Giorgio Biscaro
designer
1
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.
Miriam Emiliano
lighting designer, Cariboni Group
1
LED technology has radically and irreversibly
transformed lighting. In a way, it is like what
photography did in the world of art, or
reinforced concrete in architecture. Lighting can
no longer be designed as before. With regard
to the formal aspects, passing from a light bulb
to small luminous diodes offers the possibility
of thinking of any shape, even the most compact
or slim. The decreased light emitting surface
of the new sources offers a much more precise
optical control, as the distribution of light in
a space can be modelled accurately to adapt
it to different application and installation
requirements. Special optical systems can be
realized for different contexts, and the sources
can be selected depending on the faithfulness
and vividness of the colour rendering that is
required for their use. Thanks to the electronic
nature of the LEDs and the digital control
systems, lighting products can become extremely
dynamic, enabling not only a regulation of the
luminous flow, but also variations in the colour
or the temperature of white light. A LED lighting
fixture can be integrated with sensors and
wireless communication systems so that it
can interact with the surrounding environment,
receive information, and respond by adapting
to the requests. LED technology has enabled
the design of intelligent lighting products that
are really able to illuminate how and where
and when a person wishes.
2
With the old lamps, the lighting products were
shaped like boxes, they were always different
but they used the same sources. And the boxes’
design could be more or less beautiful, and right
for their use. Today the optical systems for LEDs
can be of any shape, like a liquid, and “boxes”
that are more or less beautiful and right for the
use of the new sources can be designed. The
shapes of the lighting products become thin
membranes that stick to the sources, to protect
them and support them. However, I believe that
the real advantage of using LED sources is the
possibility of miniaturizing the product, cutting
it down to the essential parts till, in some cases,
the shape disappears and only the function
remains, which finally is the light. And in the
case of light, the function has an aesthetical
value that is greater than any shape that one
can imagine. The function alone can be
revealing, descriptive, moving.
3
LEDs generate light based on an operating
principle that is completely different from
traditional lights, therefore complexity is
inevitable. It took some time to master the
technology and manage the technical aspects
best, make the units of measurement uniform,
and adjust the regulations. Also the approach
to the lighting product design was modified
substantially. And there still is much to do. Our
main responsibilities are towards people and the
In alto / Above
Kore, Cariboni Group
Sistema di illuminazione
orientabile a incasso
carrabile / Drive-over
recessed adjustable
lighting system
Cartesiana, Triennale
Design Museum, 2018
design di / by
Giorgio Biscaro
20
LUCE 328 / SPECIALE DESIGN LED
Orao, Cariboni Group
Sistema a palo per l'illuminazione
di percorsi e spazi urbani / Pole
system for the lighting of paths
and urban spaces