Contract - January/February 2015 - 45

PHOTOGRAPHY: JENS KIRCHNER (OPPOSITE, BOTTOM); PAUL OTT (ALL OTHERS)

A 2012 trade show exhibition
space called See the Light
(above) for XAL has lighting
products in a series of white
rectangular display frames
that define an event space
in the center of the pavilion.

business manager, and Lesjak the primary designer.
Schwaiger describes their relationship as that of an old
married couple. "When we're having a conversation, we
know what the other is thinking," he says.
Lesjak adds: "I'm a lucky person because [Peter]
keeps everything away from me so I can really
concentrate on the creative potential [of a project]."
Today, INNOCAD has 15 employees, and the product
design firm 13&9 Design employs two.
It was Lesjak's interests outside of architecture
that led him to his most fruitful client relationship with the
Austrian lighting company XAL. He was hired to DJ an
event for the company, but Lesjak and XAL Managing
Director Michael Engel quickly found that they had more
in common than music. "We had the same views on
things-architecture, design, beauty, aesthetics," says
Engel. And because they met as acquaintances first
before a formal architect-client relationship, Engel says
they were able to develop a mutual trust that gave Lesjak
space to experiment and surprise.
INNOCAD's first trade show pavilion for XAL was
completed in 2008 and nine more have followed for
locations across Europe, as well as in New York and Las
Vegas. XAL's corporate headquarters and lab in Graz,
designed by INNOCAD in 2012, won an Interiors Award
from Contract in the small office category in 2013.
XAL pavilions by INNOCAD emphasize shadow
as much as light. Like much of INNOCAD's work, these
exhibit spaces combine a sly midcentury modern vibe
with canted angles and atmospheric juxtapositions
from the contemporary avant-garde. The D. Shadow
pavilion for XAL in 2008, which Lesjak describes as
"kind of gloomy and wicked," is covered in chaotic black
paneling on the outside and glows a sinister purple and
pink from the inside. And XAL's 2012 See the Light

pavilion tucks lighting products into a series of
rectangular display frames that are white in the inside,
black on the outside, and collectively define a large
event space in the center of the pavilion. Walking the
perimeter of the pavilion, visitors catch glimpses of
the white interior between the display frames-a
kaleidoscope of light and shadow.
The See the Light pavilion validated Engel's trust
in Lesjak and blew away his expectations for what a
simple trade show booth exhibit could be. "We were
standing there with open mouths in front of the ideas
[Martin] presented," Engel says. "This trust, on both
sides, is something that is very special."
If the XAL installations resemble nightclubs, that is
understandable because Engel often flies Lesjak in to DJ
a set at the pavilions during trade shows. This kind of
immersive, sensual environment is one in which XAL can
sell not only lighting products, but also its entire brand
identity. "[It's a] big, big, party," Engel says. "It's where we
can transfer all the emotion that we want our customers
to feel that is not in any way connected to the product."
Lesjak consistently makes a habit of turning
architecture projects into test labs for new products.
For one XAL pavilion, Lesjak created the HEX-O
light-a hexagonal light with integrated fabric acoustic
paneling that dampens sound.
"It's another expression of [Martin's] creativity,"
Engel says. "[Martin and his colleagues] can't help it.
They can't sit still and only use products that already
exist. They create new ones."
Lesjak's New Work approach to communal space
While all of INNOCAD's workplace interiors include
areas for open and informal communication and
socialization, Lesjak designs them to be highly
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Contract - January/February 2015

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