i+D - May/June 2021 - 46

Material
Matters
Lighting
Lighting the Outdoors
With the continued emphasis homeowners are placing on
creating outdoor spaces that are just as well-appointed as
their living rooms, the need for outdoor lighting options has
grown, and product designers continue to push the envelope
in their offerings. " We're working on more pendants and
larger, statement wall sconces, " says Bailey. " People are
really responding to those scaled-up pieces. "
Style isn't the only element that factors into outdoor lighting.
For example, Currey & Company's outdoor lighting products are
UL certified and undergo rigorous testing to ensure that fixtures
will withstand extreme weather conditions, temperature
fluctuations, and other stressors.
Louis Poulsen, on the other hand, is gravitating to smallerscaled
pieces for outdoor. " We're seeing a trend in which,
instead of buying big bollards, you might have smaller lights
illuminating the path and defining the garden, " says Faber.
" It's smaller, closer to the ground, and ambient. "
FLOS has been playing with the idea of portability: batterypowered
light fixtures that can be brought to the outdoor
dinner table. Best of all, " LEDs do not have UV rays that
attract bugs, " says Schiffers. With FLOS' outdoor fixtures,
the company aims for a sculptural aesthetic and feel that
looks just as great during the day as at night. Case in point
is Arco, a classic design crafted of marble. And In Vitro by
Philippe Starck is a modern interpretation of a glowing lantern
that can be suspended from the ceiling, mounted on a wall,
or is available in a portable version.
The In Vitro Bollard from FLOS is a dramatic
reinterpretation of a glowing lantern and comes
in a portable version as well as a fixture.
(Image: Courtesy of Tommaso Sartori for FLOS)
The Future of Lighting
Now that energy efficiency is assumed in lighting, technological
advances have moved to other issues at stake. One topic that is
gaining momentum is light pollution. Bailey points out that the
West Coast has a night-sky compliance movement. The future
might see lighting designers ensuring that outdoor fixtures will
not contribute to overall light pollution.
Couvrette says that advances in LED technology will lead to
more creative applications. Lighting temperature in particular
may increasingly be something that homeowners can custom
adjust according to their preferences. For instance, if a certain
Kelvin range is more flattering to your skin tone or is similar
to the type of lighting you grew up with, it will be possible to
customize lighting throughout your home to your specifications.
Another adaptation that one day may be commonplace is a light
that has a whiter hue when the brightness is turned up and a
warmer cast when it's dimmed. Schiffers of FLOS explains that
WELL building standards reveal the circadian patterns of warm
and cool light throughout the day have a distinct effect on our
wellbeing, and that's likely to become a common consideration
in the home light systems and light fixtures of tomorrow.
Just as the lighting of today has come such a long way from
Edison's original bulb, there's no doubt that tomorrow will bring
still more developments in both style and technology that will
open designers up to even more creativity through the power
of light.
46
i+D - May/June 2021
i+D - May/June 2021

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