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Tapio Rosenius

Renowned Finnish designer, innovator, artist and entrepreneur, Tapio Rosenius is on a quest to explore and question major topics within the lighting industry.

Growing up close to the Arctic Circle, Tapio Rosenius has experienced and learned a very alternative perspective and interpretation of light compared to many of us. With extreme variations in hours of daylight during the year and near enough none during the winter, Rosenius developed a strong fascination with how natural light is a constant, malleable force, which would in turn heavily influence his creative work as a lighting designer.

With multiple aspirations as a youngster, Rosenius swayed between wanting to dominate the world as the biggest rock star to becoming a diving instructor or arthouse filmmaker. Heavily influenced by French cinematographer Sacha Vierny for his narrative driven and beautifully abstract lighting interventions, as a student, Rosenius pursued Photography and Film, and then moved on to study light as an expressive medium at art school in Tampere, Finland, before he eventually settled into the architectural lighting industry. Whilst living in London in early 2000’s, he completed a Master of Science in Light and Lighting at the UCL Bartlett.

His first role in the industry came about through an interesting venture whilst still at school: “I started moonlighting for a Finnish architectural lighting designer around 1996. We used lighting design as a social integration tool for unemployed middle aged people in Lapland. We tried to re-train them as ‘nighttime gardeners’ with skills in ice sculpting and lighting design. Then in 1997, the art school offered to pay me to go and do an internship somewhere outside Finland. The condition was that I had to find a job in the next 24 hours. After a night spent searching for ‘Lightning Design’ companies in AltaVista I found dozens of weather stations, and amongst them Kevan Shaw Lighting Design from Edinburgh. I think Kevan might have misspelled the word ‘lighting’ on his front page, lucky for me! After a rather hilarious job interview over the phone, I joined Kevan’s team and ended up working for him until 2001.”

Progressing on from this, Rosenius then moved to London to join Maurice Brill Lighting Design until he left the role as Director in 2009 to bravely pursue his own lighting firm in Madrid. Not only was setting up independently a daunting prospect, Rosenius had also reached a pinnacle life changing point with his wife, who had just found out she was pregnant. London had become an increasingly busy and intense urban environment, so together they returned to his wife’s home country, Spain, to begin family life and establish the now well-known firm Lighting Design Collective (LDC).

As Director of LDC, he works with light as a medium for architectural collaborations, digital interventions, product innovation and art, and seeks to create tangible connections between artificial light, digital futures, biomimetic and the human experience. Specialising in an imaginative and innovative approach to architectural lighting, the team really focus on state-of-the-art lighting schemes for architecture and the built environment, utilising high tech applications, digital content and artistic assets.

A few years into the venture, Rosenius partnered with Jari Vuorinen to establish LDC Helsinki and then a little later with Kristian Krogh to establish LDC London.

Spread across these three studios, the team now includes leading designers, software coders and digital artists who have built a portfolio of world-class projects for numerous international clients, and covers a wide span of applications from cultural, hospitality, retail, office, residential, landscape and infrastructure.

Rosenius’ intrigue and admiration of natural light is evidently at the root of the work LDC produces. The way natural light moves in infinitely different ways and how it relates to time, space and context is key to the design works produced, and research led, into lighting practices used, both as an art form and for its functionality. In addition to working on lighting schemes with LDC, Rosenius is also a product designer. He created the Light over Time (LoT) luminaire with Artemide in 2017, a series of lighting tools that allows designers to re-imagine, reveal, reinterpret and modulate spaces with precision optics.

One of the most notable projects to come out of LDC is the SILO468, located in the Kruunuvuorenranta district in Helsinki. During darc room 2017 in London, Rosenius presented this remarkable project that brings together all of his recurring influences of natural light and the natural environment together onto one industrial canvas. The abandoned 1960’s oil silo, sixteen metres high and 35 metres in diameter, was transformed into a captivating light installation. 2,012 holes were perforated in the structure, where existing rust stains already existed, and represent the year 2012, the Helsinki World Design Capital year. During the day, the sunlight shines through these holes to create moving patterns that mimic the sun reflections on the surface of the nearby sea. 1,250 LEDs were placed inside the structure that reflect against a red light background at night. Custom made software, controlling the lights, is used to monitor the outside environment and determine the white LEDs internally to match the movement of the prevailing winds like a flock of birds, live, ensuring the light sequence will never repeat.

The installation’s aim was to become a signifier for the start of a major urban redevelopment for the City of Helsinki, and to become a landmark and a marketing draw on the landscape of the lesser-known district it is situated in. In turn, the area, with its 11,00 inhabitants, quickly became referred to as the ‘District of Light’.

Rosenius describes himself as a “cross-over” designer that is constantly aiming to bridge the world of architectural lighting with other creative fields and new technological research.

“The architectural lighting industry drags behind all of the other lighting fraternities (live, show, film, arts) in everything from creative software to innovative hardware to progressive design processes. I believe that our built environments could be made more inclusive, fascinating, practical, meaningful and beautiful for all inhabitants if better systems, better processes, more creative software and more quirky lighting hardware was available. So, I try to put my money where my mouth is and invest into achieving this goal,” Rosenius explained.

“I try to encourage the studios to operate with an anti-disciplinary design philosophy where the knowledge, research, aesthetic and design is constantly mixed and the outcome is highly contextual.”

‘The Future is for Antidisciplinary Design’ is an exploration into the future of the lighting industry and the role and value of the lighting designer within that world today. Taking this theory as an approach to the way he runs LDC, Rosenius cares deeply about the lighting design profession, perceives problems within it and opens it for discussion to provoke healthy debate within a professional audience.

During PLDC2017 in Paris last year, he opened up this topic for discussion, beginning with the question, “What if Lighting Design was an ‘open ended’ profession existing at the creative edge of the built environment services? What if the current consultancy model is leading the profession towards irrelevance?”

Providing an interesting look at our lighting industry, it is important to keep relevant and educated on the position you hold and what you are working towards in order to effectively manoeuvre your way through the constantly evolving industry.

Throughout Rosenius’ lecture, he uses his own experiences with LDC as a case study, tracking the development of the Madrid based studio and how it has adapted and developed into a Dynamic Environments Group consisting of architectural lighting design company spin-offs for digital content and software development, virtual reality services, strategic design services and a new technology start-up. Rosenius clearly states that he is working on the basis of his own opinions and experiences from the industry, including research on programs such as ‘Think in a Tank’ and the EU funded ‘Towards Digital Paradise’. He also draws upon research taken from MIT Media Lab’s work with a particular focus on that from Joi Ito. Rosenius clearly encourages the exploration into the architectural lighting design industry and critically debates its insular practices. He comments during the PLDC lecture: “We don’t lead the innovation within our own field nor do we inspire related fields to follow us. We shy away from criticising our peer’s work or the state of our profession presumably for the fear of ‘spoiling the party’. So what? We all get along nicely, we are highly inspired by our craft and there’s a nice community spirit. But this hides an important and worrying trend. For the rest of the built environment industry, we, the independent lighting designers, are becoming less relevant, less interesting, and less necessary by the day.”

A bold claim to make, Rosenius passionately pulls this theory apart, discussing it with fellow designers alike and poses interesting resolutions to the problems.

Is it merely an increase in competition in the industry or a lack of compelling value proposition towards the clients and the architects, which is a likely influencer?

One of the concerns Rosenius has adopted is through the client process. The combination of services and design output produced by Lighting Designers proves consistently identical as well as the inclusion of the services that aren’t design packages but instead a basic set of consultancy tasks. Rosenius explains further: “When a client compares any given lighting design companies, many are like identical twins where only the close family can tell the difference between the two. The clients have plenty of choice for these seemingly identical ‘lighting design’ services since they are offered simultaneously by numerous lighting designers, engineering consultancies, luminaire manufacturers, agents and suppliers, other design professions and even contractors. We need to ask ourselves what is our value proposition and what is it that truly differentiates us as a profession? And most importantly, do we innovate enough? The current model appears to be bringing the prices down, sometimes to zero, and begs the question: Is architectural lighting design already a commodity?”

To explore this idea further, Rosenius performed an experiment with LinkedIn searches to see if different search results filtered by industry based titles gave a clear indication for the amount of pure lighting designers. The results proved intriguing, as the addition or subtraction of certain industry based titles whittled down to an estimated 10,000 ‘Lighting Designers’ as apposed to the somewhat 700,053 Lighting Design professionals. Whilst this does not highlight the Lighting Designers as an insignificant proportion, it does suggest the services are being commoditised as a result of an easily learned skillset for popular design solutions and trends.

Rosenius moves along to then question the limbo like position Lighting Designers have found themselves in. “It is clear that architectural Lighting Designers exist as a minority group within the much larger lighting design activity. It seems to have adopted a role as educated (or in some cases simply enthusiastic) consultants rather than innovators. The technical innovation is driven by the manufacturing industry and their consultants; the conceptual innovation is driven by the ‘outliers’, the artists, VJ’s, architects, academic research organisations and the new technology companies,” he explains.

In order to combat these issues, Rosenius recommends the industry encourage investment into the research and development sectors to avoid this commoditisation and continue to be relevant professionals. He also observes that Lighting Designers are continuing to ride along in their bubble of contentedness whilst manufacturers throw ample amounts of budget into their own research and development and support education for Lighting Designers in order to mould them into their preferred format to suit themselves. Rosenius clarifies: “Whilst there is arguably nothing particularly wrong with this model of knowledge transfer, it does, however, weaken the position of the Lighting Designer, when it comes to innovation. I would even venture further to say it potentially suffocates creativity and allows complacency to creep in. If the Lighting Designer doesn’t need to innovate, they can simply apply ready-made solutions in a creative way to suit the project. A process that goes a little bit like this: Discover – Copy – Paste – Tweak – Shop for new solutions at a trade fair – Repeat. Should we as a profession change focus to remain relevant for years to come?”

The majority of his theory for this can be drawn from previous lighting projects over the last twenty years and the trending creative results produced by these and the consistent amount of repetitive and predictable processes used.

The future? According to Rosenius, one of the best resolutions for these issues is an interdisciplinary approach to running a lighting design practice. To achieve this ideal working environment, it is essential to have collaborators from various working backgrounds contributing to the lighting design team beyond their own discipline. As an avid promoter of new and exciting projects that challenge ‘the norm’, he believes the intersection of different disciplines creates interesting results and brings new values to a project. “This approach begins to push the company from a standard consultancy model, where each skillset is active within its own silo, towards a creative design company model. There are fantastically successful design practices that work with the interdisciplinary model such as IDEO, Fjord, Frog and many others. They offer great inspiration on how lighting design profession could develop and what the business models could be,” he states.

When Rosenius originally established Lighting Design Collective, it was being run as a typical lighting design firm, following as he puts it, “the Anglo-Saxon model of services and deliverables”. With the ever growing demand for more complex concepts, broader skillsets from practitioners and content packages for media surfaces, LDC evolved into a multi-disciplinary firm. After six years, UNSTATIC developed as a spin off digital content team headed by Gorka Cortazar. Think-in-a-Tank was then developed as part of LDC in collaboration with sociologist Dr Marco Bevolo and has run annually since 2014. ReVR Studio was the next spin off to come out of LDC, when the demand for quality lighting visualisations and Virtual Reality became higher. In early 2016, ReVR developed into their own team to continue to collaborate with leading architectural firms and Lighting Designers creating integrated design processes.

Moving towards the Digital Paradise that Rosenius refers to in his research, he explains the movements LDC went through.

“In late 2013, LDC were invited to join a research consortium bidding for EU Horizon2020 funding under a topic of Connected Light and Sensing for Smart Spaces. We lost the bid but learnt a lot and got introduced to the futuristic world of new technology research run by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. Since then, we have been part of three winning consortiums, Delphi4LED, DecoChrom and Towards Digital Paradise, most receiving funding from the Horizon2020 program. The latter one led us to partner up with a group of professionals to create a new technology start up, Skandal Technologies, developing systems for Ambient Communications.” Skandal Technologies also uses new biomimetic and responsive technologies in lighting control in built environments.

The idea that humans have a substantial ability to process ambient and peripheral information that directly affects emotions and subconscious contextual understanding without the need to activate cognitive thought processes is the bases of innovation for Skandal Technologies, which is currently developing its Generation 2.0 system.

Rosenius states: “The future of the Lighting Design profession is precarious. A shift from a consultancy based business model to an anti-disciplinary design company model could foster more innovation and gain a new position closer to the edge of the larger lighting profession. Investment into research and strong promotion of critical debate should be a central goal of practice leaders. Our profession should own the process of visual narrative for our built environment and lead the conceptual innovation. We should provide application research and inspire related fields such as new technology companies to follow our lead. We should design our own tools and set the trends for the manufacturing industry.

“The figure of the Lighting Designer has become more known and the field has grown, which is great. I haven’t seen a big shift in terms of design and creativity, however. Most companies operating in architectural lighting design appear to be very confortable with figuring out ‘creative solutions’ rather than behaving as actual design companies. I make a big distinction between design and consultancy activities. The latter dominates the lighting fields and you can see it in the project outcome very clearly”.

As a starting point, Rosenius believes it is important to understand and define what value lighting can bring to the client. However, this in itself comes with difficulties, as Rosenius noted, many clients struggle to distinguish between the various specialists in the field, and thus a multitude of services are provided with a staggering variation in quality. “The value proposition is often vague, which has led to the drop in fees. In many markets, Lighting Design is still a cottage industry trying to find its way,” he observes. “Yet, there is still hope for young designers about to break into the industry, with countless opportunities to bring new approaches and desire for differentiation from the client’s side.”

So, what potential does the future hold?

Rosenius promotes: “Integration of new design tools in software and hardware will permit designers to develop more complex and integrated schemes into their designs”.  As for LDC, their offices are growing across their three sites, and they are working hard to bring their creative message to the forefront of clientele business with great success. As an independent entity, ReVR is delivering virtual reality packages for multiple platforms in design and architecture, and London based UNSTATIC provides independent digital content services with designers in mind. Currently also working as the CEO of Skandal Technologies and as a pioneer in using biomimetic lighting control in built environments, Rosenius continues to develop systems, visions and technologies related to this field whilst coaching new generations of lighting designers through his own design practice mantra.

www.ldcol.com

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by dbell

JAC Studios

Following their impressive work on the Wadden Sea Centre, arc’s Matt Waring caught up with Danish architects JAC Studios to discuss its design philosophy, and the role that light plays in its work.

Scandinavia is a region well regarded for its approach to design, and not just in the world of flat-packed furniture; with its sparse, minimalist aesthetic complementing the vastness of the landscape. In the architectural sphere, JAC Studios has brought this approach to its work, designing exhibition spaces and residential projects that exist in harmony with their surroundings.

Founded by Johan Carlsson in 2009, JAC Studios was established, in his words, “as a response to find a balance between, or a framework from where to explore spatial interventions and storytelling from both a practical and propositional perspective”.

After opening an art space, working with performance and exhibitions in the international art scene and working within the field of ‘temporary interventions’ for eight years, Carlsson was invited to design an exhibition about the Danish situationist artist Asger Jorn, something that he believes was a ‘generator’ for him setting up his own studio.

Now, JAC Studios is an architecture and design practice that explores “both the practical and the theoretical, aiming for results that are innovative, high quality and socially relevant.”

This is realised by utilising a philosophy that looks at the wider contextual setting surrounding each project, regardless of scale. This was evident in their work on the darc awards / architectural shortlisted Wadden Sea Centre, and can be seen across the studio’s portfolio too.

“JAC Studios believe in contextual interventions, where the narrative or the thematic story is communicated through a one-off design, composed of investigations in movement, the specific room, the scenic setting, light, sound and furniture,” Carlsson explained.

“Projects should address the social, spatial and sustainable issues and are developed physically and conceptually in parallel. This approach focuses on a deep understanding of how things are made with emphasis on hand-craft and production.”

Because each project must interact with their wider contextual setting, it’s hard for Carlsson to define what JAC Studios’ ‘signature style’ is. Instead, he said, they “always aim to focus on spatial experiences, an approach where the performative aspect of body and space creates the dynamics”.

Since its inception, JAC Studios, comprised of a team of architects, designers and artists, has developed a more specific focus on interior architecture, and predominantly exhibition design, working on internationally renowned projects such as the Yumin Art Nouveau Collection in South Korea, and House of Sweden in Washington D.C., as well as UNESCO world heritage sites such as the Icefjord Centre in Greenland, and the aforementioned Wadden Sea Centre in Denmark.

Alongside this, the studio has developed a focus on private sector work, completing a series of small-scale residential projects, such as the widely published Sturlasgade apartment in Copenhagen.

The core aspect to developing each project, Carlsson explained, is rooted in context, relationship to the site, history, user preferences and ambitions. “This is coupled with respect and sensitivity for the existing, valued ethics and aesthetics,” he said.

However, the studio is selective when it comes to what projects they take on and bid for, as Carlsson elaborated: “Our preference always begins with context and content: in the case of exhibitions, this is often the artefact or object linked to a specific theme. We favour a no-nonsense exhibition, where the artefact is the main actor.

“We believe that the combination of scenography and architecture provide a base for alternative thinking, which results in communicative spaces evaluated by storytelling, aesthetics, materiality, sustainability and user participation.”

Throughout the design and implementation process, JAC Studios place a great deal of care and attention on maintaining good relations with the client. Stating that the client is always “an integral aspect on the work”, Carlsson explained that they always focus on “developing a good working relationship through hands-on workshops that help to establish a collaborative approach within the team”.

Alongside its work in the practice of architecture, design and realisation, JAC Studios believe in the importance of sharing knowledge and information, and they achieve this through their Residency and Salon programmes. “We believe that architecture plays a major role in contributing to debates and dialogue, and that architecture should work as a social and communicative stage,” said Carlsson.

As such, the studio is comprised of two key aspects: one, as Carlsson explained, is “rooted in the practice of architecture, design and realisation”, while the second is “focused in sharing knowledge through the staging of events, ‘salons’ and gatherings that address a critical approach to the wider field of architecture”. JAC also, through its Residency programme, invite other practitioners from diverse practices into the studio.

This quest for a constant dialogue, and the studio’s self-proclaimed ambition to ‘embrace the sphere between architecture and art’, has seen JAC bring in collaborators “in the form of writers, scientists, filmmakers and artists that help add a depth and integrity” to each project. By working with these collaborators, JAC believe that they can find the “balance between the rational and the poetic” in their work.

Such collaboration was none more evident than in the Wadden Sea Centre project. As JAC Studios acted as a general contractor on the project, as well as the lead designers, they were able to gather a team with unique specialties and skills that formed the design approach and exhibition aesthetic.

As such, they teamed up with fellow Danes and lighting designers fortheloveoflight, while also working with Jason Bruges Studio and No Parking to create a serene exhibition space that matches JAC’s primary ambition and sits in perfect harmony with the surrounding landscape.

“Good design should relate but not necessarily mimic, copy or respond seamlessly with landscape,” said Carlsson. “There should be a critical response that is formed through analysis and perception of each unique landscape and architectural setting.

“The landscape in the Wadden Sea is truly exceptional and was a core inspiration throughout the project. The site is in constant motion in the area, tides and migratory birds follow their own rhythms and we felt the exhibition should respond to this.”

It wasn’t the first time that JAC worked with fortheloveoflight – the two practices share a studio space, and as such, Carlsson revealed that he and Nikolaj Birkelund, founder of fortheloveoflight, work closely together on the majority of projects that they have in the studio.

JAC and fortheloveoflight also created a bespoke light fixture together for the Wadden Sea Centre. Working alongside Mike Stoane Lighting, they designed and developed the BBx.70 ‘Birdbeamer’ fittings.

“We developed the BBx.70 from concept and design to realisation through a series of physical 1:1 mock-ups and testing both in the studio and on-site,” said Carlsson. “With the excellent help of Mike Stoane, we were able to produce bespoke fittings that offered a uniqueness and high quality to the lighting units and interfaces.”

Further to this, JAC has developed modular furniture for the House of Sweden, crafting a thin wooden structure with integrated lights but no cords. “To reach this, a low voltage system was developed and implemented into the magnetics that keep the modules together,” explained Carlsson.

This all ties into Carlsson’s belief that, in order to create an effective exhibition space, teaming up with lighting designers should be a top priority. “When developing design aspects such as display cases it is essential to work closely with a lighting designer to form the project approach, materiality and principal dimensioning,” he said.

“We often work with priceless and rare objects, so a skilled command of lux levels and illumination is fundamental to our projects as well as creating a suitable environment for the selected objects.”

This need for skilled expertise in lighting means that Carlsson understands the importance of working with lighting designers, as he believes that “lighting design is one of the most essential aspects in our projects, particularly within exhibitions”.

“Clever manipulation of light can create moods that form the essential experience when visiting a gallery,” he said. “As such, natural and artificial light should complement each other and work together to form an overall theme and aesthetic.

“When we generate a project, we set up a team from the very beginning, which includes a lighting designer. Since many of our designs are developed and custom-made, it is a must that all aspects that would affect the design or the way the design is seen are with us through the full process.”

Carlsson’s close working relationship with Birkelund at fortheloveoflight has given him a strong understanding of just how light can impact on a space: “Lighting is and will always be one of the core instruments in spatial design, the rapid pace of innovations within lighting opens up for new ways of how to integrate the light, but also what functions the light can perform in a space,” he said. “Functions that sometimes go beyond providing light, but also control the environment and the performance of the space.”

Because of this, and Carlsson’s experience of developing lighting fixtures, he explained that lighting “will take an even more prominent role in the practice”.

“It is exciting to develop bespoke systems that utilise the latest technology with mock-ups and rigorous tests in-house, further challenging the meeting between technology, craft and innovative solutions. That said, we strongly believe in specialists and we will continue to collaborate with lighting designers.”

All of this means that for JAC Studios, the future looks bright, and Carlsson agrees, adding that he hopes to use the studio’s experiences to continue developing, and push on to new frontiers.

“We hope that the future will allow us to continue exploring and to create designs and experiences that make us reflect, question the ordinary and create new conditions.”

www.jacstudios.dk

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by dbell

Giovanni Bonazzi

Following the announcement that 3F Filippi had acquired Targetti, arc caught up with Giovanni Bonazzi, CEO of 3F Filippi to talk about the acquisition, and what it will mean for the two brands going forward.

What is the history of 3F Filippi?
3F Filippi (Fluorescent Fixtures Filippi) was founded in 1952, by my father, Romano Bonazzi, and his partner Martino Filippi, who died a few years later due to a traffic accident. The company aimed to design, produce and sell lighting fixtures equipped with fluorescent technology. The decision to enter this sector was based on the growing demand for high efficiency systems, able to illuminate the ever-increasing number of industrial plants that opened their doors every day in post-war Italy. My father understood the great potential of the lighting market development in our country and abroad, and continued to run the company along with my mother Mirella until five years ago, when he left 3F Filippi to me and my sister Cristina.

What is your role at 3F Filippi and how did you get there?
I hold the position of Chief Executive Officer, but I have been working in the family business for many years. After completing my studies, in fact, I joined 3F Filippi, dedicating myself to commercial activity and marketing. Over the years, I gradually joined my father in the choice of strategies to be undertaken.

Why did 3F Filippi acquire Targetti?
In our 66-year history, we have achieved high-level performance in our reference markets, such as industry, commerce and the tertiary sector, and have a consolidated experience in the design and production of efficient technical lighting systems. Our will to constantly test ourselves led us to take over a historic brand such as Targetti, aiming to expand our product range and develop industrial synergies with a move into the field of architectural lighting for indoor and outdoor environments.
Furthermore, the wide range of products allows us to proudly bring ‘Made in Italy’ to more than 50 countries, and grow further in markets with great prospects, such as the USA, United Kingdom and China, thanks to the dense sales network and to foreign branches.

Was it a straightforward process or was there a lot of negotiation?
It was not a long negotiation (just consider that the IDEA Fund had acquired Targetti less than a year ago). Once we established that there was no lack of opportunities to grow together on international markets, we did not find it difficult to close the deal.

What are your plans going forward with the Targetti brand?
Our aim is to bring the Targetti brand back to the growth levels of a few years ago. It is a difficult challenge, the one we are facing, but we are convinced that, thanks to adequate synergies with 3F Filippi, the Florentine company has what it takes to regain the prestige it deserves.

How will the 3F Filippi and Targetti brands sit together?
Even if this acquisition has created one of the most important Italian lighting groups, it is important to remember that we never thought about merging the two companies. They will continue to move autonomously, in order to keep valuing the approximately 600 employees who every day contribute to the growth in their concerned sectors. We are extremely satisfied with how the company has been managed up to now, and we have found an excellent management team and a close-knit and motivated team of collaborators.
That said, we will do everything to ensure that the pluses of one can become, from now on, a competitive advantage for the other. For example, I am convinced that the considerable commercial know-how gained over the years by Targetti in markets such as China, USA, United Kingdom, Russia and the United Arab Emirates will also be useful to 3F Filippi to develop its business in these countries, where it has had little presence until today.

Will there be any more acquisitions in the future?
Even if we never say never, I believe that in the next few years we will be purely concentrated in the growth of current brands, including that of Duralamp (a subsidiary of Targetti).

What will you be showing at Light+Building?
Of course Light + Building will see the participation of both brands, each with its own stand. In the case of 3F Filippi, some new versions of our appliances for industry and retail, much better performance than the previous ones, will be shown to the visitors. Moreover, the company will present a world premiere of some new lighting fixtures dedicated to work spaces, and in particular to the office. These are products that we are planning and developing together with some important Italian architectural firms.

How do you see the architectural lighting industry developing in the future?
I believe that a future full of challenges awaits us. The progressive affirmation of LED in every sector, for example, will “push” companies to complete the adaptation of their devices by equipping them with this type of light source. But the challenge will also be commercial. The most successful companies in the coming years will be the ones able to offer the best on the market, with a wider range of offers. Leaving aside, at least in part, the world of design-oriented lighting, I think that the greatest successes will be achieved by those companies, or groups, which will provide any type of lighting solution, setting themselves not as a simple products supplier, but as a a real partner that offers high added value solutions for the customer.

www.3f-filippi.com

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by dbell