darc awards: Cells on the Podium of the Best Outdoor Solutions

Reggiani is once again prominent on the international lighting scene, following a successful night at the darc awards in London. ‘Cells’ received the bronze award for outdoor lighting solutions

Milan, 3rd October 2016 – After the launch in Frankfurt and Australia, Reggiani was delighted to receive further international recognition for 'Cells': as the product received a bronze medal on the London stage of the 2016 darc awards, placing it among the best outdoor solutions.

Inspired by nature, designed by Speirs+Major, and produced by Reggiani, 'Cells' was born from the desire to improve the quality of light for urban areas. It offers a solution that is highly adaptable in terms of lighting effect, but at a competitive price. Powered by a range of high-performance LED light sources, the product is can be installed as single or connected multiple modules.

"This new important award confirms the success of a product that has already been appreciated by the market at an international level. But this is also the success of an idea - to use light to transform spaces and experiences - and of a collaboration, the now long-lasting and consolidated partnership with Speirs+Major”, says Matteo Reggiani, Corporate Strategic Officer of Reggiani.

Produced by mondo*arc and darc Magazine, among the most respected publications in the lighting industry, the darc awards celebrates excellence in lighting design worldwide, attested by an international jury of independent lighting designers and artists, and a peer voting system. The awards ceremony took place during ‘darc night’ in one of the most evocative of London’s locations, the MC Motor building, and was enlivened by light art performances, street food and light installations. The informality of the event makes it a unique format: the darkness of night relieved by 10 installations realised by lighting sponsors from all over the world, paired with prestigious international lighting designer firms.

For darc night 2016, Reggiani was paired with Speirs+Major, who conceived of 'NightShift': a 2.5m cubic installation, built using Cells, and designed to recreate the lights, sounds and atmosphere of a nocturnal urban context at an experiential level.

Speirs + Major’ describe the concept of Nightshift:

“As a pedestrian moves through the urban space at night, the dark sky provides a uniform backdrop for miscellaneous layers of artificial lighting. From the soft glow of streetlights to the stark flicker of the fluorescent lit convenience store, these layers encompass unique light qualities: colour, intensity, contrast, direction and movement. It is the build-up of these layers that form the character of any given space and it is these characters that create personal connections to the city at night.

The installation is informed by snapshots of artificial light, recorded and fractured as a means of deconstructing the lit character of the city. These layers of illumination are projected into a cube through a single, simple prism. Shafts of light filter through a soft haze, reflected by mirrored walls and playing on the viewers within the space. Sound heightens the experience and helps guide emotions, combining with light to create a beguiling illusion of depth, mystery and magic.

In creating a narrative based on the qualities of urban light, NightShift is designed to trigger recall of personal sensations and memories. Viewers experience a physical and psychological response that is at once stimulating, and yet strangely familiar”.

The installation was created in a closed cube provided with an entrance and an exit blinded by double curtains. Inside, a single prism positioned along the wall, with fifty 18W 4000K Cells provided with 9 degrees optics and coloured filters. The fifty Cells units, selected for their ability to reproduce the city lights, were placed in groups of 10 on adjustable columns to be oriented towards the prism, and hidden behind the prism itself to create blades of light.

To complete the installation a vapor cloud was created to make the light blades that recreate the city atmosphere visible, while a special soundtrack was created to play the city noise.

Credits

Design: Speirs + Major

Commercial Partner: Reggiani

Construction: Eurostand