In 2012, incandescent light bulbs will be prohibited and, in spite of attempts by the Italian government to limit the extent of European legislation governing energy consuming products, everything will change.
In the meantime, news of the future veto on these products has prompted the lighting design sector to take action, catalysing innovation in terms of both production methods and product types to define new ways of consuming energy based on sustainable technology.
This year’s edition of Euroluce – the sector’s major expo, held every two years in Milan – was a showcase of uses of LED technology which, due to the advantages it offers in terms of both energy consumption and light production, is now gaining a firm foothold in domestic applications.
The technology has been used to interesting effect in products by Catellani&Smith, with the miniaturised dimensions of the light source giving rise to visually stunning results. Lights such as Magic – from the Eco-Logic light series by Enzo Catellani – reduce the dimensions of the lamp itself to a minimum and “reinvent light” with thin metal tubes on metal mountings that project light through tiny lenses.
Similarly, Skin, designed for Flos by the Briton Paul Cocksedge, reinterprets the formal concept of the pendant lamp in a metaphor of two pages of a book that peel apart at one corner to reveal an ultraflat LED light source.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 178
