Zero - Silo Wall
Designed by Note Design Studio, Silo is a small, iconic wall fixture inspired by the classical silhouette of a grain silo. The shape was refined during the design phase to become a minimalistic fixture with a distinct industrial character. Silo, with its large colour range of white, black, yellow, apricot, grey, ivory and green, can both step forward in a room and become a dynamic element or step back and blend into its surroundings.
Other members of the Silo family include single pendant, trio pendant and floor lamp.
Arne Jacobsen - 60th anniversary webinar with Louis Poulsen
This year, Louis Poulsen celebrates 60 years of the AJ and AJ Royal lamps at the world's first design hotel, SAS Royal, Copenhagen. Arne Jacobsen designed the lamps for the SAS Royal Hotel in 1957. Today, the AJ series is regarded as one of the designs, that the Danish architect is best known for all over the world.
Hosted by Monique Faber, Louis Poulsen's Director of Product & Design, Decorative, the webinar was first streamed live on 3 April 2020.
SkLO - Once Light
The Once Light is the new-for-2020 accent light design from SkLO. A group of accent lights that express all of the hallmarks of the SkLO design philosophy, combining subtle details of handblown glass with the clean lines of its carefully machined metals.
Consisting of a single, lit sphere of handblown glass resting atop a brass ring, the Once Light is available in three sizes: 4.5in (11cm), 7in (18cm) and 10in (25cm) diameters. Once Lights are available in five glass colours and multiple metal finishes.
The glass sphere of each Once Light features the signature SkLO detail: A small, rippling mouth, which shows where the glass is broken from the glassblower’s pipe while still hot, and then fire-polished to a smooth finish. Details like this are careful yet uncontrolled expressions of the molten origins of the glass and belie its handmade nature and the craft tradition from which it comes.
Each Once Light comes with a custom brass ring, designed to cradle the glass sphere. The glass rests loose but stable atop its ring, allowing it to be reoriented to the best effect from its desired display space.
A minimal, machined brass socket attaches to the back of the sphere, holding the light source within the glass. A black fabric-wrapped electrical cord with line switch and plug complete the piece.
Magna Carta Park, UK
Louise Bradley reveals new show home for Magna Carta Park, taking inspiration from its historic British woodland setting.
Magna Carta Park from Royalton Residences has revealed its luxurious new show home, Belvoir, a four-bedroom, three-en-suite bathroom townhouse in the heart of its 57-acre private estate, due to be completed later this year. The show home has been designed by interior designer Louise Bradley and epitomises luxury, understated elegance and countryside-calm; befitting of its woodland setting and classically English style.
The focal point of Belvoir is its living space, which maximises natural light and maintains the feeling of being close to nature. The kitchen-dining room sits on the raised ground floor, overlooking the rest of the development with large bay, sash-windows while staying connected to the contemporary kitchen featuring hand-thrown ceramic lights and drop-lit pendants. Many of the materials in this space gives a nod to natural resources from wicker baskets, reclaimed wood console tables, to parchment-paper pressed flowers hung in frames on the dining room wall.
Adding to the social and relaxed ambience of the show home, the living room draws on textures and tones reminiscent of the British seasons. While in the master bedroom, comfort and relaxation are the watch-words for Bradley’s design. Quartz bedside lamps with silk shades sit either side of the studded headboard, while antique framed botanical artwork creates a soothing and tranquil place to restore and recharge. The adjoining dressing room uses intimate floor lamps to further create an atmosphere of peacefulness.
"The inspiration behind the show home is Magna Carta Park’s exceptional rural setting - the grounds of the private estate have a number of protected, ancient trees such as oak, yew, beech, willow and scots pine, so that was a natural starting point for the tones and textures of the interior,” says Bradley. “My intention was to ensure that residents felt like the British woodland was part of their everyday life, both inside their home and when enjoying the extensive grounds.
“When it came to the decorative lighting for the apartments, we had the freedom to work with some of the latest pieces from our collection – these designs are created by our in-house product design team and manufactured by expert craftspeople across Europe. We used pieces that worked in particular spaces – whether that’s statement glass chandeliers such as the Alicia chandelier from our own collection or the classic Venezia chandelier. These pieces work perfectly in the main living spaces and drawing rooms, attracting the eye and making a statement.
“Decorative lighting plays multiple roles in the project. Firstly, it had to functionally light the space in line with the residents’ lifestyles. Secondly, the lighting chosen had to create the right ambience for the rooms - decorative lighting such as chandeliers, pendants, lamps and picture lights all have an important role to play in the ambience of any interior; scale is important too and working correctly within space's proportions.”
Having worked with John Cullen Lighting on the lighting design for both the marketing suite and across all of the properties, for Bradley, light always needs to be considered at the start of a project – especially natural light. “Lighting shapes the interiors and any natural light of course changes throughout the day,” she tells darc. “This is why it is crucial to consider in the early stages of the project all of the aspects of the lighting design – lighting enhances not only architectural elements of our designs, such as bespoke joinery or a beautiful staircase, but it is also used to complement the unique finishes and soft furnishings used within a project, from the artwork through to the final layer of accessories.
“We’re very fortunate to have worked on beautiful private residences across the globe for nearly 30 years now and have over the years built acute understanding and deep intuition when it comes to translating our ideas into concepts and final designs. We’re very happy with how the initial ideas turned into complete designs in Magna Carta Park.”
www.louisebradley.co.uk | www.johncullenlighting.com
KLM Crown Lounge, Netherlands
With lighting design from Deerns, Concrete interior design studio created a quirky KLM lounge at Schiphol airport that accentuates the brand of the Dutch airline.
Late in 2019, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport celebrated the opening of the recently-completed KLM Crown Lounge – a collection of characteristic spaces inspired by KLM, its Dutch background and local heritage that becomes a destination in itself for global travellers.
The lounge, designed by Amsterdam-based interior design studio Concrete, combines the latest technology and high-end service requirements with quirky flourishes that accentuate the brand of the Dutch airline.
Lisa Hassanzadeh, Partner and Head of Interiors at Concrete, tells darc: “KLM asked us to create a whole new lounge to accommodate the brand experience of KLM on the ground. Our brief was to build the best airport lounge in the world, inheriting the characteristics of KLM and the Netherlands.
“It took us years to guide the initial design through all parties, regulations and phases, but in the end we managed to bring the conceptual design into realisation.”
The House of KLM marks the entrance to the new lounge: a two-storey Dutch house that offers stunning views over the runway. On entering, travellers are greeted by a large white marble welcome desk that, together with four Luna globe pendants from In-es.artdesign, and a custom cross pendant designed by Concrete and manufactured by In-es.artdesign, form a giant abstraction of the KLM logo.
From its grand entrance, the lounge then divides into five different areas, each inspired by the Dutch landscape: The Polder, The Dutch Mountain, The City, The Sea and The Sky. All spaces are connected by a ‘Sunset’ light wall – a 110-metre LED back wall that mimics the colours of the sky throughout the day. This light wall gives the lounge a second, artificial façade, while helping guests adjust to the correct timezone.
The Polder is a spacious seating area inspired by the typical Dutch landscape, with straight lines and a natural green colour palette. While the Sunset light wall provides general lighting to this space, it is complemented by decorative fixtures from Vibia and Piet Hein Eek. The space features an artificial street, in which pillars along the length of the Sunset wall are clad in artificial tree bark, as an homage to the trees bordering the streets and canals of Amsterdam. High tables sit at these ‘trees’, each with their own bespoke copper lamp designed by Piet Heijn Eeek and manufactured by LEdSign.but adapted at the request of Concrete especially for the lounge.
Connecting The Polder on the ground floor with The Sky upstairs is The Dutch Mountain – a giant, wooden, liveable staircase that celebrates Dutch creativity. Various landing platforms offer new places for visitors to linger, from hidden seating niches and co-working spaces, to a smoking area, intimate TV room and even a DJ booth. Two-storey display cabinets showcase an impressive collection of work from established and upcoming Dutch designers, while at the top of the stairs, Delft blue tiles based on images shown in KLM’s safety video provide a backdrop for the DJ booth. The staircase is peppered with striking decorative finishes, such as Studio Job’s Bucket floor lamp, and Moooi’s Rabbit lamp, alongside floor and table lamps from Frandsen.
At the top of the Dutch Mountain is The Sky, featuring a bar area and Restaurant Blue – a high-end, fine-dining establishment with a menu from Michelin-starred chef Joris Bijdendijk. The bar space is defined by a 15-metre long backlit bar counter, while elevated seating niches opposite the bar offer a more private, intimate setting for guests to enjoy a drink. To the rear of the bar, seating booths open up towards a terrace, offering overwhelming views of the runways. Concrete again worked with LEdSign to develop custom chrome light fixtures in the bar area; 2-3-metres in length, each fixture has the name of a KLM destination at its end, and is pointing in the direction of that location.
Restaurant Blue features a blend of materials; contrasting finishes of marble and wood, alongside the stainless steel open kitchen island create a luxurious ambience befitting the fine-dining on offer. A broad variety of decorative lighting furthers this ambience, from JSPR’s grand Aurora, Moooi’s Random pendants and Lee Broom’s Crystal lamps, to floor lamps from Modo Luce and Atelier Areti.
Elsewhere, The City serves as the vibrant heart of the lounge, with a radial structure clad in oak wood housing the main F&B points at its very centre. Around this central focal point, various seating possibilities are placed, from long, natural-coloured leather benches with individual coffee tables, to communal oak tables, where custom-made copper lamps from Piet Hein Eek provide illumination. A circular ramp from this seating area leads to The Sea; the most remote, relaxed and quiet part of the lounge. Here, spacious lounge seating and niche areas offer a more private space for travellers looking to relax and refresh before their onward journey.
Throughout the myriad spaces of the KLM Crown Lounge, Concrete sought to use decorative fittings to create a more homely, welcoming atmosphere for guests. Hassanzadeh explains: “Decorative lighting plays a major role in all of our designs. We designed the KLM Lounge as a house, a place where you feel at home while travelling. The lighting should reflect this notion – no system ceilings and lots of warm white directional light. Next to this we designed some striking lighting features, such as the Sunset wall, the KLM welcome installation and the light sculptures in the Sky bar and restaurant.”
When developing the architectural lighting for the Crown Lounge, Concrete worked alongside lighting consultants Deerns – a “very fruitful collaboration” according to Hassanzadeh, owing to Deerns’ previous experience of working within Schiphol Airport and other hospitality projects.
The Deerns lighting design team assisted in ensuring that the lighting helped to “create the perfect atmosphere and support the interior design in the best possible way”. A key factor to achieve this was in specifying architectural fixtures that would complement and enhance the decorative elements chosen by Concrete, as Mathijs Sommeijer, Architectural Lighting Designer, at Deerns explains: “The general light from the ceiling was only designed for the minimum level required on the floor and for cleaning purposes.”
As such, the Deerns selected minimalistic architectural lighting fittings that did not draw too much attention to the ceiling, providing enough general illumination, without drawing focus from the statement decorative pieces. “From Lucent Lighting we selected the MiniTrim Round series equipped with a Xicato module and EldoLED driver. For the LED pixels solutions Sakma was chosen as the manufacturer after several mock-up sessions and all cove lighting and stair lights were selected from LEDlinear. Its HydraFlex and Venus lines were used in the project.”
This, Hassanzadeh feels, greatly contributes to the “overall welcoming and homely feeling” within the lounge. As all the elements came together towards the final testing phases of the project, Sommeijer could tell that it was going to be a success. “We as a design team met several evenings before opening to tune the light and create the right scenarios,” he tells darc. “At that point it became clear that we had created a very special project that really created the intimate atmosphere the client and architect were looking for.
“This project stands out because our client was very ambitious, but it really worked as we had planned for; providing a soft architectural basis that creates the right atmosphere to experience all the decorative elements, light and furniture.
“But the best complements came from the floor managers and travellers some months after opening. Many noticed the lighting, which is taken for granted most of the time.”
Hassanzadeh adds: “We are proud of the result! In fact, the build hardly differs from our very first sketches. It is hospitality at a whole different level, because of the short period of time guests spend here and the big amount of visitors who visit the lounge over the course of a day, you can offer more excitement, entertainment and more outspoken design.
“We think that we managed to build our ambition: the best airport lounge in the world.”
www.concreteamsterdam.nl | www.deerns.com
Kwerk, France
Kwerk chooses Linea Light Group for its business spaces on the 10th and 11th floor of the tallest skyscraper in France.
Kwerk is the new definition of workspace sharing in a luxury co-working environment with a decidedly artistic and innovative character, thanks to Albert Angel, architect and designer, and Lawrence Knights, French-English entrepreneur.
The space is made up of 400 work stations arranged in a space to create an ad-hoc midway between a decorative showroom and a museum of culture. In addition, there is a fitness room with cardio machines and a wellness area where you can recharge from work stress or participate in yoga.
The lighting design supplied by Linea Light Group highlights the distinctive aspects of the Kwerk sites, namely the white decorative statues placed in the walls, resting on the ground and positioned in display windows. To illuminate them, Eyelet spotlights were used because of their compact dimensions and their extremely versatile application. Custom-made, ceiling-mounted Oh! Mars spheres add a distinctive, decorative element in all the common areas, which are reminiscent of the red planet, thanks to their characteristic colour scheme.
Bookshelves, niches and furnishings have been highlighted thanks to the precision lighting of Nitum flush-mounted spotlights and Pound floodlights, elegant and minimal with extremely high performance.
For the wellness area, Vos downlights with Warm Tune technology were used: the simultaneous variation of intensity and colour temperature, from the classic white warm all the way to the softest shades that are reminiscent of beautiful candlelightcreate different, more relaxing atmospheres than those of other spaces along the corridors to direct lighting toward the desired spots, taking advantage of the great visual comfort and the set-back source with pinhole optics compartment for total control of the direct glare.
Finally, to light up the bistro area, there are versions of Tour Ø74cm with internal side emission, perfect for taking a break under the sign of wellness and taste.
Linea Light Group also characterise the outdoor area, where the Iris_67 and Periskop floodlights were chosen to enhance the vegetation with beams of accent lighting.
Maria Katsarou-Vafiadis - Lighting Trends in Interior Design
Part of the 2019 [d]arc room: live series in collaboration with Light Collective, we look back at Helen Ankers’ Q&A with interior designer Maria Katsarou-Vafiadis of MKV Design; looking at decorative lighting trends in interior design.
The Humble Tororaro - David Trubridge
From his home in New Zealand, product designer David Trubridge reveals his creative process and the little things we might miss in our usual daily lives. He's noticed a beautiful and often overlooked native plant, the Tororaro (Muehlenbeckia) and it has spurred a new train of thought, and possibly a new design...
Marc Wood Studio - Rosa Collection
The new Rosa collection from Marc Wood Studio has been designed to showcase the opaque beauty of natural marble. Featuring a singular pendant light that can form a tiered chandelier, the design incorporates a backlit Rosa Aurora marble disc that emits a soft, warm illumination, pierced by the natural veining of the stone. The double-faced LED base creates an additional glow with reflections and light play framed in a crystal glass sphere.
Marc Wood Studio is a British lighting brand with a difference. Founded by designer Marc Wood in 2014, the studio creates contemporary designs that champion world-class heritage craft. With a network of global partnerships, including glass-blowers in the Czech Republic, stonemasons from Portugal and metal engineers from the UK., cross-cultural collaboration is at the core of the brand’s mission.
Applying a contemporary aesthetic, the studio reframes the processes of skills developed over centuries by craftspeople, to create luxury lighting collections that can be enjoyed by both present and future generations. The timeless designs favour a simple, elegant aesthetic that remove unnecessary details and celebrate the materiality. Wood explains: “When designing it’s important to distil a concept down to its essential characteristics to ensure that the message is as clear as possible. The paradox is that achieving simplicity can often be the most difficult thing of all.”
The Beauty of Ceramic and Light - Nulty Bespoke
Discover more about the artistry of working with ceramic and light, where Nulty Bespoke discusses its love for this beautiful material and explore the aesthetic relationship it has with light.
The team delves deeper into the history of ceramic and examines the different creative techniques that make it a continuing source of inspiration in the world of decorative lighting.
Tom Dixon and Prolicht join forces
(UK/Austria) – Code LED track system utilises Prolicht’s
technical know-how and Tom Dixon’s design aesthetic.
Launching summer 2020 and utilising bare LEDs on circuit
boards that can be used to create thin strips, delicate chains and continuous columns
of light, Code allows infinite possibilities to design graphic lighting
sculptures from the most minimal to the most intricate composition.
Walter Norz, founder and CEO of Prolicht and Tom Dixon are
the creative minds behind this collaboration having met on numerous projects
over the years, with Prolicht becoming the preferred choice for architectural
lighting in Tom Dixon’s interior design projects.
With the two teams working more and more together, a clear
affinity in vision and philosophy began to emerge – creating a symbiosis
between technology and design. Through this new collaboration, the
manufacturing capabilities of Prolicht will complement the iconic style of Tom
Dixon perfectly.
More information to follow.
www.prolicht.at / www.tomdixon.net
Cini&Nils Cuboluce Special Edition supports Covid-19 emergency
(Italy) - Cini&Nils has created a special edition of its iconic Cuboluce Classic lamp - featuring a series of messages that together, make up a rainbow.
Part of the proceeds raised from its sales will go to the funds set up to tackle the Covid-19 emergency by the World Health Organisation and by the Region of Lombardy. This special edition will be sold for €100, including tax, and authorised retailers will be partnering with Cini&Nils to donate 30% of the proceeds.
More than ever before, Cuboluce is now a design icon that sets out to celebrate and not forget all the people whose work in health services has given us hope for our future life, resilience and rebirth.
More information on the special edition piece can be found at: www.cinienils.com
