New Plumen lamp range
(UK) - Lamp pioneers Plumen launch a new type of LED that recaptures some of the wonder of traditional fixtures.
The new ‘Milky’ range creates an optical illusion, with the LED filament seeming to magically float in the centre of the lamp - an effect lost with the banning of the incandescent lamp.
Emitting a calming, warm white light, the Milky lamps are ideal for relaxing light, designed for bedrooms, living rooms, bars and restaurants.
A special ‘Milky’ finish that allows an LED filament to magically float in thin air has been developed by Plumen for this range. The magical filament only appears when the lamp is on. Switched off, the striking silhouettes of their new lamps create pieces of art in their own right. Switched on, the delicate floating filament magically appears, creating a mysterious optical illusion.
The new Milky finish, the result of two years research and development, has been applied to Willow and Wilma, two original Plumen designs showcasing the latest in LED filament technology.
During the switch from incandescent to LED technology, many consumers believe some of the magic of lamps was lost, leaving LEDs with an un-deserved reputation for being a lesser lamp. While there’s no doubt LED is better than incandescent in every regard, Plumen was always looking for ways to re-ignite this missing spark and finally end any remaining resistance to LED.
Designed as a pair, Willow and Wilma’s silhouettes hang harmoniously in series or clusters. Together, they create striking chandeliers, casting enchanted glows from their magical floating filaments.
Co-founder & Creative Director Nicolas Roope says: “We’ve spent a long time perfecting this special milky finish. Plumen is always chasing the sublime, searching for the magical and enigmatic effects that transform the domestic light bulb into a poetic work of art.”
Full technical specification available at plumen.com
Verpan launches new lighting icons
(Denmark) - Being brought to life from the Panton archives, Verpan launches Hive pendant and Reflect table lamp.
Hive and Reflect are the latest examples of contemporary design still to be discovered in the Verner Panton archives. The designs are brought to life by Verpan from Panton’s original sketches, and it is the first time the designs have been put into production.
Made of multiple concentric shades of varying size, the layered design of the Hive pendant offers a very characteristic and sculptural quality while ensuring a 100% glare-free light.
The fixture emits a generous downward light that is complimented by a soft and diffused lateral light. Like with much of Panton’s lighting designs, the unique and expressive idiom of the Hive pendant demand attention even with the lights off.
While Panton was maybe best known for his intricate and sometimes opulent organic designs, Reflect offers a simpler and more linear style, and represents a great example of his ingenuity and profound understanding of how to manipulate light to create a desired setting or mood.
With Reflect, light is cast upwards from the tubular base and reflected off the white surface of the slanted disc-shaped shade to create a crisp yet diffused light throughout its surroundings.
With its clean and straight-forward design, Reflect makes an impression wherever it goes. This can be either accented or downplayed by the colour scheme that Verpan has chosen for the design – an attention seeking all red and a more understated grey with satin finish stem.
Lee Broom presents Kaleidoscopia
(UK) - Lee Broom to present new installation Kaleidoscopia - an experiential showcase featuring new and recognised lighting pieces.
Kaleidoscopia will be unveiled on September 17 and presents an intimate exhibition with maximum impact. Playing with kaleidoscopic impressions, visitors will be invited to peer inside the installation to discover lighting products within a reflective environment, forming a sequence of multiple images and optical illusions.
The show marks the launch of a brand new lighting piece Little Lens Flair surface light, a flush-mounted globe light that can function as a wall or ceiling light with a detailed cross cut lens. In contrast to Little Lens Flair pendant light launched during New York Design Week in May, the 20cm wall light version is presented face on to get the full impact of the kaleidoscopic refractions of light.
Other products showcased in Kaleidoscopia include the winner of the Elle Deco International Design Award, Eclipse Light, which will be showcased in polished gold and presented in the UK for the very first time.
Lee Broom commented: "I am always inspired by new and innovative ways in which I can present our products every year during Design Week and London as a city has always been incredibly open to innovation and creativity. That’s why I’m always excited to present something new during the London Design Festival."
Tom Dixon Coal Office transforms for LDF
(UK) - British designer will turn King's Cross hub into multi-sensory lab during London Design Festival 2019.
As part of 2019’s London Design Festival in September, British designer Tom Dixon will fill his King’s Cross hub with the flavours, fragrances, sounds, colours and textures of the future.
For the first time, King’s Cross will be an official LDF Design District, as such, the entire Coal Office - from the studio, shop, factory and trade counters to the bar and restaurant - will become a multi-sensory lab with interactive installations, workshops and talks inspired by the six senses and how they shape the future of design.
"As designers, we look at everything," says Dixon. "We determine the shape, colours and aesthetics of a space before anything else. But here in the Coal Office we wanted to explore the role that all our other - often lesser recognised senses - contribute to our experiences of design; the smell and the taste of a place, the textures and tone of a space, the sound of an interior or the weight of an object – or even the most intangible of all – the sixth sense. Hence why we have called this season TouchySmellyFeelyNoisyTasty, because after all, we are multi-sensory animals."
The latest designs and innovations launched in April at Salone del Mobile - Fat, Swirl, Spring and Opal will be on display and available to buy at the Coal Office. In September, two new fragrances join the Electic range, Alchemist and Underground, and will be on display in the perfumery.
Torno Subito, UAE
Torno Subito is a metaphysical manifestation of beachside days, reminiscent of Rimini's coastal playground in the 1950s and 60s. Bishop Design uses a playful mix of colour and lighting to bring the vision of Italian Michelin star chef, Massimo Bottura to life.
Interior design studio Bishop Design used intricate structures of decorative lighting to bring the Torno Subito restaurant to life as the newest addition to Starwood’s W hotel on Palm Jumeirah beach in Dubai.
Commencing the project in late 2016, the studio’s founder Paul Bishop and his team handed over the full interior design package within just four months. With the ongoing construction of the W Hotel, the venue made its long-awaited debut in January this year.
Paul Bishop led the project to design the new eatery, linking each element to the values of the restaurant’s world famed Italian Michelin star chef, Massimo Bottura. Speaking with darc, he says: “The brief was quite simply to realise the sentiment of Massimo having fun. It was to be a metaphysical manifestation of beachside days reminiscent of Rimini’s coastal playground of the 1950s and 60s, an Italian seaside town where Bottura grew up and now hosts annual food festivals.
“We wanted to capture fun-filled days enjoying amazing food, drinks and ultimate relaxation. The interiors are current, bold, avant-garde and playful, yet evocative of days passed. They are cinematic and culminate in a visual journey that was achieved through diverse materials and interior installations evoking memories and collections of objects.”
Despite the long build time, the brief didn’t really change throughout the project, but rather the team’s perception of the brief developed in terms of how they could successfully translate it into an interior concept. Bishop says: “We conjured up multiple ideas, testing varying solutions, but it was also essential that the functionality wasn’t overlooked. I think we managed to establish a perfect equilibrium between aesthetic and function.”
The main challenge for Bishop and the team lay in working with such a passionate individual such as Massimo. “It was evident from the beginning that Massimo had an amazing vision and to be trusted to transform that vision into reality was beyond inspiring, yet incredibly daunting,” he admits.
“As the restaurant was also to become Massimo’s first gastronomical venture outside of Italy, developing a concept for Dubai that also remained true to its cultural origins potentially posed the challenge of appearing fake and contrived.”
Taking inspiration from Massimo’s vision, all decorative lighting features within the space were selected for their fun and playful characteristics. They perfectly establish the evocative narrative that Massimo desired from the very outset of the project. The lighting aims to enliven the space and animate it not only as a visual but also as an emotional journey through bygone days.
“Decorative lighting was an integral part of the venue’s DNA as it stood to create playful contributions to its overall spirit, highlighting other fundamental design elements within,” says Bishop.
Polaroid photos hang down suspended from the ceiling, showing black and white images of Italian beaches, as well as photos of guests taken from the integrated photo booth. Lighting has been used here to cast shadows across the ceiling and wall surfaces, creating dynamic patterns that enhance the space.
Bishop continues: “Within the venue are multiple spatial offerings each with their own independent, individual spirit. They each encourage a multitude of different scenarios that animate each space in a slightly different way.”
Upon entering, guests encounter a playful illumination of backlit exit signs and traditional Edison lamps through to LED neon and pendant lighting reminiscent of oversized beach balls. “We have also thoughtfully integrated a bespoke structural lighting matrix adorned with Mineheart’s Gold King Edison pendant lamps to create a light-hearted Italian food market atmosphere,” says Bishop. “There are also wall-mounted Anglepoise lights in the banquette seating areas.”
An intelligent use of both indirect and directional fixtures placed mindfully in the venue animate the visual features overhead, creating a refraction of light over various textural surfaces. The spacious entrance leads diners through to the dolce counter, main bar, as well as formal and casual seating areas, each with a carefully considered lighting scheme that elevates the individual zones and brings them together as a whole restaurant.
Bishop explains: “This was achieved through implementing a dimmable DALI system so the desired lighting levels within could be set throughout the course of the day’s transition from afternoon through to an evening setting.
“We elaborated on this outside as well, where we were challenged to work with the existing architectural lighting of the hotel. We pushed hard to find a very carefully considered balance between our ideas for visual enhancement and what was already there to bring these external spaces together in synergy as well.”
As the project progressed, the team also faced electrical constraints. “We had to be extremely conscious that the solutions we presented didn’t compromise our design vision,” continues Bishop. “We tackled these apparent disadvantages in structure by suspending layers within spaces, creating visual intrigue that worked with our goals. Restrictions also came with the electrical load, specially for the external terrace, which pushed us to rely heavily on overspill light flooding from the interior to highlight this particular area.”
The lighting pieces are an integral element in the storytelling of ideas behind Torno Subito’s interior scheme. “The quirky pieces harmonise naturally with the bold melange of colour and the eclectic furniture elements, culminating in an ultimately engaging journey through Massimo’s memories.”
In reflecting on his overall impression of the design, Bishop tells darc, his team really managed to capture every detail that they set out to achieve. “An incredibly meticulous approach was adopted throughout the entirety of the project whereby no detail, no matter how minute, was left untouched. We have successfully transformed Massimo’s vision into reality, realising his thoughts and memories through this truly current and unique venue.”
Torno Subito sets an unprecedented standard of dining experiences within the region through its ultimately enchanting narrative and luxurious food offering. With an honest Italian soul and a sophisticated but laidback atmosphere, the venue offers a refreshing escape from conventional F&B venues. “Torno’s joyful spirit is unrivalled and to be able to contribute to such a revolutionary project is something I am incredibly grateful for,” says Bishop.
Although the team at Bishop Design could have benefitted greater flexibility in regards to the electrical and spatial constraints in certain areas, it became evident that the direction and approach worked perfectly in the end to achieve the desired narrative. “We’ve been able to cleverly disguise the encountered restrictions to create an ultimately diverse perspective, aesthetically wonderful yet always remaining mindful of functional necessities.”
As a result, Torno Subito encourages its clientele to venture in for a meal or a drink, allowing them to interact with its interior as the day transcends into night, wilfully relaxing as the sun sets and the beachfront takes centre stage.
Mask - Faro
Designed by Lúcid, Mask is a robust wall lamp that can be located near the sea as it is highly resistant to corrosion by salinity. It is made of injected aluminium, has an opal diffuser and has a 65 protection rating. It is a luminaire designed for areas with adverse environmental conditions as it has a high resistance against impact and corrosion.
Pencil - Ai Lati Lights
Pencil is a collection of rechargeable floor, wall and pendant (multi-function) lamps, with a step touch dimmer function. Made of anodised extruded aluminium, die-cast accessories, a polycarbonate diffuser and a LED light source, silicone seals ensure that the Pencil lamp has a high IP rating, making it ideal for outdoor use.
Pencil has an integrated dual charging system: USB-C (it connects directly to the individual light module); fast charging system via contact base. The lamp fixture can be easily used with or without the base and continue to function separately until the accumulated power runs out. It has a four-step dimmer to provide the optimum and most appropriate lighting in a room. The light warmth can be varied as required, with dynamic white that varies from 2700 to 4000K.
Lamina - Karman
Origami and interlocking effects seem to be the inspiration for Lamina, the new lighting product, designed by Edmondo Testaguzza for Karman. A thin foil in matte white aluminium, cleverly folded to create a minimal, elegant light source that is ideal for creating a personalised, elegant source or indirect light,indoors or in repeated series to emphasise the wall of an outdoor walkway.
Harvard - Astro Lighting
A modern wall lantern with a vintage twist, the Harvard will add a pleasing touch to any design scheme. Its pared back, cuboid shape with tubular vintage LED offers a striking design that is suitable for both interior and exterior use. Available in a variety of finishes including black and bronze, as well as a robust natural brass that has been engineered to withstand even the most onerous of environments.
Saya - Fabbian
Following its successful launch in 2018, the Saya indoor pendant collection designed by Gio Milenni and Marco Fossati, is presented in an IP55 version, making it suitable for covered outdoor areas. Saya is the tale of a journey midway between the East and the West, where aesthetics and the memory of far-off cultures are combined with the ancient Venetian tradition of caged blown glass.
The shape is inspired by a large dew drop depositing and sliding downwards along a series of metal wires, that break its fall closing in and giving a suspended sensation. The cage acquires new aesthetic value, becoming the protagonist of the project. The large blow-glass body is modelled within it without deformation, creating a perfect balance between light and decoration. The collection comprises several hanging lamps for indoor and outdoor use in three different shapes. The caged blown glass diffusers are available in transparent and white versions.
Lantern Collection - Light-Point
The Lantern collection by Light-Point, a contemporary take on the classic lamp shape that dates back centuries, has just been awarded a Red Dot award for high-quality design.
“We are proud to push the boundaries in lighting design and receiving the Red Dot award for the Lantern collection is a recognition of this,” commented Ronni Gol, CEO and founder of Light-Point. “This design harnesses the latest LED technology and is both aesthetically timeless and minimal.”
The work of Danish designer Marie Holsting, the Lantern collection has a rectangular shape and a solid, black-lacquered aluminium and glass frame. It comes in wall, floor and portable versions and has a built-in LED light source. This radiates an interplay of angles and geometric shapes that gives the collection its distinctive graphical and architectural appeal.
The wall version comes in two sizes and is also weatherproof, so is suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Indoors, it can create a cosy and intimate lighting effect, both as a single light source or in combination with ceiling lamps. Several Lantern wall lamps can be lined up together on a wall to create a more decorative element. The light encased in glass also evokes the warmth and safety of the indoors, as if it is a calming window greeting a weary traveller on a cold, dark night.
The Lantern floor light, meanwhile, is an elegant option for outdoors. It creates a light-filled and calming space in the dark. In this way, the lamp is like a warm and bright pavilion in the midst of an icy garden in winter. It is available in sizes 48cm tall and 60cm tall and there is also a low, square version, which measures 25cm x 25cm. The floor lights work well as decorative individual pieces or grouped together as an installation. They are also effective as secondary lighting in larger spaces such as illuminating a passageway.
Cyborg - Martinelli Luce
The well-established Cyborg light designed by Karim Rashid for Martinelli Luce has been reinvented as an outdoor light. The new fixture is made from high-resistance, fiber-reinforced concrete with selected aggregates. The special form of the lamp body, with its three legs, and the internal positioning of the indirect LED light source, generates dramatic effects of light and shadow on lawns and other outdoor areas.
