Flower - Sans Souci
Designed by Jiri Svoboda, the application of the golden metallic finish on the hand-cut components of Flower brings a truly luxurious feel and highlights the fragile beauty of crystal. The individual pieces of are meant to enact precious stones, while the whole composition produces the idea of a jewel embellishing the interior.
Rhombi - Kocowisch
The Rhombi is the Kocohedron collection’s crown jewel. Its wireframe with integrated LED lighting plays tricks on the eye when viewed from different angles. Dimmable and with a colour temperature of 3000K and a CRI of +90, it can be used for mood as well as technical lighting. The Rhombi is hand built to order in The Netherlands.
Umbra - Bomma
Designed by Dechem Studio and inspired by the relationship between geometric objects and their shadows, the Umbra collection features elegant pendants in sophisticated detail. Its metal plate derives from the perfectly elliptical shadow cast by a side-lit ball, mirroring the colourful mouth-blown crystal piece.
Artipelag, Sweden
Artipelag, an international venue for high-quality art, events, and food, is one of Stockholm’s largest art galleries. The final creation of Johan Nyrén, this 32,000-square-foot property is intended to make guests feel as though they are indoors and outdoors at the same time. Thoughtfully designed with the incredible landscape in mind, the museum truly creates harmony with its surroundings and has much to offer to those who are interested in the alliance of art and nature.
Named after the massive, two-billion-year-old rock erupting through the floor, the Bådan Buffet & Cafe offers museum-goers delicious lunches and freshly baked treats. In this room, handmade Solitaire pendants from Niche hang above custom-made furniture. The Edison bulb at the centre of the signature Solitaire pendant and the cylindrical shape of the glass body harmonise to create enduring quality and beauty. The honey-colored hue of their Amber glass complements the light wood tones and creates a warm, inviting atmosphere for both visiting tourists and locals.
Situated above Baggensfjärden bay, the Artipelag Restaurant can be found two floors up from the Bådan Buffet & Cafe. Here, Solitaire pendants in Crystal glass hang above guests in the dining room. This minimalist silhouette provides the perfect accent lighting in a space where natural light shines through large panoramic windows. The wood interior beautifully mimics the elements found just beyond the restaurant, showcasing another way in which the designer's vision was fully realised.
Private Residential, Israel
Studio Erez Hyatt is a design studio known for creating residential, luxury apartments. They focus on minimalist and functional creation, based on a complex and precise design that matches the Estiluz suspension lamps used in these builds.
For the design of the projects, Studio Erez Hyatt chose the Volta and Revolta suspension lamps to illuminate the dining areas. Both families of lamps make the most of the dimensional limits of the space with minimal formal expression.
The environments created by the Israeli studio employ the essence of their signature design. The skill with which they combine geometric shapes and rounded edges, along with tones used to suggest a recurring colour scheme, achieve an atmosphere both serene and elegant. The resulting atmosphere fits perfectly with the warmth of wood and different elements in satin gold metal, making the apartments the perfect place to dine privately with loved ones and family.
Nishiki, Italy
The complete refurbishment of the Milan-based Nishiki restaurant has created an expertly lit romantic setting thanks to lighting solutions by Linea Light Group. The restaurant has a modern and glamorous style that blends Japanese cuisine with Japanese minimalism.
The newly installed lighting significantly contributed to the intimate, reserved mood requested by the client. The products selected by Linea Light Group, all equipped with LED and dimmable sources, are managed through a home automation system that allows the creation of different lighting configurations for each individual environment. The project features lighting fixtures with impressive visual impact and discreet lighting fixtures that blend perfectly with the architecture and furnishings.
Elegant baton lighting fixtures were placed above the small teal-coloured tables to create an intimate and romantic atmosphere. All the suspensions, in a matt black finish with golden interior, were installed in clusters of three, creating a wave effect. The sinuous shapes in the ceilings are backlit by Pound floodlights for a striking effect. The same projectors were used to illuminate wooden venetian bounds and white curtains that act as partitions between the various rooms. Epitax down lights were seamlessly integrated into the architecture.
Glovers Alley, Ireland
Foundry recently designed the lighting at Glovers Alley, a new restaurant within the five-star Fitzwilliam Hotel in Dublin.
The brief from the client was for a sophisticated and glamorous restaurant that meets the conflicting requirements of both fine dining and hotel breakfast service. Foundry lived up to this brief by using fluid lines and luxurious materials to create a sequence of intimate spaces in an elegant whole. The glamorous yet informal interiors are defined by linings of rich fumed oak and brass, coved plasterwork and Deco-Pastel leathers.
Lighting design was integral to this interior concept and called for a combination of statement feature lighting to add scale, richness and interest to the interiors and architectural lighting to highlight form, structure and surface. The lighting had to deliver a variety of moods from a bright and breezy breakfast to an intimate and middy late evening setting.
The feature and decorative lighting were initially sketch designed by Project Orange before being developed in collaboration with Foundry, who then took on responsibility for detail technical design and fabrication. The central feature presented challenges in that it required millimetre perfect coordination with the mirrored ceiling in which it is reflected, seemingly doubling in height. The restaurant fittings comprise a comprehensive family of brass and glass sconces and chandeliers that combine continuity with variety and provide visual interest throughout the space.
Nocturnal Animals, UK
Faber Design’s latest project, Nocturnal Animals on Bennetts Hill, Birmingham, shatters all preconceptions about fine-dining restaurant design. This restaurant was conceived by acclaimed chef Alex Claridge who wanted the interior design to reflect the food. Claridge conceived the menu whilst listening to the ‘All Out 80s’ Spotify playlist and instructed the design team at Faber to do the same whilst they formulated ideas for the interior. The result is an interior filled with slick monochrome, vividly colourful graphic prints, postmodernist furniture silhouettes, David Lynch-esque passageways and kitsch neon signage.
The main bar area has a dramatic, fully illuminated cocktail bar that towers over the ground floor level, and a gantry which provides access to a ‘top-shelf’ collection of exclusive spirits. The bartender’s table is deliberately separated from the rest of the bar and gives guests an opportunity to watch Nocturnal Animals’ talented mixology team do their thing close up.
“The venue is split into a number of distinct ‘experiences,” explains lead designer on the project, Aisling Ryan. “Leading from the cocktail bar on the ground level to a 42-cover fine-dining restaurant in the basement, is an almost surreal, stark-white corridor, made even more dreamlike by the use of white recessed LED lighting in the walls, which cleverly plays with perspective.”
The restaurant level has kaleidoscopic geometric flooring, black walls, black voile curtains, white metallic chairs, white metallic tables and simple globe lighting. The bathrooms have multi-coloured block tiling and almost mathematical clean lines accessorised with more neon lighting.
“Every element of the space has been designed to engender this feeling of a tongue-in-cheek knock at fine dining,” said Faber’s founder and Creative Director, Tony Matters. “I think the whole concept really captures Alex’s approach to cooking; making amazing food accessible, but still offering something completely out of the ordinary, unexpected and experience-led.”
SLA, Netherlands
Six years after the introduction of their salad bar in Amsterdam, SLA recently opened the doors to their twelfth location, and first in Rotterdam. Interior design firm Standard Studio were asked by SLA to create a recognisable interior which naturally conveys the ‘pure and healthy’ identity of SLA and reflects the industrial character of Rotterdam. Standard Studio turned to industrial artefact specialists Blom & Blom, to craft bespoke lighting fixtures that deliver a distinctive ambiance for SLA’s newest salad bar.
Blom & Blom’s lighting concept for SLA makes use of sustainable and organic materials. They designed a bespoke lighting installation of massive wooden beams, suspended by thin steel cables above the salad counter. These impressive beams are made from discarded pilings that had been in the water for over 50 years and were originally used to support the docks in the harbour. A slim LED channel runs the length of the beams for a minimalistic effect, balancing size and elements in striking contrast.
Blom & Blom’s Giant Copperhead ceiling lamp hovers gracefully above the communal table. It is constructed with sleek copper piping encircling a rectangular core crafted from recycled textile waste. The front window and walls are illuminated with lamps from Blom & Blom’s Fox line. These lights have a base made of discarded dragline mats and rugged beams, embellished with an exposed electrical cable set into the outside surface.
Brasserie Prince, UK
Brasserie Prince, inside Edinburgh’s famous Balmoral Hotel, was designed by Martin Brudnizki Design Stidio with lighting from Dernier & Hamlyn. This restaurant signifies an alliance between the Forte family and legendary father and son chefs Michel and Alain Roux. It is a classic eatery inspired by the French Bistro scene and is the design studio’s first foray into Scotland. Its menu offers classic French dishes made with the finest Scottish ingredients.
Brasserie Prince comprises a restaurant, lounge and bar. It has a striped coffered ceiling, high-gloss lacquer, timber panelled walls, traditional banquettes and room-length mirrors. The dining space is flushed with soft blues, green and blush pink. Natural timber, soft leather and mohair wool have been integrated to reflect the rich history of the building.
The lighting was designed to flood the room with subtle light and cleverly combines understated glamour with stunning design. This can be seen with the two-tier chandelier, almost 1.5m across, made in London by bespoke lighting manufacturers Dernier & Hamlyn.
Finished by hand in antique brass and fitted with ribbed, curved translucent panels, the unusual light fitting was the result of close collaboration between Martin Brudnizki’s team and Dernier & Hamlyn. This partnership ensured that the aesthetic requirements were met and that this unique chandelier was manufactured using materials that were practical to maintain and meet the designers’ visual and budgetary needs.
Martin Brudnizki has commissioned Dernier & Hamlyn for a range of projects previously such as Jamie’s Italian and Scarfe’s Bar.
Proxi, USA
The Proxi Restaurant in Chicago was designed by New York-based design firm Meyer Davis who collaborated with lighting designers Juniper to complete the project.
The restaurant is a spin-off of the Michelin-starred Sepia, owned by Chef Andrew Zimmerman and Emmanuel Nony, but with a more casual dining experience. Proxi’s menu draws influence from Asian, Indian, and Mexican cuisines in an unintimidating setting.
The restaurant’s windowed facade lends itself to a modern-industrial aesthetic and entices passersby to peer in. Once inside, guests are faced with a rounded reception desk which opens up to a large dining area, filled with simplistic wooden tables and chairs. Blue and white tiled floors line the entire space, completing a palette of oranges, blues, and light and dark neutral tones.
Custom dome pendant lights by Juniper are suspended from beams across the ceiling, aligning with tables in a grid below. The pendants showcase a matte black finish and a white reflective interior to diffuse light evenly. The exterior walls of the dining room are lined with booths to seat larger parties. Adorning the centre of each booth is an aluminium-domed swivel pendant, custom designed by Juniper and Meyer Davis for Proxi. The pendants offer industrial motifs through refined metal finishes, brass pipe joints, and a minimal swivel handle. The custom pendants are then contrasted by natural elements found in camel-coloured leather seating and rich wooden tabletops.
With a private party room and lounge area, Proxi offers much more than a relaxed dining atmosphere.
KFC, Italy
Innermost lighting has been used in the refit of KFC locations in Italy, providing dynamic and exciting lighting for their fresh and informal restaurant design. The iconic fried chicken restaurant has refurbished select outlets across Italy, KFC Padova Stazione, KFC Venezia Santa Lucia and KFC Genova Fiumara, to create an updated style lit by Innermost’s contemporary lighting pendants.
Working with architects ea3 ingegneri architetti, the interior of the restaurants have been transformed with a modern industrial aesthetic using trendy concrete walls and colourful signage with abstracted graphics taken from the famous logo.
In contrast to the overly-lit fluorescent fast-food interiors we are used to, the designers used a mix of quality Innermost pendants creating more of a boutique cafe ambience throughout the serving and eating areas. One of the pendants used, Latitude, is a decorative directional and dimmable LED pendant spotlight designed by Flynn Talbot for Innermost. Transforming the average spotlight to make it the centrepiece rather than mere support lighting, this simple design has a cage-like structure. A clever suspension cable allows the pendant to be pointed in any direction, creating a flexible light that activates the surrounding space. Multiple units in black have been used as spotlighting to illuminate the famous KFC slogan from Colonel Sanders.
Another Innermost fixture, Circus designed by Corinna Warm, has been installed in various colours and sizes to highlight areas of the restaurant and illuminate dining tables. This modern pendant lamp is made from spun aluminium with a beautifully classic shape. These pendants were inspired by the shape of Victorian Circus Fair tents.
Along with the low hanging lighting fixtures, the design incorporates butcher block style tables and eclectic seating, elements not usually associated with fast-food. The re-design strives to reiterate that, unlike many fast-food restaurants, KFC meals are made from scratch by cooks using fresh food, inviting a comparison to home-cooked and informal family dining.
