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Lighting ideas to brighten any space

Words:
Claire Leavey

Lighting can transform almost anything, from Seoul’s Gyengbokgung Palace staff to inner-city school students, bus stations to living rooms.

HIMACS Opal Lucent acrylic stone
LX Hausys

The brief went out for something Googie Withers. But we even got one pitch in for a 1940s British film star and a bit of a horse! Still confused about that. Bloody students. 

But this? This is quite perfect. Those perimeter luminaires are 390 preformed panels of ‘Opal’ Lucent Hi-Macs cladding, with signwriting milled in. Elegant, tough as anything, easy to work with – and glows so beautifully. Rather like 1940s British film stars, actually. And after all, being a bus station is pretty much like living through the Blitz, when it comes down to it.
himacs.eu

Quad recessed linear profile lighting
Optelma

Troubled by decreasing truancies in local schools, the Learning Trust engaged LightPlanet to signpost routes to external doors in the hope of encouraging pupils to sack off Trig, Latin, Birching and Lacrosse. Instead, the Osram LEDs installed in the largely bespoke Quad profile fittings have only encouraged pupils to arrive early for lessons. The mustachioed bruisers now loiter in bright corridors reading improving novels, before sliding onto their benches and dipping their pens. With 50,000-hour lamp life and a five-year warranty, a return to traditional educational habits does not seem imminent.
optelma.com/

Porta Lighting by estudi{H}ac 
Aromas del Campo

‘Hello Mrs Stylemaven, I’m Merlin Sheldrake. Thanks so much for inviting me. I have to say this is a fungus quite unlike any I’ve seen before, even in the forests of Panama.

‘I’ve examined the exquisite fruiting body, and I was quite amazed to find that not only is it intermittently bioluminescent, but also it’s like glass! The mycelium seems to sprout very neatly through three small pins in the wall, so what I propose is that I use my trowel to clear the area around the spot, and see where it… AAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!’
estudihac.com/

Tesis ground-recessed luminaires
Erco

Greetings, oekuk-saram! And kneel, if you value your lives! For I am the spirit of great Taejo, last King of the Joseon and builder of this vast (and beautifully illuminated) Gyeongbokgung Palace!

Oh, alright. I’m not the Emperor’s ghost. I’m the palace sparkie, and even after 50,000 hours of operation, 90% of the LEDs in these square 3000k luminaires are still at 90% strength – and the failure rate is less than 0.1 %. I got this costume round the corner ‘cos I’M BORED.
erco.com/en/

 

 

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