck Philippe Starck’s insatiable desire to pull things apart and put them back together has made him a world renowned master of the reimagined object. He cites the years he spent underneath his father’s drawing board as a child, along with the hours spent sawing, cutting, gluing, sanding, dismantling bikes, motor cycles and other objects, as the grounding for his life as a designer.

Starck has been a longtime collaborator with Flos, with designs that always shoot from the hip. Appropriate then that his 2005 Table Gun and Bedside Gun (pictured) took such a provocative form. The die cast aluminium body has an overmolded polymer coating and is available in chrome or 18K gold plate.

It is a stark contrast to his latest contribution, the Miss Sissi lamp, a biodegradable light made from a revolutionary new bio plastic material - perhaps the world’s first design object made from the waste of sugar beet and cane.

Left: Each of the designers featured in the new FLOS 50 app were invited to write a birthday ‘love letter’ to the company. Their responses are by turns witty, heart felt and, of course, indubitably creative.

Marcel Wanders grew up in Boxtel, the Netherlands, and graduated cum laude from the School of the Arts Arnhem in 1988. He first came to the attention of the international design world with his iconic Knotted Chair, which he produced for Droog Design in 1996.

His work is now ubiquitous having created for many of the top European contemporary design manufacturers, including B&B Italia, Bisazza, Poliform, Moroso, Flos, Boffi, Cappellini, Droog Design and Moooi of which he is also art director and co-owner.

His 2011 floor lamp, Chrysalis, has a cocoon diffuser wrapped around its steel internal structure designed to emit a warm glow. A silk-screen printed glass panel in the top aperture projects a decorative floral frieze onto the ceiling above.

Such was the popularity of the pattern – or perhaps the power of Wanders’ work - that some brave visitors to its New York launch took up the opportunity to have the design tattooed by onsite ink artists.

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Wall Piercing Ron Gilad Ray F1 Rodolfo Dordoni Architect and designer Rodolfo Dordoni was born in Milan, where he graduated in Architecture in 1979. His experience includes work with some of the design greats including art direction at Artemide (glass collection), Cappellini (from 1979 to 1989), Fontana Arte (furniture collection), Foscarini (lamps), Minotti (since 1998) and Roda (since 2006).

Dordoni Architetti, founded in association with architects Alessandro Acerbi and Luca Zaniboni, develops projects for houses, residential complexes, plus industrial and commercial areas such as offices, retail stores, restaurants and hotels.

Dordoni’s work for Flos includes the 2006 Ray floor lamp. The 10mm-thick steel tube structure (welded, brushed and chrome-plated) supports an injection-molded PA6 (nylon) lamp-cover that conceals an opal injection-molded polycarbonate inner diffuser.

Tel-Aviv-born and New York-based, Ron Gilad likes to play on the borders between the aesthetically abstract and utterly functional. His work ranges from unique pieces to limited editions and series production. His designs are envisaged as timeless pieces with ‘no expiry date’. They can be found both in public and private collections all over the world.

His 2011 piece Wallpiercing was one of the most original innovations in Flos’ Soft Architecture collection.

Plastered into the walls of a space, the LED rings can be used together to offers infinite arrangements that glow in any desired colour combination or graphic effects.

Arco Lamp Achille Castiglioni As early as 1940 Castiglioni dedicated himself to testing industrial production with brothers Livio and Pier Giacomo.

After graduating with an architecture degree in 1944, he began research into shapes, techniques and new materials, aimed at developing an integral design process. In 1962 the Arco was born – a satin-finish stainless steel telescopic stem sprouting from a white Carrara marble base. The pressed, polished and zapon-varnished aluminum form has a swiveling, height-adjustable reflector.

Though now seen as an opulent design classic, its shape is firmly grounded in practicality and simplicity of form: the marble was a locally abundant solution to creating a weighted base element; the hole running through it was created to allow the piece to be easily lifted using a sturdy broom handle.

It is in this spirit of beautiful functionality that Flos has reissued the Arco – also 50 this year - in a 21st century LED version.

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COMMENT

DESIGNED FOR DISPOSAL Designer Thomas Wensma makes an impassioned plea for a sea-change in product manufacture and design across all industries, and calls on companies to embrace genuine quality and durability.

“Planned obsolescence... companies deliberately design products with a limited life, so you have to buy the same thing again.”

This is an excerpt from a video by Vitsoe, a design driven furniture company that has the ethos ‘Living better, with less, that lasts longer’.

It is in our human psychology to have the desire to own products that are new, different, more in the style of the moment and just a little bit newer. It is the ethos of the marketing and sales departments at most companies. It might even be the ethos for company objectives in general. Obsolescence plays into a human psychological ‘weakness’ and companies are very good at making use of it in order to sell more products. These are new products we don’t really need and are not genuinely better than the ‘old’ products we are replacing.

Short time satisfaction that leaves us with a lot of stuff we don’t need or should have.

It simply leaves us with a lot of waste. Far from being sustainable, I might add.

The problem is that planned obsolescence works so well in selling more products. It enables companies to do the single most

important thing on their agenda: sell more products, and thus generate higher profits.

A clear example is IKEA. We all know them, and many of us buy products from them.

Their products are relatively cheap, come in many (style) options and every year or so there is a new collection. This time just a little newer, different looking, more shiny and with a funky new colour. It is the same principle of planned obsolescence. IKEA themselves call it; ‘democratic design’ or ‘design for everyone’. “While keeping great quality,” they add.

There are a few problems with all of this.

The first being dishonesty. They use the word ‘design’ to add so called value. In reality, they just add to the inflation of the word design. That does not have anything to do with good design. They call it democratic, because they sell products for a price many can afford. While that may be true to some degree, as a designer I believe this to be totally the wrong approach. Good design needs to be about better products that, as Vitsoe says, ‘last longer’. In other words, it needs to be sustainable. IKEA products are very attainable at its low retail price.

To say it has high quality is just dishonest.

It simply isn’t top quality. It is made of low quality materials. It is so simplistic we as ‘consumers’ can even assemble it. Most will say all of that does not matter as they want to buy new versions in one, three or maybe five years anyway. And that makes sense. At that moment it is either broken, damaged or consumers are simply tired of the look and feel of it. So we go back to IKEA and buy new stuff; planned obsolescence. All the ‘old stuff’ ends up on top of the big pile of waste. But most consumers don’t really notice that so don’t care, right?

The whole design and business approach of IKEA (and many others) is one of non-sustainability, wastefulness, fashionable and superficial aims. It has nothing to do with simplicity but everything with simplistic.

The big problem lies within the focus of most of these companies. Design for them is so often about sales opportunities, marketing objectives, competitiveness and doing something new that is in the latest style.

The design of so many products is determined by profitability in the short term.

Knowing people will get bored or fed up

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with the ‘obtrusiveness’ of the product and so throw it away and buy a new version, as explained in the IKEA example above.

A good designer’s first duty is to the user and understanding their needs, wants, use and even emotions. Design should be userorientated. Companies should take the risk and do something that is genuinely new and better. Don’t tell everyone products are innovative just to sell them. Instead work hard and make sure they really are innovative. After all, if they truly are you don’t have to say it that much. People know they are. Good design takes time, a lot of effort, craftsmanship, focus and a mix of trial and error. Because of this, it can never report to a marketing plan, time constraint or budget. They all matter, but always as part of the design process, never the other way around.

As Dieter Rams once said, “Simplicity is the stripping away of all that is unnecessary.”

What I’m saying is for all companies out there, and those most definitely include lighting companies of course, the “stripping away of all that is unnecessary” does not only have value with designing products.

It should apply to companies and how they operate as well. Steve Jobs described this well for the big companies with leading market positions, in an interview he did when he said; “When a company has a monopoly position, sales and marketing people run the company, not product people. If that company would make a better product, it doesn’t matter. The company is not going to be more successful considering them already having the monopoly position. It is the sales and marketing people who can make the company more successful. The product people get driven out of decision making forums and the companies forget what it means to make great products. The product genius or sensibility that brought the company to the monopoly position get rotted out by the people that have no conception of the difference between good or bad products.”1 Sadly, I believe the above doesn’t only happen with companies that have a monopoly position, but also others as they try to be more successful and make more money. If we really want to be innovative and come

up with better products within the lighting industry (and outside for that matter) we really need to shift our goals and focus.

If companies are really as sustainable as they say they are, then they need to have fewer products that are better designed and thus longer lasting. But as of now, most companies use ‘sustainability’ as an empty marketing tool for branding. The companies that take sustainability seriously and are authentic about it are almost as scarce as the number of companies who take design really seriously.

I’m saying the things that most companies might not want to hear or take action upon, just like our parents used to do when we were children. And just like we knew as children, the people making up all those companies know we need to make the change. It is just hard to do.

Citations: 1 - Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview (2011)

Thomas Wensma is founder of Ambassador Design. info@thomaswensma.nl twitter.com/thomaswensma

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LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL 2011

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL

From 15-23 September, London switched its attention from fashion to design, including these lighting gems.

Moooi - Valentine Moooi showroom Marcel Wanders issued an open invitation to Moooi’s London HQ to show off the company’s latest range, including Valentine: a refined black, white, gold or chrome shell that encloses and frames ‘a meadow of light and sparkling glamour’ – a crystal clear blown glass, flower patterned interior.

The pendant is available in a standard 295 x 355mm version or 180 x 210mm version dubbed Baby Valentine. www.moooi.com

Tom Dixon - Lustre Luminosity @ The Dock Tom Dixon once again threw open the doors of The Dock to a hand picked selection of international design brands, but the centre of attention was the company’s new collection, including new luminaire range Lustre.

Lustre’s iridescent sheen is created by firing the stoneware shades at 1200°C using a top-secret glaze containing minerals and precious metals. The end result is a striking colour change effect reminiscent of peacock feathers or oil slicks on water. www.tomdixon.net

LAMP Showroom launch Spanish luminaire manufacturer LAMP chose London Design Festival week to inaugurate its new UK showroom.

Located alongside the design studios on London’s Kings Road, the new site will provide UK customers with first-hand face-to-face experience of the company and its product solutions. www.lamp.es

Martha Freud Light Impressions Last year, Martha Freud took over a little-known London nature reserve to launch her collection of nature-inspired pieces. For 2012 she returned to more glamourous surroundings with her Light Impressions show at the Hospital Club.

Porcelain panels imprinted with aquatic life were back-lit by Applelec’s Light Sheet panels - expressing the ephemeral beauty of short lived organisms in a more permanent way. www.marthafeud.com

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Tatou - Patricia Urquiola Flos Flos hosted the launch of Tatou, a new collection designed by Patricia Urquiola. Taking its name from the French word for ‘armadillo’, Tatou was inspired by the idea of armour - in particular the armour of classic ancient Japan - offering strength, lightness and flexibility.

Tatou comes as a pendant light, a floor lamp and a table lamp, and is available in two different sizes and three colours - white, black or plum. www.flos.com

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.PSLAB lighting bulthaup showroom .PSLAB provided a special site-specific lighting piece for the new bulthaup showroom in Clerkenwell. The two brands follow a similar approach with both offering customised solutions and producing high-end bespoke products, based on the architecture of a space. www.bulthaup-clerkenwell.co.uk www.pslab.net

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Crystal Bulb Lee Broom showroom

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Digital Crystal Swarovski at London Design Museum A new exhibition at the Design Museum (showing until 13 January 2013) challenged some of the most exciting talent in contemporary design to explore, in the medium of Swarovski crystal, the future of memory in the fast-developing digital age.

Works include Ron Arad’s installation, Lolita, a chandelier that uses LED technology to display text messages sent from anywhere in the world; Yves Béhar’s Amplify pendants comprising a single crystal surrounded by a diamand shaped paper shade; and Fredrikson Stallard’s Pandora, motorised and digitally-programmed to repeatedly deconstruct and recreate the familiar form of a chandelier. www.designmuseum.org • www.swarovski.com

Crystal Bulb, launched during LDF, combines industrial influences with decorative qualities, transforming the everyday light bulb into an ornamental light fitting. Individually hand blown, each lead Crystal Bulb is then cut with a classic crystal pattern and etched with the Lee Broom logo. Broom has collaborated with experts at Cumbria Crystal, the sole remaining producer of handmade English full lead crystal in the UK. Crystal Bulb can be purchased on its own or with the brushed brass pendant fitting. Each pendant fitting includes the gold silk flex colour matched to the fitting and a brushed brass ceiling rose. www.leebroom.com

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LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL / 100% DESIGN

Photos: emmabrownphotography.com

100%

DESIGN Now under new ownership, 100% Design at Earls Court was this year given a fresh feel thanks to an entrance tunnel that ushered visitors right in to the centre of the show. Marking the tunnel’s entrance was ‘Collider’ - a one-off artwork created specifically for 100% Design by Neil Musson of MacKay Design Studio and Jono Retallick of Metal Monkeys.

“Collider is an idea based on the positive effects of artistic collaboration and networks of ideas leading to unexpected conclusions,” explains Musson. “We have been inspired by neural systems responding to electrical signals and by the communication and sculptural form in flocks of birds. We have pooled our individual artistic styles and now want to expand this and create larger scale versions with painted surfaces. It feels like something which should spread and grow.”

To convey the energy and power inherent in collaborative thought processes the duo approached Applelec who manu-

facture the bespoke lighting unit, LED Light Sheet; a product more commonly used for retail display and to backlight decorative materials. “Applelec were very willing to explore new possibilities for their product and the light sheet is an ideal material to relay our concept,” Musson continues. “Light is a metaphor for new ideas and this relates directly to the aims of 100% Design. The light sheet offered us the delicate translucent quality that we were looking for in contrast to a sharp and precise finish.”

Musson and Retallick later gave a presentation titled ‘Alternative illumination, where art meets design’ examining the benefits of collaboration and how conceptual thought processes are beneficial in creating original design. www.mackaydesignstudio.co.uk www.metalmonkeys.org

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World Series Llinell

London table light Original BTC

Llinell founder and designer Bart Spillemaeckers used 100% Design to launch the World Series, a range that aims to transform the energy-saving light bulb into an aesthetically desirable element within a fixtures. The lamp is concealed behind opaque or mirrored glass until illuminated. www.llinell.li

The London table light by Original BTC has had a glamorous makeover for Autumn 2012. The retro-flavoured desk light - the first light to be designed by Charles Bowles, son of Original BTC founder Peter – now features a copper arm and base, an update on the original chrome. www.originalbtc.com

Bud Desinature Bud is an elegant paneled lighting system formed from six identical elements that clip together for easy assembly.

Each section is laser-cut in the UK using responsibly sourced birch plywood. Bud is available in Round (25cm diameter, 34cm height) and Long (19cm diameter, 45cm height). www.desinature.com

Botti Delightfull

Elagone Drugeot Labo

Delightfull continue their musically inspired series of luminaires with the Botti suspension lamp. With a body made of brass (available in a gold plate finish), the piece’s 80cm depth and 150cm span make it an impressive feature in any space. Each of the 24 ‘horns’ uses a 25W incandescent lamp. www.delightfull.eu

With simple and slender lines, the Elagone uses an LED source to create a warm, diffuse light that reflects off the inner planes of its solid oak body. It can be displayed verticaly or horizontaly and is available in two sizes. The piece is made in Anjou (Loire valley) with wood from sustainable forests. www.drugeotlabo.com

EXTL Lights Deadgood Designed by Davide Irwin, EXTL Lights are a pair of small multi-faceted pendant lights, produced in aluminium and finished with a matt black anodised lustre. Both lights are manufactured out of a single length of 3mm-thick aluminium, dissected at varying angles allowing for two styles to be produced from one section of extruded material.

Each light consists of five identical profiles which are bound together with a black silicon band. www.deadgoodltd.co.uk

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LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL / 100% DESIGN

Penelope Lamp Myyour

Douro Climar

The 210cm tall Penelope Lamp is designed to glow evenly across its whole surface. Formed from Myyour’s own Poleasy material, they offer a statuesque presence to both interior and exterior schemes with obvious applications for retail and hospitality settings. www.myyour.eu

Portuguese Pritzker architecture prize winner Álvaro Siza Vieira designed Climar’s Douro range. The collection comprises twelve complementary models, including two floor lights, one table lamp and nine wall mounting lamps.

Each is formed from aluminium and uses LED sources. www.climar.pt

Weight Light Doris Darling In 2011 Doris Darling started to work with different glassblowers to create a lamp that was portable and allowed her to interact with visitors at exhibitions. The outcome was a lamp in the shape of vintage weights. It is available in mouthblown glass as well as with shades made out of silk or other fabric. www.dorisdarling.at

Arco Wall Lamp Plant & Moss

Diner Davey Lighting

Arco Wall Lamp - a derivative of the Arco Floor Lamp - is inspired by a fisherman on his boat with a lantern. The swing arm of the Arco Wall Lamp allows for both vertical and horizontal adjustment. Perfect over a dining or seating areas, the lamp playfully re-imagines the great Jean Prouvé’s classic design. www.plantandmoss.com

The traditional Diner box light – usually seen in its smaller form, flanking period properties – has now been super-sized to create a robust yet elegant pendant, available in weathered or polished brass and polished or satin nickel. The four clear glass panels are intended to show off the filament bulbs within. www.davey-lighting.co.uk

Fez Servomuto Servomuto - aka design duo Alessandro Poli and Francesca De Giorgi - originally produced the Fez collection of lamps for a the Dream House of Alcantara (a work by Paola Navone and Giulio Cappellini) during Milan Design Week.

They have now reinterpreted the pieces using a variety of colours and styles. www.servomuto.com

19 – 21 May 2013

As part of the May Design Series...

The ARC Show will expand the visitor profile as part of the powerful, new London proposition to meet the broad sourcing needs of key buyers and specifiers with an international reach.

Completing the international design circuit, the May Design Series is perfectly timed to bring products to London for solid commercial business.

One Great City, Four Great Shows

kbb LDN showcases design innovation in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry and is the nucleus for the mid to high-end business community.

DX will explore how the pioneers of design and technology are shaping the future of the interiors in which we live, work and play – a hugely complementary event to ARC’s community.

The ARC Show brings together the full spectrum of architectural, retail and commercial lighting disciplines to celebrate the very best of creative lighting design.

INTERIORS LDN is the new boutique edition of INTERIORS UK, presenting the best of contemporary British and international design in furniture and interiors for the mid to high-end market.

“The integrated format of next year’s show nicely represents the communal nature of the work that goes into developing the built environment, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to enjoy new perspectives in London in 2013.”

“The May Design Series seems like a logical progression for the show, which has become more pivotal than ever to the lighting design community. It should also align well with new products coming to market in Spring, so what’s on show will be even more meaningful than before.”

Kevin Theobald IALD President

For stand and visitor enquiries contact the mondo*arc team on +44 161 476 8350, mondo@mondiale.co.uk ARC13Ad(Dark)_333x236+3mm.indd 1

Paul Traynor, Principal Light Bureau Organised by

03/10/2012 16:18

042

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL / TENT

TENT In its six year run, Tent has established itself as the home of independent designers and ‘new finds’ visitors to the London Design Festival.

Returning to the Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, this year’s show had a change of layout that channeled visitors through the expanded Super Brands London exhibition before they entered the main show.

As ever, Super Brands featured a line up of more established international design brands that sat slightly awkwardly alongside the smaller boutique brands and start-up designers within the main body of TENT, where a host of international pavilions added a global flavour to proceedings.

Hungary (The Hungarian Investment Trade Agency), Norway (100% Norway), Taiwan (Fresh Sense), Japan (Mashiko Pottery) and The Netherlands (Connecting the Dots) were all represented, proving that good design transcends borders. www.tentlondon.co.uk

Peye Numéro 111 The Peye floor lamp, shown as part of the Ligne Roset range, incorporates a system of LEDs that bounce light off its oversized shade to create an all-enveloping illumination. The shade is a composite material of fibreglass and injected polyester resin with a white interior and anthracite exterior finish. www.ligneroset.com

Ola Karboxx The new Ola collection of lamps, designed by Enrico Franzolini for Karboxx, have composite fiberglass shades that emit a filtered light which creates beautiful atmospheres and shadows.

Ola will be available in three sizes and in three different colours: white, orange and red. www.karboxx.com

Toffoli Pendant Lamp UBS Design

New Old Light KIMU

UBS operate from both New York’s East Village and Osaka Japan under principal designer Etsumi Imamura. The Toffili Pendant comprises mirror-finished stainless steel with a white painted interior and 1000lm LED source. The piece references the long Japanese tradition of urushi-nuri lacquerware. www.ubsdnewyork.com

Based in Taiwan, KIMU hopes to introduce design into our everyday environment, transforming the world through product design. The New Old Light is a traditional lantern with a simple wooden lampshade mixing complex and simple shapes of both eastern and western styles. kimudesign.blogspot.tw

3’AGE Steelè Workshop This collaborative studio of craftsmen and designers presented this series inspired by the perforated, industrial metal bobbins used to dye yarn. The initial 3’AGE fixture was created by Giacomo Piovan with the subsequent Variations (incorporating moving elements) designed by Matteo Marzano. www.steele.it

043

Orb Light Curiousa & Curiousa

Ella Sarah Turner

The Orb Light features two separately free-blown parts, the outer Orb and the inner Cup. Customers can choose the colour of the outer shade element as in the pictured example, which has an Aubergine outer shade and an inner shade in clear sand-blasted glass.The flex is Mid Grey and the fittings are Chrome. www.curiousa.co.uk

Ella is made from 310 plastic drinks bottles, sandblasted white and pieced together by hand to build a rough semispherical form. The piece is handmade to bespoke sizes on request, and indeed Turner has already received high-profile commissions from clients such as Coca Cola. www.sarahturner.co.uk

Hazel Pendant l Sebastian Cox Sebastian Cox is a designer-maker with a strong belief that sustainable design does not have to result in a boring or compromised product. He uses coppiced hazel - an abundant and underused resource in the UK – to create unique bespoke furniture pieces such as this Hazel pendant lamp. www.sebastiancox.co.uk

Flex Designlab

Boom Lamp Group Design

Designed by Karol Murlak and Magdalena Czapiewska, Flex’s form is derived from forces working in different directions. Constructed from just two perpendicular steel pipes that stretch the flexible fabric shade, the pendant’s geometric shape is brought to life by gravity pulling down on the lower strut. www.designlab.com.pl

This oversized, adjustable floor lamp is made from melamine-faced plywood structure with a 97% wool felt shade.

Born from the designer’s exploration of scale and adjustability, it uses a novel movement mechanism that can adjust the height of the lamp from a towering 2m down to 1.2m for more intimate spaces. www.groupdesign.co.uk

Wall lamp Duhovich Duhovich creates stand alone light structures and lamps from a combination of hard woods and metals, as well as redesigning objects by converting them to lights. Initially based around the structure of an artists easel, his work has grown into a collection comprising table lamps, floor lamps and wall mounted lamps, as well as a selection of hand painted steel pendant lights that combine an Art Deco and Bauhaus aesthetic. www.duhovich.com

044

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL / DESIGN JUNCTION

design

JUNCTION This year’s Designjunction emerged from the victorian-tiled basement that played host in 2011 and relocated to the nearby Sorting Office, a 1960s former post office building on New Oxford Street. Spread over three floors, the gritty industrial space allowed exhibitors the freedom to create open-plan displays of their high-end collections.

Dining on site also had a design edge, not least on the second floor, where the multi award-winning Canteen restaurant and Transport for London to create a full-service pop-up restaurant. The interior was designed by Designjunction’s creative director Michael Sodeau, drawing on TfL’s design archives for upholstery prints, graphics and materials, referencing London Transport’s iconic old canteens, which in their heyday served 100,000 meals every day.

The scheme also featured a series of Pendant Shade from Very Good & Proper, the company set up by Canteen founder Patrick Clayton Malone and designer Ed Carpenter with the express purpose of creating custom furniture for the restaurant’s four London outlets. www.verygoodandproper.co.uk

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 the brightly coloured cable - available in five colour options.

These wedge in the narrowing inner neck of the glass shade to hold everything in place. www.vitaminliving.com

Crush Pendant Simon Hasan Inspired by the crushing action of hydraulic presses, this pendant lamp combines moulded leather with a spun brass reflector that has been mirror polished to provide contrast to the warmth of the leather. The lamp is supplied with ceiling plate and 2.5m of braided cable. www.simonhasan.com

Float Floor Light Steuart Padwick The Float Floor light has a movable paper shade that can float to any position along its vertical wooden spine.

Adjustment is simple, with a rubber band used to keep the head in place.

1800mm high and with a 600mm diameter shade, the float is powered by dimmable LED. www.steuartpadwick.co.uk

045

Facet Pendant Innermost

Finnieston Lamp Channels

The Facet Pendant is the latest addition to the Facet family. Available as a stand alone fitting, it can also be used to great effect in multiples to create larger feature installations. The piece - designed by Tom Kirk Lighting - is available in polished stainless steel, black nickel and gold. www.innermost.net

The Finnieston Lamp from designer Samuel Chan features an accordion neck that extends and rotates - a familiar mechanism given new charm by being handcrafted in wood. The lamp shade, too is solid wood – a development made possible by the very latest LED technology. www.channelsdesign.com

Spotty Obe & Co The Spotty has been designed to give three-dimensional functionality while blending its flowing curves with the tactile beauty of wood. They are shaped in such a way as to allow them to stand as up lights, rest on their sides as angled spot lamps or to be suspended as pendant lamps. www.obeandco.com

Laerdal Aditi

Raindrop LZF

Laerdal’s clean Scandinavian inspired lines provide subtle, flattering soft light. Aditi’s trademark volcanic basalt like exterior hides a deeply glazed white and lusciously textured interior, that serves to bounce and scatter soft light around the inside of the 16 inch diameter bowl. www.aditistudios.com

Designed by the Javier Herrero Studio for LZF, the Raindrop lamp is a delicate handcrafted drop shaped lamp, made with fine wood veneer strips through which light flows from a central glass ball. The Raindrop is available in four sizes and in a whole range of colours, including natural wood finishes. www.lzf-lamps.com

Slingerlamp NgispeN Slingerlamp, originally launched in Milan, is the latest design by Richard Hutten, better known for his playful concepts ‘No sign of design’ and ‘Table upon table’. Its shape is intended to “evoke the sensation of a party” with a particular focus on the of restaurant spaces .

The Slingerlamp is made in Holland at NgispeN’s own factory using the latest in laser cutting technologies. It comes in a variety of colours. www.ngispeng.com

046

LONDON DESIGN FESTIVAL / DESIGN JUNCTION

Submariner Neil Conley

CSYS Tall Jake Dyson

Among the future talent in the Designers in Residence area was Neil Conley with his table lamp Submariner. Beadrolled steel forms the lamp’s shell; held in place by two worm-driven clamps. A choice of heavily-tinted diffusers allow the bulb to be used at maximum luminosity without creating glare. www.neilconley.co.uk

The CSYS Tall is an LED floor-standing task light that uses a refined version of the satellite-technology cooling system found in its smaller sibling. The CSYS Tall marries the latest technology with a sleek design to produce bright warm white colour with astonishing efficiency. www.jakedyson.com

Modo Pendant Roll & Hill Designed by Jason Miller, this pendant is inspired by off the shelf parts of the kind found in inexpensive lighting stores. However, each part of Modo is actually engineered and custom CNC milled from solid aluminum. The spoke and hub system allows it to be configured in dozens of different ways. www.rollandhill.com

Bramah Pendant EOQ

Tenda Benjamin Hubert

The Bramah Pendant is a new extruded aluminum pendant series designed by Michael Young for new Hong Kongbased EOQ. Named after the man who patented the first extrusion process in 1797, the range includes three silhouettes in two sizes with a variety of finish options. www.eoq-design.com

Benjamin Hubert created a ‘construction site’ area within the Tramshed section of Designjunction in which he launched three new pieces. These included Tenda, an experimental collection of large pendant lamps utilising materials and technology from the sports industry. www.benjaminhubert.co.uk

28d Bocci Bocci’s Creative Director Omer Arbel had created a special display comprising nothing but new 28 desk lamps glowing atop their own packaging boxes. Their fluorscent yellow-green glow - a colour created specially for this exhibition - created an arresting scene within the dim office space. www.bocci.ca

LED LIGHTING SYSTEMS

120 Years of lighting know-how in every lamp Up to 85% Energy Saving* Lasts up to 25 times longer* Stunning light distribution High quality construction and finish

www.toshiba.co.uk/lighting

* compared to standard incandescent or halogen lamps. E.&O.E.

Toshiba Q3 Advert Sept 2012 - EJAL MONDO 236x333.indd 1

9/27/2012 8:36:12 AM