Alex de Witte - Axle
Dutch Designer Alex de Witte has been working with glass for a long period of time. Axle is the result of a study of breaking of light and layers. The design with different dimensions and layers of glass is a familiar design.
The shades are mouthblown glass and available in three sizes (small, medium and large) and four colours: Opal White, New Brown, Antique Green and Smokey Blue. Axle can be used as a single pendant or ‘mix and match’ it into a chandelier of three or five pieces.
From a technical point of view, we developed two lighting solutions: a dimmable built-in LED (COB 9W with directional lens) or a E14 socket with a dimmable custom developed LED bulb. Both options provide warm and functional light.
Curiousa & Curiousa - Isabel Chandelier
Bespoke lighting company, Curiousa & Curiousa announce the latest addition to their hand-blown glass statement chandelier range - The Isabel Chandelier.
Providing opulence in any room or stairwell, including an IP rated alternative for the bathroom, the Isabel Chandelier was first inspired by designer Esther Patterson’s close friend Isabel Cordero-Padilla. Isabel commissioned a chandelier for her bedroom and came to the Curiousa workshop to get inspired.
Hand-made to order, the Isabel Chandelier is designed using bone china and hand-blown transparent glass stems with semi-opaque shades in Aqua, Lichen, Blau and Rosa. These delicate choices create a centre piece, emanating a subtle, delicate style.
Esther said, “I love the combination of the soft semi-opaque glass with the delicate creamy nature of bone china. They combine so beautifully and it’s a chance for me to return to a material I love to work with. I’m so happy to be back in my ceramic workshop bringing this beautiful material into my lighting designs.”
Allowing for an extra level of choice, the bathroom alternative for the Isabel Chandelier is IP65 standard rated for use in all wet areas, near sinks, baths and showers and fully compliant with BSEN 60598-1 (2015). Each light piece is made to measure using round, fabric covered (non twisted) flex and featuring an enclosed LED G9 bulb.
There are 24 glass colours to choose from with various fitting finishes and flex colours. To add further flexibility, most glass shapes from the current range can be added to make each chandelier installation totally unique.
Each bone china element is designed and hand-made by Esther in her personal ceramic workshop. Every piece of Curiousa glass is hand-blown in England, with each of their glassblowers using the centuries- old technique of free-blowing, forming the shape of the glass literally by hand and by tool, without the use of moulds.
Atrium launches Louis Poulsen and BIG Ideas Keglen pendants
(UK) – Latest Louis Poulsen and BIG Ideas collaboration officially
launched at London showroom on 27 February.
Designed by BIG Ideas’ Partner, Jakob Lange, the pendant
family comprises four cone shaped pendants that each deliver a different
diffusion of light using a unique curved glass insert built into and adapted
for each version of the lamp.
The Keglen range represents a further development of the
Tripitz pendant, originally created for the Tripitz Museum in Blåvand, Denmark.
During the launch Andy Young, Technical Director and
Architect at BIG Ideas, gave a presentation to a full house of industry
professionals and press. Afterwards, Young sat down with Ellie Stathaki,
Architecture Editor at Wallpaper magazine, for a Q&A session where the
floor was opened to the audience for questions.
Lange describes the main feature of the pendants as “an
organically shaped glass that sits inside the base of the cone, resembling a
water droplet shaped by physics and the cohesive forces of nature. The glass
and its conical housing combine to deliver an attractive and glare-free
downward light, which when used in different combinations as at Tripitz, is
perfectly suitable for any interior. Keglen is particularly suitable for
restaurants, hotels and other public spaces where ambience, intimacy and good
illumination are essential components of the interior design.”
“The Keglen is aimed at making the world a little less
messy,” explained Young. “It’s great for something that was designed
specifically for a purpose has now found success afterwards for a wider
audience. The Danish design brings such an honest joy and the collaboration
between two Danish companies is a lovely thing to see.”
Faro Barcelona - Cadaqués
Inspired by the town itself, which can be found on the Catalan coast, the Cadaqués
outdoor light fixture from Faro Barcelona is full of Mediterranean charm and
style.
Cadaqués evokes enjoyment of outdoor spaces, taking us to the warmest
months of the year. Inspired by beach loungers, it boasts special benefits for
outdoor coastal spaces, in addition to a unique, original design.
The light falls from above, generating a degraded effect and creating a state of wellbeing, relaxation and comfort. Its original metal structure in the shape of a saddle allows it to be stackable, thereby facilitating its storage.
The shade is made from Vertisol textile, a special fabric for outdoor environments with an IMO (International Maritime Organisation) certificate, guaranteeing its resistance to the most adverse environmental conditions. Furthermore, the light fitting comes with IP65 against solid and liquid objects.
All these benefits give it high protection and resistance, making it ideal for outdoor zones, especially those exposed to high levels of salinity, wind and rain. It incorporates LED technology to contribute energy saving and environmental responsibility.
The main innovation that makes Cadaqués different is the concept. A new type of hybrid product: a room divider that at the same time emits light. This proposal responds to the increasingly popular trend in which the barriers between product categories are blurring, giving rise to hybrid and more functional solutions.
Faro Barcelona opens new showroom
(Spain) - Faro Barcelona has opened a new showroom in Barcelona’s El Born Neighbourhood.
Faro Barcelona’s new showroom has been conceived as a versatile space, where the firm’s latest designs in both lighting and ventilation are displayed. The exhibition is transformed through mobile structures. Closeness, wellbeing and functionality are some of the concepts inherent to Faro Barcelona that the brand wanted to convey at the new showroom.
Located in the heart of Barcelona’s El Born neighbourhood, the renovation of this space was carried out by the interior design studio Piedra Papel Tijera. The main purpose of this transformation was to preserve the original structure of the building, which dates back to 1872 and is the work of architect Fontseré Mestres, who was also the author of El Born Market.
The size of the space, at over 800Msq, makes it possible to display its portfolio of light and fan designs, thereby enabling an overall view of the brand and its creations. Faro coexists with the emblematic lighting shop Biosca Botey, acquired by the group in 2011. Ever since, a young team of professionals, led by Xavier Martín, has worked to position Biosca Botey as a point of reference in the world of lighting.
Many different activities will be carried out from the Faro Barcelona showroom to promote creativity and design, art exhibitions, workshops, presentations and talks, among others. Faro Barcelona’s catalogue is the fruit of the work of its internal design team Faro Lab, as well as the collaboration with different design studios such as Nahtrang, Estudi Ribaudí, Jordi Busquets, OIKO Design and Bohman & Folenius, among others.
Salone Milan postponed
(Italy) - Salone del Mobile.Milan moves to June amid growing concerns over coronavirus outbreak in Italy.
Show officials have confirmed that the show (originally scheduled for April 21 - 26, 2020) will be rescheduled for June 16 - 21. The show will still be held at Rho Fiera Milano.
A statement from the show reads: "Following an extraordinary meeting today of the Board of Federlegno Arredo Eventi, and in view of the ongoing public health emergency, the decision has been taken to postpone the upcoming edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milan.
"Confirmation of the change of date for the trade fair – strongly supported by the Mayor of Milan Giuseppe Sala – means that the manufacturers, in a major show of responsibility, will be able to present their finalised work to an international public that sees the annual appointment with the Salone del Mobile.Milano as a benchmark for creativity and design."
darc is yet to learn whether events taking place around Milan city centre will also now be postponed to June.
More to follow...
The Toybox, UK
The Toybox is the latest student accommodation to hit Birmingham. Architects 74 drew from the city's rich history in metalwork in order to form the interior's narrative.
The Toybox is a new-build 15-storey student accommodation block from architects Corstorphine + Wright. A glazed, green brick and zinc-clad block in the Westside area of Birmingham, UK, the interior design – from Manchester-based architects and interior designers 74 – is comprised of 290 student apartments. 74 was commissioned to create the dynamic series of communal spaces that make up the ground floor area, including a reception, lounge, study area, gaming area, kitchenette, staff welfare space, toilets and fitness suite.
Toybox is inspired by the location’s history and industrial past, including the metalworking and gold-and-silver smithing workshops. The term ‘toy’ was used in the 18th Century to describe the industry in the English Midlands and could refer to anything from hinges and buttons, to belt buckles and hooks - it wasn’t until years later that the term ‘toy’ changed to its modern form and definition.
“We drew on the concept of raw, industrial workshops and contrasted that with the decorative and ornate items that would have been produced there,” says 74 Associate Bianca Yousef. “This manifested as exposed ceilings and wall treatments, plus tarnished metals and metal tubing, along with laser-cut and geometric patterns, dramatic feature lighting, button references and spindle detailing on the timber furniture.”
Students enter the building beneath a cantilevered external canopy through two sets of double sliding doors, with an immediate vista revealed down a central circulation corridor with lounge seating to the left and co-working and fixed seating areas at the rear. To the right of the entrance is the reception, which wraps around the central inner wall to be visible to those going straight to the lift lobby on the right and up to their rooms.
For the design of the reception space, 74 worked with Newmor to develop a bespoke fretwork-style wallpaper pattern to sit behind a dramatic six-metre-long desk. The pattern is then repeated throughout the scheme, for example the desk-front is laser-cut using the same pattern in blue-grey against a timber background with a grey laminate desktop and a pale blue laminaye base, lit along its entire length.
Four clusters of three pendant lights above – the E2 three-light brass tube pendant cluster in brushed antique brass – introduce subtle spindle shapes into the scheme for the first time. Fixed just above head height, these small clusters create an intimate and welcoming feel to reception.
Directly above the lounge seating – suspended through bespoke geometric fretwork rafts - three San Mateo contemporary chandeliers from Mullan Lighting create an eye-catching window display, while further architectural track lighting adds additional light above reception to highlight the wallpaper rear wall and again to light the central walkway. “As the eight-arm chandeliers feature exposed lamps, geometric pattern shadows are also cast on the pale mint-green ceiling from the rafts and Benjamin floor lamps by Frandsen are used to create a homely feel,” adds Yousef.
In the fixed seating area, a raised six-person desk is situated at the end of the corridor space at a right angle, semi-enclosed between dark-grey-painted structural columns. Feature lighting here is a series of eight Eglo Avoltri oak wooden spindle drop pendants, continuing the turned-timber theme.
Beyond the fixed seating area is the study lounge – this is a quieter, carpeted and more decorative area, featuring a variety of set-ups for study. Included in this space is a timber and steel-tubing window table and a row of banquette booths and tables, lit by Anglepoise wall lights, which give a nod to workshop lamps and the area’s heritage. Metal steel tubing is used to form a decorative structure above the booths, which continues along the main wall to the rear of the room, allowing for mirrors, clocks and artwork to be displayed. Ball wall lights from Frandsen in petroleum blue are also used to form part of the steel tubing wall, while also featuring in the tea-point area and games lounge.
Pendant lighting in the fixed seating areas comes in the form of a series of Coral pendants in an aqua finish by New Zealand-based David Trubridge and mint-green pendants from E2 Lighting – continuing the subtle colour palette that is taken through the scheme. Wrapping back towards reception is a lift lobby with dark walls and timber-effect flooring. Pendant lights over the entire corridor section are Anglepoise Giant pendants.
Commenting on the lighting scheme at Toybox, which was supplied by Enigma Lighting, Yousef tells darc: “The contrast of the ornate feature lighting against the more industrial architectural lighting fixtures helped reinforce the narrative of the scheme. The track lighting and spots were also used to draw attention to specific elements and key features of the space – for example, in the reception and lobby, spotlights are angled towards the ‘mailbox’ signage, highlighting the metallic detailing of the wayfinding, as well as creating reflections on the adjacent wall – evoking imagery of the glistening ‘jewelbox’.
“The lighting is fundamental to the overall concept of the design as it brings both industrial and decorative features to each space. The materiality and colours of the fittings all relate back to the key finishes used in the design, creating a continuity that runs through the scheme. Pockets of light also create a hospitality feel that brings a softness and warmth to the entire project. All the light fittings chosen add a contemporary twist to the original historical references that were used as inspiration.
“The initial client brief and narrative for the scheme were extremely strong and didn’t waiver,” continues Yousef. “This allowed the scheme to evolve naturally, while layers were added at each design stage, resulting in a coherent and rich design that utilises every detail to tie the concept and compelling story together. While there were not structural constraints, it was important that we use elements of the building to influence the placement and heights of the light fittings.
"For example, the external glazing transoms dictated the height of the rafts to create a more intimate lounge area opposite the reception – this allowed the large feature chandeliers to sit below the rafts and be seen fully from the outside. The pendants over reception were then set to a much lower height so they could also be seen externally, creating a playful and exciting view into the space.
“The powerful and evocative theme we were given from the outset was very beneficial and became a key driver for the whole design. Having this brief early on helped the entire design team to produce a clear narrative that can be seen from the architecture, to the branding and through to the interior design, resulting in a holistic design with a rich story and identity.”
Scandic Hotels, Norway
Designers Light Bureau and Koncept worked closely on two of Scandic's latest hotels - combining Nordic style with beautiful details inspired by each venue's surroundings.
Scandic is the largest hotel operator in the Nordics, with a network of around 280 hotels across six countries. Two of its most recent projects, Scandic Falkoner, which opened in in 2019 and Scandic Kødbyen – opened in 2018, feature interiors and lighting from the teams at Koncept and Light Bureau (formerly ÅF Lighting).
Following a two-year renovation, one of Copenhagen’s most iconic hotel and event venues reopened in the summer of 2019 under the name Scandic Falkoner. Following a two-year renovation, the hotel, located in the Frederiksberg theatre district, now has twice the accommodation capacity with 334 rooms appointed in classic Nordic style with beautiful details inspired by the entertainment world.
Centrally located, the hotel offers proximity to shopping, cafés, restaurants and green spaces. It also features a new restaurant and bar targeting city dwellers and visitors alike. Environmentally certified, the hotel also includes two event spaces – the largest with space for 3,000 people; twelve newly renovated and flexible meeting rooms; restaurants with seating for 350, a cocktail bar, café and gym.
Kødbyen is located in one of Copenhagen’s most creative and culinary districts and certainly suits its environment. With its low-rise buildings and distinctive look, the hotel blends into the rustic background of Kødbyen. Designed to embrace everything and everyone, it features a café, restaurant and bar, meeting and conference room, with the guest rooms featuring a cool Nordic décor, designed to make guests feel at home.
While located in the same city, both hotels have their own identity, something which informed the design brief in both spaces. At Kødbyen the initial lighting brief called for something warm and dramatic, with the general atmosphere creating a flirtatious salute to the traditional meat packing district where the hotel is located. Materials used throughout are warm, rustic and rough, using concrete as a continuous unifying element. Glossy tiles and brass mesh details were other elements that allude to the districts and previous butcher history. The materials were used as part of the lighting scheme, with the brass mesh lit to create a warm peripheral glitter, as were the tiles, while the concrete walls served as a soft backdrop. In the restaurant the key decorative features include back-lit meat panels, as well as a bespoke water container fixture – like the type you find in pastures.
When it came to choosing the light fixtures at Kødbyen, pricing was key due to the sheer volume of fixtures being used throughout the venue. The decorative elements are used to give tone while architectural light completes the composition. Thanks to careful consideration, the designers were able to leave room for decorative fixtures and use them in an intelligent way.
With Falkoner, the project started life as a simple refurbishment – the designers were asked to update fixtures in a small part of the venue, with products of the same dimensions as previous products used. However, it soon grew and, in the end, included lighting design and controls of the public areas, the two conference floors and hotel room corridors and taking three years to complete.
The main challenge for the designers at Light Bureau, was working with the ‘dark and intimate’ backstage interiors created by interior architects Koncept, while at the same time dealing with generous skylights and a wall-to-ceiling glass façade. The contrast in light intensity was a challenge, as was finding a physical place for mounting the general lighting in the atriums without obstructing the daylight.
The main lighting considerations at Falkoner were that it should be intimate and inviting – the designers worked consciously, using reflections and transparencies throughout, prioritising highlighting features such as tables or posters, to create attractive eye-catchers in an otherwise subdued setting. This created contrasts to the soft backdrop where they made use of the different materials in order to create soft sheer light levels to frame the décor.
In order to create a warm and intimate experience for the hotel guests and concert goers, the designers needed to limit any source of glare, and for this reason, they made frequent use of honeycomb louvres and well shielded fixtures. They also worked with golden reflectors in the main restaurant area to enforce the warmth from the light. Perspectives were created by establishing different light layers and for this purpose integrated lighting was also used – for example, at the backlit bar in the atrium restaurant.
One of the key general decorative fixtures was a custom-made horizontal suspension piece with visible LED filament lamps. As the general interiors were intimate and dark, finding a decorative lamp of decent size – but with a low light output that was flicker free during dimming – was difficult; the dimming curve of the fixtures was also difficult to predict. In the end, the total dimming span used was only between 63-61% light output; in reality this meant a considerable variation of light output but difficult to manage – this constraint was something the designers encountered in many places during the project as the LED lamps were used as a general decorative element.
Creating warm, glowing points in the restaurant, while lighting the sheer curtains next to them from track lights, the result is balanced and creates a general glowing sensation and the feeling that all of the light is coming from the filament lamps. This method is implemented throughout the entire restaurant and lobby area.
The remaining decorative lighting elements chosen by Koncept create highlights and focus points in the design, while the architectural lights are hidden and support the decoration. In the restaurant, the combination of the two create colour contrast between the glass lanterns suspended on arches over the tables and the otherwise warm velvety interiors.
Reflecting on the project, for the designers, Falkoner went through a great transformation – from a vast, cold and mineral universe to an intimate setting with many different rooms for guests to encounter.
Roman Klis' office, Germany
Ippolito Fleitz Group, Porsche Consulting and pfarré lighting design collaborated on the refurbishment of Roman Klis' offices in Herrenberg, Germany.
Interior design architects Ippolito Fleitz Group collaborated with Porsche Consulting and pfarré lighting design to complete the transformation project for global design agency Roman Klis' office in Herrenberg, Germany.
The project brought together the agency’s brand identity and insight on behavioural science, which brought a substantial contribution to boosting the productivity of the employee workforce.
When Ippolito’s team took the brief on, they fully immersed themselves into the science and culture of a working space, claiming that, “Smart solutions require a fundamental understanding of the organisational structure in question: Work worlds only fulfil their objective if they succeed in infusing the space with the spirit of the company.”
The success of Roman Klis as a designer is very apparent in his work ethos and commitment to ensuring his team has the best possible environment to work in. As described by the Ippolito team, “his mission is to breath soul into his brands. Klis understands the importance of a thinking space and an appreciative leadership style, particularly when it comes to creative endeavour. Yet, despite his friendly nature, a good entrepreneur is always concerned with strong performance: ‘Our claim is Creating Success. Though we live for impeccable, beautiful design, it must be based on a strategy that is on a straight path to success’. All of this should be rendered tangible in the new interior design.”
Katja Möbs, Project Director at pfarré lighting design, spoke about her team's involvement in the project with darc: “The interior architects, Ippolito Fleitz Group, asked us to assist them in the refurbishment of an existing design agency ion the outskirts of Stuttgart. The aim was to create a vibrant new work office for creative people, with the working title 'The Maldives of Design'. The initial brief for the lighting design was to support, strengthen and highlight the colourful interior concept, full of plants and fabrics. A crucial feature of the design were the huge planted task lighting elements over the work spaces.”
One of the challenges the teams faced was to completely transform the building without interfering with the existing structure. A lot of this was achieved with the decorative lighting features. “The aim of the lighting scheme was to underline the colourful, vivid and close-to-nature concept of the whole refurbishment,” explains Möbs. “Big pendant luminaires made of bamboo transport a touch of the Maldives, with other decorative luminaires cautiously interwoven within pendant plant containers. This was a new challenge for us, as there was a huge amount of plants partly integrated into the lighting elements.”
As part of the design scheme to promote a healthy and inspiring working environment, Ippolito’s team introduced Dr Freibichler, from Porsche Consultancy - working with the team’s scheme to integrate a success strategy called 'nudging'. As part of this project, Freibichler was responsible for a variety of insights that complement the space. This partnership formed a basis for a holistic interior concept that reconciles the human element with business objectives in a playful way. 'Nudging', as described by the Ippolito team, is an organisational development that employs findings from behavioural psychology in a subtle yet targeted way. Using minute, yet considered, interventions in daily processes, employees are guided effortlessly towards greater productivity – it works with human instincts rather than against them.
The design concept introduced a staggering 2,100 green houseplants into the workspace. “They engender a good mood, lower stress levels, boost creativity and enhance performance,” Ippolito’s team explains. “Moreover, they improve air quality and overall well-being, as well as diminishing noise levels.” As a result, the newly greened interior spaced was reported to have an increase in humidity from 18% to 44% and a decreased number of employee sick days by 50%.
Sustainability also played a key part in the renovation, so after completing a detailed survey of the existing fixtures at the beginning of the project, the team at pfarré established they could re-use some of the existing luminaires as LED profiles, fluorescent pendants and pendant LED-rings.
“The main lighting elements – the custom-made pendants over the spaces – are almost a hybrid between architectural and decorative lighting. The neat white surfaces and slick, round-shaped form, meant the luminaires served as strong decorative elements. At the bottom, powerful LED profiles with a microprismatic cover emit uniform, glare-reduced light for the computer work stations,” says Möbs. “A variety of artificial plants were placed on top of the luminaires, indirectly lit by a flexible LED strip, which meanders in-between the plant containers. The luminaires were built in three different sizes, making it possible to light two, four or six adjacent workplaces.”
Bow-shaped pendants by Estiluz hang among the plant pendants above meeting tables, adding a sculptural element to the space.
In addition to the lighting design, colour played an important role in creating the desired working environment. Such colour choices included neutral tones for working areas to promote concentration, pale pink was used for the walkways as a proven mood-booster and has also been shown to increase empathy among employees. Tropical wallpaper is juxtaposed with soft shapes and rounded tables in social areas. One of the 'nudge' insights, according to Ippolito, states that central Europeans only feel part of a group of up to 24 people; a statistic that was taken into account when designing each zone. Despite this, a lot more space for communication was created overall, which was an explicit request from the client’s employees, but also a requirement of a changing work culture in which information exchange and a sense of cohesion and belonging play an increasingly important role.
Furthermore, a different atmosphere was achieved by changing the ceiling landscape. As it wasn’t always possible for the teams to change the structural fabric of the building, it was possible to update the existing features, which is exactly what they did with the original grey metal ceiling panels. These were re-invigorated with a gradient of blue-coloured strips, which created a new feeling of spatial depth to the room. The blue tones were chosen for promoting creativity and calmness throughout. The gradual progression into white brought an additional openness and light to the space.
Working closely to choose certain colour pallets, pfarré lighting design had to ensure the lighting quality was to the highest standard in order to portray the correct colours chosen by Ippolito designers.
“As initially planned, the lighting elements chosen enhance the vivid colourful interior concept by highlighting the surfaces and the plants. To accentuate the coloured surfaces, all luminaires should emit a uniform light with very good colour rendering,” expands Möbs.
“To avoid competition between lighting and the interior, a small number of decorative luminaires were carefully placed. The bamboo fixtures underline the overall concept, and the seven large apartment 91 custom-made lanterns in coloured textiles in the staff restaurant, situated in a glass annex, makes the space visible from a distance. The pendant LED-lamps give additional light on the tables.”
The end result of the space directly portrays the positive mood that follows Roman Klis. It is not only a workspace that triggers an immediate buzz among clients and employees alike, but above all, it is a dynamic basis for effective, agile working. Ultimately, the performance of the employees was considerably enhanced.
Park Hyatt Hotel, China
The recently opened Park Hyatt Hotel in Shenzen, China, was seven years in the making for Yabu Pushelberg. The design team drew on the city's rich fishing history for their inspiration.
Sitting atop a 48-story skyscraper in the heart of the Futian central business district in Shenzhen, China, the new Park Hyatt hotel is designed to provide a luxurious oasis amidst the pulsating energy of this fast-growing city. Within walking distance of Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Centre and surrounded by corporate offices and luxury shopping, Park Hyatt Shenzhen is ideally located for business and leisure travellers alike. The hotel is located 3km from Futian Checkpoint, and has direct underground access to metro lines, the Futian High Speed Train station, Hong Kong SAR with all districts of Shenzhen accessible near the hotel.
Designed by New York architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF), the building resembles a dynamic glass and steel butterfly with its wings spread against the Shenzhen city skyline. The elegant and refined interiors of Park Hyatt Shenzhen are designed by George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg to feel like a home away from home. The hotel’s design celebrates the Park Hyatt brand’s heritage and creates a haven of tranquility, offering a botanical oasis in the sky blending nature and culture. The moment guests step into the hotel’s Chinese-style garden, they will find unparalleled enrichment and a quietly confident stay.
The hotel’s 195 spacious guest rooms and suites are designed to create an Asian-inspired sanctuary. Each guest room features floor-to-ceiling windows framing the spectacular sky-high views. In soothing shades of grey, taupe and ochre, the rooms also incorporate subtle contemporary Chinese detailing, ranging from the artwork to the lantern-style pendant lighting to the minibar resembling a modern Chinese cabinet.
Park Hyatt Shenzhen includes a unique collection of bars and restaurants to showcase its outstanding cuisine accompanied by unrivalled views of the Shenzhen skyline. Flanking an entire side of Level 33, Living Room is a residential-style venue streaming natural light, stunning views and a sense of intimate comfort and timeless elegance, where guests can congregate for afternoon tea or evening drinks.
Also on Level 33 is Garden Pavillion, specialising in classic and authentic Cantonese cuisine as well as Sichuan and Jiangnan specialities. Comprising a series of pavilions immersed in greenery, the décor creates an extraordinary setting akin to outdoor dining.
While on Level 47, The Glasshouse has a contemporary alfresco-dining feel with natural light flooding in from the glass ceiling and wraparound windows, and an abundance of outdoor-inspired whitewashed brick, decking and paving.
Moving up a level, The Attic serves as a penthouse bar that continues with a botanical theme and foliage around a large marble counter bar. Elsewhere in the hotel, guests can make use of the spa, a tranquil, elegant space with floor-to-ceiling brass detailing that emphasises the high ceilings of the space.
As long-time collaborators with the hotel brand, Yabu Pushelberg design studio looked to the project’s surroundings, its history, culture and sense of expression during their creative process, which helped the designers to understand the project and the people, objectives, goals and the role the hotel will play in its city.
The Yabu Pushelberg founders talk darc through the design process: “Shenzhen was historically known as a sleepy fishing village, it has however, since been through a rapid urbanisation, to the point where Shenzen is now considered a business innovation hub for Mainland China,” the design duo say. “The city’s recent shift in character captivated us, so we set out to create a design language throughout the hotel that would convey the separate identities, while also amalgamating the two, to form one being, one project.
“This approach allowed us to create a successful marriage of past and present. We fused history, culture, identity and the overarching sensibilities of Eastern Heritage into this hotel, which is why we see this as one of our strongest projects to have opened in Mainland China thus far.”
“Decorative lighting provided an additional voice with which to tell the story of Shenzhen and served as an integral medium to the project,” continues Pushelberg. “It was generally centred around reflecting on the days of the city’s past. One example of how we added this layer, throughout many of the hotel’s prominent public spaces, was by using lanterns inspired by fishing baskets originally used by town fishermen to attract those fish closest to the water’s surface.
“We intended for the hotel to feel full-circle, to touch on the transformation the city has made in recent decades. Decorative lighting was a mechanism to achieve this; it allowed us to add another layer of creativity to our process, making the story of the hotel feel more integrated, cohesive and intentional.”
“The large, raw, open spaces we started with were broken down into a sequence of smaller spaces to create intimacy and allure,” adds Yabu. “This sense of mystery was clearly enhanced by decorative lighting, which provided a cosiness through warmer colour temperatures. The architectural lighting - although far more subdued - not only filled in the ambient light, but the light levels and lumen outputs also changed from one space to the next and back again. It’s not too dissimilarly to imagining sounds or better yet, composing music with high notes and low notes, creating interesting rhythmic visuals and textures.”
In terms of challenges on this project, Pushelberg tells darc: “There were challenges in occupying and filling in large dramatic spatial voids in the building itself; for instance, the mini ballroom with its triangular high ceiling, but I love the theatrics experienced thanks to our use of light in the public spaces. They were achieved by addressing the unusually large volumes of places with effective lighting. Initially, these spaces were rather austere. We were set on addressing the challenge and creating a warmth and intimacy more commonly found in much smaller, more modest volume spaces.”
14 Hills, UK
Robert Angell Interior Design and Into Lighting collaborated on 14 Hills restaurant and bar to create a luxurious oasis that celebrates the daylight yet creates dark, warm and intimate spaces in the evening.
14 Hills is a restaurant, bar and deli situated in the heart of London’s Square Mile. An all-day dining destination that transitions throughout the day: from the daytime grab and go deli, to lunches in the restaurant, after-work cocktails in the bar, before the sun sets on a sophisticated dinner in the restaurant.
The restaurant’s name was inspired by the fact you can see as far as the hills, perched atop the 14th floor of 120 Fenchurch street. City skyline views include The Shard, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, and the Thames. To bring a sense of the hills being alive within the restaurant, interior design studio Robert Angell has created a lush garden style interior. The restaurant has a canopy of evergreen plants and seasonal climbers growing at its centre, with shrubs and several pergolas around the room too. Olive trees with long, organic branches help to enclose and zone the space, while collections of other botanicals feature heavily throughout the scheme to soften the interior and draw the scale down to a more personal level. The concept also looks at deconstructing natural forms to create unique yet simple artistic spaces.
The restaurant walls, for the most part, are glazed windows and therefore form a perfect environment for greenery. The interior designers wanted to tie in the Britishness that is so relevant to both the location and the client D&D. With nods to the English garden, the terrace and the greenhouse are prevalent in this design not just through the use of plants but also in the materials and textures used; elements of rattan and wicker are used in the furniture and throughout. Large overscale pergolas make the dining intimate and add warmth with natural timber finishes.
Light is extremely important in this project and is a big part of what gives the building its identity. Robert Angell studio celebrates light by looking at its effect falling through different materials such as glass, mirrors and metal and how light is refracted and warped dependant on the material it meets, as well as the rainbow of colours it produces.
A two-year project in the making, Robert Angell and Karoliina Laaksonen from Robert Angell Design International, worked alongside Into Lighting’s Darren Orrow, Anthony Stead and Rebecca Hines to create an opulent, stylish aesthetic with a warm and inviting atmosphere, conjuring the refined essence of a lush English garden. A relaxed, eclectic atmosphere for any occasion, Robert Angell studio has taken inspiration from the terraces, roof gardens and courtyards and gardens across the UK and created interlinking dining spaces that are welcoming and unique.
“We first became involved with the project in 2017 and worked closely with the client D&D on ideas for the restaurant, with the scheme evolving along the way,” Angell tells darc. “We knew we wanted to use the wisteria roof garden as inspiration and incorporate a garden into the scheme. This was developed into a series of indoor gardens capturing how we, as a country, brought amazing plants back to the UK and managed to cultivate them here. It’s a celebration of this coupled with an amazing ambience created by people in neighbouring gardens having fun in the summer in London. How we designed the lighting to capture this was crucial.“
Decorative lighting was very important for this project, as it is in all of our restaurant projects,” continues Laaksonen. “Not only did the lighting need to be functional but it was important to create the right kind of ambience with the fittings – whether it was the warm glowing pendants, beautifully decorated wall lights, column lights or table lamps, which draw the eye with colourful and interesting lightshades that contrast the green backdrop.”
Into Lighting was briefed to provide a theatrical and layered lighting scheme in order to complement the function of each space while creating intimacy. The illumination within the venue was key in highlighting the plush and refined finishes of the various materials used by Angell and his team, as well as enhancing the abundance of planting within the space. A series of bespoke decorative light fixtures from UK-based Illumination Lighting were designed to provide ambient illumination along with key focal points throughout. The control of the lighting was also a careful consideration to ensure smooth and low-level dimming within the various scenes throughout the venue’s opening hours; this was provided by a Mode Lighting Tiger dimming system.
The restaurant is accessed via lifts from the ground floor of the development. On exiting the lifts on the 14th floor there is a staircase that leads to the roof garden with the restaurant on the left and deli on the right. To enhance this area, planting is located in front of the restaurant entrance, illuminated via bespoke rechargeable spike mounted adjustable spotlights from Display Lighting.
The reception desk is the first element to greet the customer, this has been illuminated with a series of concealed linear LED fixtures from Enigma Lighting to provide subtle illumination to the front of the desk and provide a gentle glow to the ‘meet and greet’ staff. Carefully highlighted planting within the threshold is located to mask views to the restaurant beyond and give a taste of what’s to come.
A large, welcoming bar with swirls of burgundy and cream marble takes centre stage at 14 Hills with customers drawn to a bespoke suspended light dome with gold leaf lining and Jesmonite finish hanging above the bar. Taking the nature of deconstruction and location one step further, Robert Angell looked to the classic pinstripes and herringbones as a nod to the banking trade, which Fenchurch Street and the City is famous for. Elements of the pinstripe are seen in abstract forms throughout the venue, with punches of lime greens and tangerines apparent in the upholstery. Abstract art inspired by natural forms and materials have also been commissioned to add depth, interest and something totally unique to this space.
The large bespoke lighting piece above the bar is accompanied by a series of textured bespoke pendants also finished in Jesmonite, which sit perfectly above the glowing bottle steps in the centre of the bar. Concealed linear LED lighting gently washes the front of the bar with further concealed details within the bar top providing working light for the staff. Bespoke hard-wired tabled lamps situated on the bar top provide a supplementary layer of illumination and add a warmth to this area.
“As they are in the same space, it was important the restaurant and bar had a similar design language,” says Laaksonen. “Having said that, the bespoke decorative pieces create a real drama and focal point when entering the restaurant. The private dining room also has a large, custom-made pendant sitting over the long table – it’s different to the other spaces but still connected with the concept.”
Table illumination comes via discreet track-mounted adjustable spotlights from Enigma Lighting utilising Soraa LED sources (above the timber), while concealed linear LED lighting from Enigma Lighting features within the banquette seating planters to provide a subtle low-level glow and help the areas feel intimate and cosy.
The main dining space to the left of the bar comprises tables nestled under pergolas and between trees and planting. Bespoke pendants make use of a mix of Zico and Enigma Lighting LED filament lamps and are scattered throughout to provide a layer of ambient illumination and key focal points, while not detracting your eye from the stunning views across London. The tables are illuminated with narrow beam adjustable spotlights with a series of filters to warm the light and enhance the look of food offering on the plates. Honeycomb louvres help with glare control and a track lighting system from Powergear allows for flexibility when tables are moved into different configurations. As the day transitions into the evening the tables are adorned with bespoke LED rechargeable table lights from Neoz, with the warm 1800K LED light source and ivory fabric shade adding intimacy to the tables and diners.
The abundance of planting and trees throughout 14 Hills helps to create pockets of privacy and creates a feeling of the outdoors. Planting is illuminated via a series of Light Graphix spike mounted adjustable LED spotlights at low level with another layer of track spots providing lighting from above. A slightly cooler colour temperature was chosen for the planting to enhance the lush green colours of the foliage.
As you move further down the restaurant, an internally illuminated wine fridge delivers a point of focus while a series of internally illuminated suspended planters around the perimeter add a further level of illumination and draw the eye to the views beyond the windows.
The cosy private dining room mentioned earlier is situated in the far corner of the restaurant and accessed via a corridor past the kitchen. A series of bespoke pendants that again, use Zico filament LED lamps, lead customers down the corridor to the dining room beyond. Alongside the bespoke decorative feature lighting, this room is illuminated via concealed linear LED within the ceiling coffer with adjustable LED downlights focused onto the tabletop. Low level lighting to the planting and bespoke picture lights from TM Lighting for the artwork add additional layers of light while not detracting from the views through the glass on two sides of the room.
In the bathrooms, concealed linear LED lighting in the ceiling rafts provide a warm ambient glow while bespoke wall lights located between the mirrors provide functional illumination.
“The lighting created by Into is an absolutely vital part of the design,” says Laaksonen. “Lighting sets the mood, get it right and you create an incredible space that just ‘feels right’. We had some challenges on this project in terms of structural restraints – for example, we weren’t able to fix the column lights to the landlord’s columns, nor could we wire them through the cases, so we had to come up with a creative solution of decorative gold flex that hangs from the ceiling, this actually created a really nice detail enhancing the light fittings.
“We’ve also never worked with planting on this scale before. When we initially created the concept, our aim was to have a luscious English Garden and it was stressed that ‘more is more’ in this case. Every seat in the restaurant is full of interest with different details and different experiences – it envelopes you with its warmth.
“We are really happy with 14 Hills – everything and everyone worked towards the same goal and we have created and designed something that is fascinating and an experience to be proud of.”
By using warm, rich tones and materials that allow natural light to flow but glow at night Robert Angell and Into Lighting have created an environment that celebrates the daylight and as the evening comes the interior creates dark, warm and intimate spaces to dine and have fun. A dramatic, sophisticated and layered lighting scheme has been created utilising LED sources that provide a high quality of light with a warmth of colour temperature. Post dusk, the lighting scenes evolve to create a highly theatrical, yet intimate environment.
www.robertangelldesigninternational.com
James Bassant and Riley Sanders
The Capsule Collection from Astro Lighting is a trio of limited-edition designs that aim to transcend seasons and trends, by being functional yet beautiful. Focused on precision and restraint, products from the Capsule Collection are designed to stand out but also stand the test of time.
For the designers behind the lighting line - James Bassant and Riley Sanders – honesty and emotion are key elements to successful product design as they explain further to darc: “You have to ask: ‘how does it make you feel?’,” says Bassant. “The answer to this is completely different for each individual… I have no interest in creating for the sake of it but designing a light that I feel has purity of form, proportion and detail brings me joy.”
“Honesty, both in the form, materials and processes used to make the product is key,” adds Sanders. “The 'io' from the Capsule Collection is a great example where the material and process used to make the extruded fluted glass, is the hero of the product and every additional component has been designed to accompany the glass seamlessly.”
Founded in 1997, John Fearon and James Bassant came together to create Astro Lighting with a shared commitment to British lighting design and a passion for quality and precision. Astro's creative ethos has remained consistent throughout – that good design demands simplicity. It all began in the basement of a house in Sevenoaks. Fearon and Bassant shared a passion for British lighting design, even if it meant descending a ladder to get to work!
“Design floated to the top of my thoughts as a career choice during my A levels, I basically lost interest in my other subjects which I subsequently flunked, apart from 3D design, which I then wanted to pursue at degree level,” says Bassant. “I went on to attend Winchester Art School where I did an Arts Foundation course, then furniture and product design at the highly regarded Kingston University; I was very lucky to find a job in design straight after leaving.
“Fortunately, I feel like designing lights is one of my hobbies as well as career; I love nothing more than sitting in the garden with a glass of wine having a doodle.”
For Riley - who has been part of the Astro team for the past three years as Senior Designer – having grown up in New Zealand, where there is a strong design community, has had a major influence on his career choice. “It has a very DIY, hands on approach to design, which encourages experimentation with material and processes, producing some amazing innovative works, from some very talented people,” he tells darc. “It seems, through necessity, everybody has their own niche in New Zealand – helping to make it a unique, eclectic design community.
“When I was starting out, I was really influenced by the local designers – a great example is the Resident design collective, which consists of an impressive list of local talent… After completing my degree in Industrial Design, I moved to the UK in search of design (and life) experience and never looked back!
“I started a small label under which I designed, marketed and sold a small range of products, one of which was a flat-pack LED table light made primarily from oak dowel. The designs were produced as a small batch run limited to 50 units per item and was a priceless exercise in fully understanding the entire process of product design and manufacture from start to finish. It was my first experience of that amazing feeling when people buy and appreciate you work. It gave me clarity that I was on the right track with a career in product design.”
When asked about early influences, Bassant reflects on the “slightly intangible influences that matter and impact design”, the detail of a tap, a door handle, half glimpsed architectural motifs, the compound curves of a bottle, a vase… “It is about being open to visual stimuli and enjoying the excitement of using those in a light,” he says. “Designers I admire include Jasper Morrison’s super normal, Dieter Ram’s design purity, Castiglioni’s genius lights and Terence Conran’s articulation of a contemporary British design.
“I love the specific challenge of designing lights,” Bassant continues. “They are essentially a piece of furniture to enhance and add to a design scheme, but they are being specified for a single reason – to illuminate a space.”
With that in mind, for the Capsule Collection, the design process was completely unique to each product – from the materials and production processes used, through to the individual challenges that had to be overcome. “Mechanical machines have always fascinated me,” says Bassant. “Gears, cogs, chains and their interactions in analogue mechanical devices. Mechanical perfection seems crystalised in an orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system and at its centre, my other design obsession light, the sun.
“My love of lights and fascination with orreries drove me to design the orb, an orb of light at its centre about which a planet mirror orbits. For years I kept coming back to and refining the design to capture the essence of an orrery into a functional light like the orb.”
The inspiration for the io fixture came from the fluted detailing of the ancient Greek pillars, as Sanders explains further: “We used the unique production process of gravity-fed glass extrusion for the first time, which involved taking a circular 2D design and extruding the glass downwards, to create a perfectly ribbed cylindrical form. We could then discreetly hide the luminaire’s components within the glass, allowing it to be the hero of the product.
“While the concept for the Halftone began as a basic pencil to paper sketch – focusing on the simple form of a circle. I then started to look at how an engaging, etched pattern could be used to bring translucent, clear acrylic to life.
“The subtle, gradient-like etched pattern we created starts from the edge of the disc and increases with intensity, creating a vivid ring of light. The transparency of the acrylic allows the wall to still be visible, both when the light is switched on and off. Designed in two sizes and depths, Halftone can be layered to produce more intense and striking illumination that adds interest to the surrounding architecture.”
As with all designs, there were of course, a number of challenges the design duo had to overcome along the way. First and foremost, the engineering of each product had to be of the highest standard and needed to operate effortlessly. “At the heart of simplicity of form, often lies a complicated engineering solution,” says Bassant. “This was true with orb, the delicate moving parts had to be robust, but with a sense of lightness that has been wonderfully executed by our in-house engineering team.”
For the Halftone, the particular challenge came down to how the design team could create an engaging piece when illuminated, but which disappears when turned off. “Once the idea of using etched acrylic had been proven, designing the Halftone became as much a graphic design exercise as it was an engineering one,” says Sanders. “Balancing the aesthetic of the graphic pattern while maximising the lumen output.”
“Much of Astro’s ethos and success has been in designing lights that sit quietly but confidently in a scheme,” says Bassant. “Casting light where needed but expressing great quality and detail when attention falls on them. There are different requirements for many types of lighting – a bold, statement light can be the star of a space and define it completely. On the other hand, lighting designers create beautifully lit spaces almost without any products being seen.”
“Lighting must create an atmosphere appropriate for the environment,” adds Sanders. “However, decorative lighting products need to do a little more. As well as providing the right amount of light to a space, a decorative luminaire needs to be a beautiful object, an object of desire and something a customer would be proud to display in their home. They need to have an element of sculpture about them.”
“I strive to design lights with a purity of idea that imbues a timeless quality,” adds Bassant. “Astro doesn’t want to fill the world up with more and more lights just to sell more… we want a light that performs well and looks great now and for many years to come.”
And thanks to advances in technology, performance is something Astro customers can be sure of, as Bassant outlines: “In the sphere of technology, the internet of things and in particular, connectivity in lighting is a really exciting area that we are actively developing into our design process at Astro. Trends in lighting seem to proliferate like every area of design, whether that is new styles of decoration or increasingly becoming more minimal. Keeping a clear idea of the visual elements that constitute an Astro product and designing for longevity must be one of our core principles.”
Technology has played a massive role in the direction of product design, especially in lighting with LED technology constantly improving in leaps and bounds. However, for Sanders, with the pace in which it moves and changes, it often makes a product obsolete before they’ve really had a chance to shine. “I think we’ll see a shift,” he says, “especially in decorative lighting, back to replaceable light sources. It dramatically increases the lifespan of the product, as the customer can replace the light source when it fails and with all the great new LED lamps out there, it just makes sense. It also challenges us as designers to focus less on following trends and more on creating timeless pieces that last longer than the life of the light source.”
Astro Lighting’s Capsule Collection presents products with a strong self-identity but with a timeless restraint to suit the specification market; remaining true to Astro’s design ethos of enhancing a space without screaming loudly to do it. “We see it not as a change of direction, but further broadening the breadth of our product range for designers,” concludes Bassant. “I am always excited by the new. Taking the Astro brand further into more diverse areas of lighting and designing, with a real sense of purpose excites me. The main purpose of any luminaire is to produce light; how the object looks and functions within a given space is the enjoyable challenge of designing lights.”
