HiX, surprisingly, is Europe’s only ‘Hotel Design Event’. It brought together the hospitality industry for two days in November at the BDC, London.
Billed as ‘A true celebration of everything that makes hotels incredible,’ I was really looking forward to seeing what the show had to offer. As Ruth Kelly Waskett put it so well in our Insight Series on hotel lighting, ‘Hotel lighting is much more immersive; it’s about feelings’.
After watching Covid give this industry a fairly good kicking, it was great to see manufacturers trying to attract the interest of architects and interior designers with a splash of inventiveness, both aesthetically and practically. I had to laugh when at least two manufacturers told me they had to make design changes to their products, as guests wouldn’t think twice about using products to ‘hang their coats on’?! Sacrilege!
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A handy product that combined function with aesthetic was the tidy Ito from Astro Lighting. Speaking to Millie McGovern, Project Sales Manager at Astro, she kindly gave me the low-down on the product: ‘The newest addition to our reading / wall light range, Ito has been designed to work in compact spaces, offering a lot of flexibility within the same fitting. Not only does the product have a usb port, but also a wireless charging pad. The charging pad is mounted at the centre of the product, which also doubles up as a mini bedside table. There is a switch at the bottom, not visible from the top, keeping it really clean, and easy to turn on and off. The nice thing about the product is that you don’t have to have a right or left hand version, you fit the light either on the left or the right before installation’
The product is available in two different finishes, matt black or matt white, and takes a G9 lamp, which is handy for maintenance. The base, as mentioned, is large enough to be used as a mini bedside table for a watch or jewellery, maybe, but as I say in my intro, it’s not really suitable for coffee cups, which is unfortunate . . . as, quite honestly if I saw it, this would probably be the first thing in the morning I would put on it. ( Sorry Millie !) . In Astro’s defence, though it’s not IP rated, they had thought of this eventuality, so designed it so that any spillages shouldn’t get into any electronics.
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Franklite was showing it’s tunable-white L11 bespoke light engine, a unique take on a traditional candle lamp. What impressed me about this product was twofold. Firstly, the product was well designed, giving a smooth transition between the colour temperatures; secondly it was the fact it was made in Blighty, at their factory in Milton Keynes and tested in their in-house laboratory. As export director Mark Lissauer explained to me –‘Late in 2021 we started to develop our L11, which gives the user the possibility to change from 1700 Kelvin to 3650 Kelvin, an effect that really changes the ambience in a space. It is controlled wirelessly through an app or hard-wired within a building management system, and useful in the hospitality industry, where having it timer set would provide the best results. You could mirror the Kelvin temperatures outside or contrast it. On the other side tuneable light fittings are playing a big part in the care home industry, where we have used the lamps in one of our 1.2m sized pendants, and places such as historical buildings and restaurants, where they have all day dining.’
The CRI is 93 + and with 700 lumens per lamp, the large heat sink used in the lamp is certainly something essential, in fact Franklite are so confident in their products quality they offer a 5 year warrantee. The product is dimmable from 100% to 1% and quoting their literature
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Franklite tuneable white light source.mp4
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The Coral collection from a-emotional light caught the eye for all the right reasons. You can see the inspiration for these in their form, texture and graceful appearance. They are the sort of lights that you want to touch, just to see what they are made of, although . . please don’t touch them as they are delicate! Speaking to Miguel Martínez the sales manager, he described to me a bit about the company and Coral products on show.
We are a lighting company based in Spain and have been around for 25 years. We try to make unique lamps, and at the show today we are exhibiting our coral collection. The material that we tend to use most is stainless steel mesh. We make the products by hand, controlling all parts of the process, from the raw materials, to the final product produced in our Spanish factory. Most of our designs are inspired by nature. The mesh for this product is formed by hand then painted, leaving some holes where the light bleeds through, creating beautiful shadows and effects on surfaces. For us it’s about creating a beautiful form and an emotional atmosphere through light.’
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The Coral collection from a-emotional light
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In the depths of winter, what better way to beat away the grey days than with an injection of Spanish colour. Vibrant colour to me always seems synonymous with Spain, whether it’s in the works of Antoni Gaudi or Joan Miro; you can almost feel the warm sunshine.
Marset is an exemplar of this. Saturated colour filled the stand and Jordi from Marset in Barcelona gave me the low down: ‘Designed by Jordi Canudas, dipping light was born through experiments with light through the paint. All products are hand painted, and we treat each one as almost a piece of art. Marset is a Spanish brand that loves to add colours to its pieces, and we wanted to create something with a retro feel.’
.dipping light from Marset
Available as a floor, table, wall and pendant the product also can be configured in a cluster. Dimmable, with three dimming settings for the portable and table lights, the pendants and wall lights are triac and dali controlled.
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The pick of the bunch for me, had to be from Quasar. the ‘Parkes’ pendant.
I have long been a fan of Quasar after having been originally introduced to the brand by Peter Younie of ‘Cameron Peters Fine Lighting’ for a residential job. Speaking to Nick Galea, founder of Light inspiration, and formerly UK agent for Quasar (until Brexit forced him to change his role to distributor as a consequence of burdensome red tape . . . . hmmm), told me all about the product.
‘Parkes is the name of an observatory in New South Wales Australia, the observatory who first observed a quasar. Brand new for the show, the product is a suspended pendant / chandelier comprised of three materials. Metal rods made from nickel that conduct the electricity, printed circuit board leds and with glass rods that add to the glitter (This glass can be removed if you wish). The colour temperature on show is 2800K, it is also available with a warmer 2400K. The circuit boards provide two thirds of the light going down the rest upward. The product is dimmable triac, both leading and trailing edge, but drivers can be switched for 0-10, Casambi should it be required. All squares are ten cm (other Quasar products are 12.5cm)’.
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As you investigate the light you certainly lose yourself in the aesthetic. The product sparkles as the inter-reflection’s bounce and shimmer, as if one is looking into the cosmos, I suppose the real question is . . . what’s behind the cosmos? and it’s Quasar; the name of another one of their products!
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