Synergy
Light can have an astonishing effect and not just visually. It can become a multi-sensorial experience, involving all five senses and stimulating a sixth sense – joy and playfulness. Preciosa’s the Carousel of Lights pretty much stole the show here, with its 800 spheres following the movements of the visitors via AI sensors. Absolutely stunning!
Above: Carousel of Light by Preciosa
Nature
“During the day, a window is a beautiful lamp” – Gae Aulenti
We also found lights imitating nature. Handmade birds flying over a piano at Serip, while feathery, hand blown pieces shaped as feathers, pay tribute to the freedom of birds at Sans Souci. Foscarini’s special lamps bring elements from the atmosphere into your home – the Sun Light of Love by Tord Boontje, Nuée by Marc Sadler, a cloud shaped lamp made by overlapping tri-dimensional technical fabric, and Beep and Palomar by Palomba Serafini, that evoke lunar semantics.
Above: Sans Souci, Foscarini and Serip
Possibilities
When you reach for the sky, the possibilities are infinite. At the CoeLux stand, the ceiling featured a proper blue sky with a sun that followed our movements. Their complex optical system can reproduce natural light, therefore the realism of light emanating from the sky, sun and moon via special skylights and windows. Wearing sunnies in the office could possibly be the next big trend!
Above: Vibia and Coelux’s blue sky experience
Customised
As lighting becomes increasingly interactive, it is now possible to study tailored and customer-focused solutions. Global lighting giants, Artemide, collaborated with our very own Dubai designer, Pallavi Dean, to launch their latest collection, Interweave, which is a long, flowing LED strip that weaves across the room draped around a series of metal pillars suspended from the ceiling. This customisable product comes as a kit of parts rather than a fixed installation, allowing people to create their own lighting scenario and become authors of their space, not just passive users.
The Interweave collection celebrates globalisation and, in particular, the intersection of people and cultures. “We live in a world where many people are building walls, fighting trade wars, and rolling back globalisation which, to me, is a real shame,” says Dean. “Great art and great design often happen when different worlds meet. Interweave is a metaphor for this.”
Dean’s inspiration for Interweave focused on the connections and intersections between different materials, colours, textures, light and shade, culminating in a playful piece that stimulates multiple senses. One of the pillars in the installation, for example, is a speaker playing music, while another sprays perfume and has a presence sensor. All of these can be controlled with Artemide’s app or Amazon’s Alexa, and also by conventional wall mounted switches.
Top: Interweave, a collaboration between Artemide and Dubai-based designer, Pallavi Dean; Above: Artemide at Euroluce 2019
Past, present and future
At S. Project (the new B2B exhibition space at Salone del Mobile), we visited the massive Design Holding stand (probably the largest stand ever built at the fair), featuring amazing interactive walls that tell the story of the three furniture and lighting companies – B&B Italia, Flos and Louis Poulsen. Along with many other prestigious collaborations, Flos re-edited a cult of the Sixties, Chiara by Mario Bellini, and presented the first edition of the Bulbo lamps by Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni. Louis Poulsen introduced the new OE Quasi light designed by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson, while at B&B Italia, the iconic series ‘Up’ by Gaetano Pesce celebrated its 50th anniversary. The same armchair in gigantic proportions was exhibited at the Piazza Duomo during Milan Design Week.
Above: Flos and B&B Italia; Below: Louis Poulsen
