124 LIGHT + TECH
IN THE NASCENT years of the independent lighting design profession, there was a perennial discussion, to put it mildly, over the wisdom of manufacturers/suppliers designing lighting schemes. The obvious argument from the lighting designer’s point of view was that the result would be a scheme that relied solely on the products supplied by the manufacturer concerned and would therefore be constrained and compromised. Although the argument is still pertinent, the dust has largely settled on that one. The burgeoning of the independent lighting profession, and the more or less universal recognition of the need for independent lighting expertise, has attenuated the sense of competitiveness. There is also a pragmatic acceptance that many projects, for one reason or another, not least budget, are unlikely to see the involvement of a lighting designer anyway. It can also depend on the nature and scale of the scheme. If the company has the range of luminaires to fit all of the bills, often the case on a smaller decorative project, then it may be practical to simplify the specification with a single, well- recognised supplier who can also invest a scheme with a particular aesthetic flavour. Design-orientated companies such as Catellani & Smith, for example, have such a diverse range of luminaires that it doesn’t appear to be a one-stop shop affair. And one of the virtues of Spanish luminaire creator Enzo Catellani – the
‘& Smith’ is his little joke – is that he has always managed to combine creative flair with a true understanding of light dissemination. His luminaires – he prefers the term ‘lighting objects’ – are striking, statement pieces and as sculptural as they are effective in shaping, controlling and creating beguiling light effects. Catellani begins with an idea, an inspiration, and a prototype, he says, and then tests and experiments until he achieves the desired result. ‘I need to feel the materials, see how they interact and play with light,’ he once said in an interview with Lighting magazine. ‘My laboratory is a workshop where I keep materials, components and objects of very different kinds. The idea must take shape and become a lighting object. It must be functional, but also something more. It must be an object that elicits sensations, unexpected effects – a lamp that is able to give character to a room when it is off as well as on.’
His creations are ideal for the quirky boutique hotel, for instance, or as the following two schemes demonstrate, the upscale restaurant. Their visual appearance and atmospheric effects combine to create a memorable personality and sense of place, albeit a different and differentiated one according to the individual brand and interior design. Through customisation, adaption and a whole range of riffs on a basic concept, the result is always idiosyncratic.
LEGAMI SUSHI & MORE, BERGAMO
The Legami Sushi & More restaurant, in the Città Bassa or Lower Town in Bergamo, offers a blend of fusion cuisine and sushi. The interior design is lighter, smoother and less textured than Seta Meat Lab. The reception area features another PostKrisi luminaire, the T 61 table version with a white spherical fibreglass diffuser, customised on the base with the laser-marked Legami Sushi & More logo. Moving into the bar, the theme is picked up again, this time with two PostKrisi CW 70 wall lamps coated with gold leaf. The COB 15W LED inside the fibreglass hemisphere creates a circle of light with a jagged outline on the light and dark wood walls. The same luminaire also
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