Well-regarded for their intuitive approach to lighting as a design solution, we spotlight the creators, designers, and brands who have pushed the limits of creativity in the realm of extraordinary lighting design.
Light is an essential part of life and plays a crucial role in creating ambiance, enhancing architecture and interiors, and shaping human experiences in various environments. In the hands of inspiring designers and committed producers, this basic everyday need can be transformed into uplifting examples of the brilliance of human creativity.
We delve into some of our favourite influential lighting designers and brands available from Space Furniture who have made significant contributions to the field. These elevated designs from leading global creatives all demand an emotional response. From Italian heavyweight and collaborative force Foscarini to the pioneer of artistic lighting design Ingo Maurer, each of these contemporary creatives and brands has left a significant mark on the world of lighting design, pushing the boundaries of creativity, functionality, aesthetics and their innovative approaches and iconic creations continue to inspire and shape the industry.
Produced in partnership with Space Furniture
Outdoor Gregg Floor Lamp | Photography by David Chatfield
The Foscarini Buds table lamp | Photography by Shannon McGrath
The Twiggy dimmer lamp by Marc Sadler | Photography by Derek Swalwell
Foscarini
With its roots in the classical Italian glass-making traditions of Venice where the brand was founded in 1981, Foscarini has evolved to explore a wide variety of materials in order to achieve the brand’s ultimate objective; “to create lighting products that transform spaces”. Foscarini’s first great success came in 1990 with a glass and cast metal table lamp called Lumiere designed by the then little-known Rodolfo Dordoni. The design remains a symbol of the brand’s commitment to quality and precision 33 years later and has been joined by many more iconic designs such as the Caboche by Patricia Urquiola and the Twiggy floor lamp by Marc Sadler. Foscarini seeks to “seduce, surprise, and inspire” by embracing its core values of passion, artistry, and innovation.
Moooi
In keeping with much of the work by founder and creative director, Marcel Wanders, Moooi is proudly conceptual but also incredibly inventive when it comes to developing new technologies. This combination of adventurous ideas and technical expertise delivers lights that are uniquely Moooi – often mesmerising, sometimes ethereal, and occasionally completely tongue-in-cheek (as in the case of the brand’s 2006 Horse and Rabbit lamps by Swedish designers Front).
While always left-of-field, Moooi has also created a number of lighting designs that have become an important part of our architectural landscape. Non Random by Bertjan Pot, Raimond by Raimond Puts, and Meshmatics by Rick Tegelaar, grace lobbies, restaurants, and fashion boutiques across the globe, yet were all highly unconventional when first released.
The Meshmatics chandelier |Avian Apartment by Alicia Holgar | Photography by Shannon McGrath
Moooi Hubble Bubble | Photography by David Chatfield
The Moooi Heracleum Big O Suspension lamp in the Bayside Home by Adam Kane Architects | Photography by Tom Blachford
The Moooi Non Random suspension light in the May House by Neil Architecture | Photography by Tom Blachford
The Bocci 76.1m suspension lamp | Photography by Timothy Kaye
The Bocci 73 suspension lamp | Imagery Courtesy of Space Furniture
The Bocci 73 suspension lamp | Imagery Courtesy of Space Furniture
Bocci
Vancouver-based lighting brand Bocci was founded by Randy Bishop and Omer Arbel in 2005. Arbel who is the brand’s creative director, considers rigorous exploration of materials and a generous amount of ‘play’ as essential. This approach referred to as “constrained chance” by Arbel, delivers exquisite craftsmanship and intriguing surfaces.
While glass is the company’s primary material, copper, steel, concrete, wood, and porcelain all play their part, as do the vagaries introduced when these elements are combined with heat, fire, and air. With all lights produced in-house by a group of dedicated craftspeople, these unpredictable elements are transformed into objects of great beauty with each light varying slightly from the next, delivering a level of subtle complexity rarely seen in modern lighting.
Ingo Maurer
Founded by influential German lighting designer, Ingo Maurer, whose radical concepts have set the world on fire since the ’60s, the brand continues after Maurer’s death in 2019 to release amazing lighting that pushes the boundaries of what can produce light and the physical form it takes. Known as the “poet of light’ Maurer developed a catalogue of products that are as much art pieces as they are light sources. Designs like Porca Miseria!, made of broken porcelain plates, to Lucellino, a light globe with feathered wings perched on delicate wires, the brand constantly develops lighting objects that defy convention and stimulate the mind.
The Ingo Maurer Zettel’z 5 featured in The Family Home of Designer Ali Ross | Photography by Martina Gemmola
The Ingo Maurer Porca Miseria | Photography courtesy of Space Furniture
The Ingo Maurer Bulb | Photography courtesy of Space Furniture
Lee Broom’s Eclipse pendant light| Photography by Martin Mischkulnig
Lee Broom’s Lens Fair and Crescent Light | Photography courtesy of Space Furniture
Lee Broom Chamber Light | Photography by Space Furniture
Lee Broom Fulcrum Light | Photography by Space Furniture
Lee Broom
Starting his early career at theatre school and then moving into fashion design (working for Vivienne Westwood no less!), British designer Lee Broom brings a real sense of theatre and tailoring to the objects he creates and how his designs are displayed. Since founding his self-titled company in 2007, Broom has wowed the design world with his material-driven lighting designs that explore cut glass, marble, plaster, timber, and metal in a style that marries classicism with a modern minimal approach. The lights are technically advanced but avoid appearing hi-tech. Broom’s dedication to showcasing the special properties of the material used and how light is transmitted through or reflected from it, are always at the centre of the work.
