November 29, 2011

Italian architects, Dante Donegani and Giovanni Lauda, innovate with the adjustable String Lamp.

Architects Dante Donegani and Giovanni Lauda from the D & L studio in Italy have released their most recent minimalist creation to highlight the trend towards simplicity in modern architecture. Donegani and Lauda’s String Lamp was designed for Italian manufacturer Rotaliana for their latest collection of ‘Enlightenments.’ Rotaliana dictated that their ‘Enlightenments’ were not just compositions for the ‘elite’ but rather ‘exceptional’ products directed to a broad and international public.

With this in mind, Donegani and Lauda sought to create a lamp that was both flexible and stylish. The result is the creation of the LED String series, which offers an adjustable and dynamic lighting structure.

The String Lamp is unified by a thin metal section that bends and rotates in all directions. The two arms structure of the lamp is a double-T section made from extruded aluminium. The movement is balanced by an in-section flowing elastic chord which is covered by a synthetic coloured textile.

The avant-garde nature of Rotaliana encourages designers to use new light sources and introduce innovative aesthetics and functions. Their 2011 collection of ‘enlightenments’ is composed by different lamps, all characterised by the use of LED lighting. The use of LEDs grants luminous brightness and energy efficiency with only a 7.2W consumption. String combines LED technology, freedom of movement and modern design, making it suitable for both traditional and contemporary décor.

Donegani and Lauda feature alongside some of the world’s most award-winning designers such as Toyo Ito and Kengo Kuma in Rotaliana’s 2011 ‘Enlightenment’ range. The sleek essence and flexible body of the String lamp makes it one of the most timeless and multifunctional pieces within the collection.

For more information on String by Rotaliana please contact us.

August 12, 2011

Italian architects, Paola Traversa and Eugenio Gargiono, unveil sparkling minimalism with the LED Panama Lamp.

Architects Paola Traversa and Eugenio Gargioni from Euga Design in Italy have released the latest minimalist creation to highlight the trend towards fusing utilitarian architecture and lighting design. Designed for Italian manufacturer Omikron Design, the young design duo embraced Omikron’s commitment to producing thoughtful industrial design with high-performance lighting technology. The result is the birth of the luminous LED Panama series, which offers a strikingly thin and non-invasive lampshade that appears to rest on a slender aluminium stem.

Entitled Panama, the lamp’s slender body terminates at the centre of the cylindrical diffuser. It’s alien-like appearance is one that gently disperses light from a strip of diffused Light Emitting Diodes (LED) beneath the smooth lampshade, offering 50,000 hours of reading light.

The simplicity of Euga Design’s industrial designs have been greatly admired in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The Panama Series was presented in Omikron Design’s 2011 Collection at the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair as well as the DMY Berlin Festival, and lays testimony to Omikron’s preference for pragmatism, rigour and restrain from decorative excess.

“We are optimistic about it!” says Traversa and Gargioni in describing the public’s response to the Panama Lamp. “In particular, the Panama Lamp was a success with regards to sales. We are happy because we’ve spent one year and a half working together with the manufacturer to develop the product.” The Panama, they say, was inspired by the popularity of the Flint Lamp that they created for Martinelli Luce, another minimalist LED reading lamp.

The work of Euga Design joins the production of many of Europe’s most recognised designers who have contributed to the Omikron Design collection, including Jonathan Maltz, Andrea Branzi, Roberto Menghi, Piero Castiglioni, Carlo Forcolini, Nanni Holen and Vico Magistretti, who designed the first lamp in 1946. Underpinned by Omikron Design’s ethos of producing timeless objects that enhance illuminated spaces, the new Panama Series can be found at Mondo Luce in October 2011.

July 29, 2011

Tokyo architect, Kengo Kuma, conjures a new sense of space using walls of light.

Award-winning Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma, brings new meaning to our sense of space, redefining and re-sculpting interior environments through the clever use of light. A writer, architect and lighting designer, Kuma has developed a series of ‘moving’ tubular elements which, grouped together in a linear fashion, forms a flexible LED light curtain or wall of light.

Entitled Furin (Japanese for ‘Wind Bell’), the aluminium tubes are connected to the ceiling in a linear group of nine. A LED source runs through the coloured aluminium tubes, which are installed along an electrical binary system. Light is gently dispersed from the moving tubes onto the floor or table, creating a ground-line lighting effect which appears as a wall of light.

Kuma’s architectural work often plays with the user’s sense of space, utilising concepts of filtering and light to organise interior environments. With his background of knowledge and practice, Kuma posed the ideal person to work on Rotaliana’s Furin project. The Furin was presented in Rotaliana’s 2011 Collection at the Milan Furniture Fair, and lays testimony to Rotaliana’s creative direction in using LED technology to engineer convention-free shapes and proportions.

“I want to erase architecture,” says Kuma in describing the concept behind the Furin. “That’s what I’ve always wanted to do and it’s unlikely I’ll ever change my mind.” The Furin, he says, was inspired by blurring the distinction between structural and non-structural elements and envisioning a soft curtain of light that would be flexible and adaptable to different spaces.

The recent winner of the V&A at the Dundee Competition in Scotland, Kuma is renowned for defying conventions. His work is underpinned by a refined simplicity which is evident throughout his major projects, including the Great Bamboo Wall House of Beijing, Kyoto Kokusai Hotel, Tiffany & Co Ginza and Sanlitun SOHO.

July 14, 2011

The latest example of how LED lighting can generate a real ‘WOW’ factor can be found in Sydney’s Henry Bucks store in Mosman. The stunning installation includes Mondo Luce’s LED lighting strips and LED downlights combined with the latest low wattage and high output metal halide downlights, creating an amazing gentle yet bright lighting effect on the store to showcase elegant collections from Hugo Boss, Zegna Sport and others at Henry Bucks.

With growing environmental pressures, retailers need to be seen to be green. Not only is LED lighting a very simple and cost-effective way to reduce your carbon footprint, but the cost for energy-saving LED lighting products is estimated at five times more than that of traditional products.

Reducing energy consumption in the competitive retail environment is simple and contributes significantly to the profitability of a retail operation. Consider this when you next flick on a light switch: about one fifth of the world’s electricity is used for lighting, and most of it is squandered. The ubiquitous incandescent light bulbs, invented more than a century ago, are horribly inefficient. Only about 5 to 10% of the energy they consume is used to produce light, while the rest is burned off as useless heat.

Stores are all moving towards being lit in LED. Choosing to fit out a space in LED is smart, efficient and exciting, with little or no ongoing maintenance costs. Stores can now save money as there is no longer the need to replace light bulbs every 6 months - LED lights survive an estimated average of 20 years.

If you would like to enquire about our LED products, please contact us for a consultation.