Guido Bianchi
This is only
the beginning
of the future
lighting designer, Rossi Bianchi Lighting Design
1
New forms in the design of lighting fixtures
with LED technology
F
rom when they appeared in the lighting
market, a little over a decade ago, with a
very promising performance, prohibitive costs,
and a future that could not be fully foreseen,
we have seen the very rapid diffusion of LEDs,
so much so that today almost all new designs,
as much as requalification projects use these
sources. The advent of LED systems has broken
the dichotomy of companies producing lighting
fixtures on one hand and companies producing
the sources on the other, and has forced
numerous manufacturing companies to
reconvert, opening the road to new
manufacturers with know-how in the field
of electronics and favouring new industrial
cooperation. Furthermore, the LEDS have
jeopardized the old relation of the lamp and
its shell, they have shaken the related
photometry, questioned the colour rendering
index and the glare ones. However, due to
their geometric and optoelectronic
characteristics, LEDs enable a precise control
and dynamic management of luminous
scenarios.
Their flexibility and adaptability allow greater
integration of lighting in the architectural
context and the realization of units with new
shapes and photometrics. Besides, also other
aspects that are not always positive must be
observed and considered, as for example the
production of LED lamps for previously existing
units that imitate the traditional sources,
which, in the name of energy efficiency,
do not provide the same lighting conditions
and visual comfort, and the introduction in the
market of low cost and poor quality systems.
In this varied panorama, one thing is certain:
whatever the outcome, LEDs have forced
lighting designers to think differently, and
therefore it is important to listen to some of
their opinions on this topic. We did it with this
Special Report on Design and the interviews
with Guido Bianchi, Giorgio Biscaro, Miriam
Emiliano, Daniele Ruzza, Giacomo Rossi,
and Enzo Panzeri.
The questions
1
What changes has LED technology brought
to the design of lighting fixtures, compared
to the traditional sources, both aesthetically
and functionally?
2
LED sources are ductile, and this enables the
realization of systems in which form and
function are integrated even more perfectly.
Do you agree? And if so, why?
3
LEDs have led to a greater freedom and control
of light, but also to a greater complexity
and responsibility. What do you think?
LED sources initially replaced the traditional
sources in lighting fixtures that were designed
for the old technologies. Only later did they
generate the design of new lighting fixtures,
which were designed according to the
technological characteristics of the diodes.
The elements that are perhaps most interesting
in the new design approach are: the decreased
size of the optics and the lighting components,
and glare control. The combination of these
two factors has originated a new generation
of spotlights and linear systems that are totally
innovative compared to the previous ones.
This has given lighting design greater
possibilities to integrate and customize the
light installations in indoor and outdoor areas.
2
From the point of view of construction, there
surely is an integration between form and
function in LED lighting fixtures; however,
it is less from the point of their usage. The
potentiality of LED sources has produced a
proliferation of typologies of lighting fixtures,
which on one hand allow innovative
installations, but in many other cases has
produced an excessive presence of details of
light that are more decorative than functional.
We note more and more that there is a greater
need for an accurate lighting design, so that
the new lighting fixtures can be used in the
best possible way. In fact, many high-quality
installations have produced diffused high
expectations with regard to the use of light,
which do not allow any improvisations.
3
When using lighting fixtures with LED sources,
the complexity is given by the great versatility
and ductility of these new technologies: the
specifications of each lighting fixture have
become very detailed and segmented. Within
a lighting design project there is also the
responsibility of the installation from the point
of view of the luminous effect and from that
of the durability and sustainability of the
choices. The long life (declared by the light
manufacturers) of the LED sources does not
exclude the need to carry out maintenance
(for example, to electrical and mechanical
components). Therefore, it is very important
to carefully evaluate the position and
the conditions of the installation of each
lighting fixture.
Club Med, Cefalù
garden design: Gaia Chaillet Giusti
lighting design: Rossi Bianchi
Lighting Design
LED DESIGN SPECIAL REPORT / LUCE 328
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