zieta
Since so much of lighting is still based on plain, old sheet metal, I always keep my eye open for innovative uses. Oskar Zieta is a Polish designer, in conjunction with the CAAD institute in Zurich, who is working on … Continue reading zieta
Author: Brad Koerner
Creative Director and Product Manager
360volt
360volt at Prinsengracht 397, in the “canal belt” neighborhood of Amsterdam, has a nice collection of vintage industrial fixtures, rewired with standard E-26 sockets and re-purposed for contemporary decorative use. Everything from classical enameled pendants, explosion proof wire guard, high bays, and … Continue reading 360volt
shanghai museum of glass
Via Design Bureau and Designboom, the Shanghai Museum of Glass has a gorgeous glass facade with glass-related words slowly glowing brightly and receding in a dark background. According to Designboom: “a solid black mass heads a bleak existing structure, marking … Continue reading shanghai museum of glass
lighting love letter from Mad Men
“Lovely Megan, I went to buy a light bulb. When I get back, I’ll see you better. Love, Don” Thanks to last night’s episode of Mad Men, all of us lighting nerds finally know how to compose a love letter that … Continue reading lighting love letter from Mad Men
l+b: OSRAM
OSRAM had an impressive booth this year. Maybe Siemens is really crackin’ the whip for OSRAM’s impending public offering, but their booth really had an energy and some sort of raison d’etre that seemed lacking in their booth at Light + … Continue reading l+b: OSRAM
control system disconnect
There is clearly a huge disparity in what control system developers consider valuable — proprietary ownership of technology — versus what specifiers and owners consider valuable — open spec, interoperability, and selecting industry-best components as they please. This is especially acute within the North American architectural lighting industry, but certainly it is not exclusive to that geography. For example, if I wanted to buy an excellent Crestron touch panel, a Lutron wall station with custom finish, and a dimming panel from Lightolier, then I am out of luck. Each of these common manufacturers wants to “control” the whole purchase order and … Continue reading control system disconnect
Paola Antonelli from Milan
From Milan 2012, Dezeen presented an intriguing interview with Paola Antonelli, MoMA curator for design. “…any time you see a new technology, there is a moment of drunkenness…you see many delightful monsters; but then there is progressively a stratification of quality; and … Continue reading Paola Antonelli from Milan
l+b: Aqua Creations
So many decorative lines look badly dated a few years after launch. Thankfully, Aqua Creations continues to be a stand-out decorative line, a very contemporary collection that balances between the continued need to be creative while remaining timeless. Also see … Continue reading l+b: Aqua Creations
anthony mccall projection sculptures
Projectors through fog. ’nuff said. via DesignBoom Continue reading anthony mccall projection sculptures
l+b: Vibia
Spanish supplier Vibia had its usual assortment of very stylish contemporary decorative products. Yet one thing really stood out: The increasing number of products that are intended as user-customized clusters of fixtures. Vibia has embraced the mass customized, almost biomimetic … Continue reading l+b: Vibia
l+b: Ribag
Swiss company Ribag had a pleasant little booth, with some very elegant, nicely detailed LED linear lighting fixtures. Several of their products seem like interesting evolution’s of old Linestra style fixtures (linear incandescent), which is quite a nice complement. The wall mount … Continue reading l+b: Ribag
l+b: Occhio
“Occhio? Who the heck is Occhio and why is their booth so fabulous?” is honestly the second thought I had after seeing their booth. First thought? “Nice!…Animated waterfall!!!” According to Occhio’s website: “Occhio GmbH is one of the fastest growing … Continue reading l+b: Occhio
thanks MIT, for fixing Apple’s glaring problem
Apple likes shiny toys. They’ve figured out that hundreds of millions of people also like shiny toys. In the process, Apple single-handedly unleashed glossy screens back onto a world that had effectively rid ourselves of such glare bombs about a decade ago, via high performance anti-glare coatings on LCD screens. Such wonderful coatings freed lighting design for offices to once again include beautiful luminous elements and natural daylight, restoring a wonderful feeling of brightness that had been systemically eliminated to prevent veiling glare on older style CRTs. So now everyone “happily” lives with seeing their own reflection brighter then the … Continue reading thanks MIT, for fixing Apple’s glaring problem
l+b: Tridonic
Tridonic, the components division of Zumtobel, launched a couple notable products at Light + Building. They showed a unique LED linear module for direct/indirect lighting. Looks like an edge-lit glass arrangement with the LEDs running along the perimeter. They also … Continue reading l+b: Tridonic
l+b: ProLicht
UPDATE: Lars Fischer from the Danish+American design firm Arting contacted me. He writes: “Although the award put a big smile on my face it is not a laminate materiale but a cheap wood chip/concrete sheet material from AMROC.” Thanks Lars for … Continue reading l+b: ProLicht
l+b: Senses
While Senses caught my eye with an intriguing interactive control, they ultimately seduced me via their gorgeous Swiss attention to detail in their fixture designs. Senses has a small product lineup consisting of a cube, cylinder, bowl and a linear pendant. They … Continue reading l+b: Senses
l+b: Less’n’More
What can I say? I’m a fool completely in love with braided-wrapped lamp cord. Small decorative German firm less’n’more has some nice looking, thick-diameter wrapped flexible armatures and cords on their fixtures. Continue reading l+b: Less’n’More
lux magazine interview with Rogier van der Heide
A short interview with Rogier by Lux Magazine. After working for him for a half year, I can truthfully say he lives by his words. No meaningless corporate babble from Rogier; he deeply believes in the things he says and that he is attempting within Philips. He has an astonishingly accurate read on customer service and ways to innovative the customer experience. Repost below: Chief design officer, Philips Lighting Joining Philips is an amazing opportunity It started over a coffee in Moscow. I was setting up an Arup office in Russia and I met Rudy and then later at some point he asked … Continue reading lux magazine interview with Rogier van der Heide
l+b: Marset
Marset Illuminacion from Badalona Spain wins my personal prize for “Sexiest Use of Cheap Particle Board EVER“. In fact, when I first saw their booth from a short distance, it looked like some elegant, minimalist Tadao Ando design, albeit with … Continue reading l+b: Marset
8 core beliefs of extraordinary bosses
From Inc., the following is a terrific article by Geoffrey James that actually goes far beyond just how “bosses” should perform, and into general principles on why some companies succeed in creating great places to work and others slowly choke the life out of their people. A few years back, I interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world in order to discover their management secrets. I learned that the “best of the best” tend to share the following eight core beliefs. 1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield. Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments … Continue reading 8 core beliefs of extraordinary bosses
Lucept 