Reflections No. 2 The Art of Shaping Light A Lamp is Born The Qvest New Light in the Park A Space Less Ordinary 3 Index The Art of Shaping Light 5 A Lamp is Born 7 New Originals 16 The Qvest 26 Extraction Lab 32 A Room with a View 38 New Light in the Park 49 A Space Less Ordinary 56 LP Slim Round 64 The Art of 5 Light is vital to our well-being. Poul Henningsen This edition of Louis Poulsen Reflections looks realized this back in the 1920s when he set at a number of inspiring personalities and places out to create a glare-free lamp, which shapes – and offers insight into design that shapes light. the light in a way that maximizes human well- These include the visionary director of a coffee being. With his iconic three-shade system, Poul concept in Brooklyn, and designer Carsten Henningsen took control of the light – and laid Fischer from Henning Larsen Architects, who the foundation for our lighting philosophy, which explains the ideas behind a new park light. And has defined the way we think about and shape the GamFratesi duo, who demonstrate with the light ever since. Yuh lamp the principle that we design to shape the light. Our lamps are born out of the Scandinavian lifestyle. With bright summer nights and dark winters, we develop our simple and atmospheric lamps in the overlap between these contrasts. The result is a meeting of tradition and innovation. Form and function. Passion and quality craftsmanship. Shaping Light 6 A Lamp is Born In launching the new Yuh table, floor, and wall lamps, the designer duo GamFratesi is joining the ranks of illustrious designers and architects who have created lighting products for Louis Poulsen. The team felt the pressure of living up to the company’s proud heritage, but ultimately drew their inspiration from Arne Jacobsen and Poul Henningsen to produce a stunning design. Yuh Table lamp in black. Designed by GamFratesi. 9 What requirements did Louis Poulsen have regarding the lamp you were a couple of meetings like this during the entire process. The were asked to design? engineers then came back to us with lots of technical parts, which we then assessed, and that’s how it proceeded until we arrived at Enrico Fratesi: “The only formal requirement was that it needed to the final product.” be a table and a floor lamp. After that, we were told that the lamp should not be for the office, but for using throughout the home. It Are your different design traditions reflected in the lamp? had to be both decorative and functional. Even though the lamp may be a very complex product, it was important that the user was Enrico Fratesi: “For us, it is an integrated part of the design not aware of this complexity. That was the brief we were given, and process, so it’s difficult to say whether this or that detail is based then we set to work – which was just over a year ago.” on this or that tradition. But the sense of simplicity and the respect for the illumination’s authenticity is Danish.” What is usually the next step in your working process? Stine Gam: “Our desire to incorporate a diffuser in the lamp Stine Gam: “We spent a lot of time discussing the design and stems from our respect for Poul Henningsen’s studies and from made lots of sketches and brainstormed numerous ideas. In our appreciation of indirect light. We like the fact that you don’t this instance, we discussed the different functions of the lamp, see the light bulb, and aren’t dazzled. Italian lamp design is often the degree of technology we wanted to integrate into it, and the quite the opposite – expressive lamps with bare bulbs. With a simplicity we were aiming for. Our aim was to strike a balance diffuser, the light source is concealed, which we think makes the between the two. It was also important for us that the lamp illumination rather magical.” conveyed something about the Louis Poulsen story, and also about GamFratesi. When commissioned by a company with such Enrico Fratesi: “The Italian approach always involves pushing the a strong history as Louis Poulsen, it’s important for us that this be boundaries of design. In this case, we wanted to create something reflected in the product.” that Louis Poulsen had never made before, and here I’m referring to the complex technical challenge of incorporating an up-down Enrico Fratesi: “Louis Poulsen is the ‘master of the universe’ in movement. We wanted to bring Louis Poulsen forward in this way, terms of their research into illumination, and we wanted to honor while still respecting the company’s DNA – its colors, shapes, and this fact. We didn’t just want to produce a nice shape.” indirect light.” In designing “Yuh,” what inspired you? Stine Gam: “Italians take great pride in their inventions. They embrace technical challenges – especially when there is an Stine Gam: “We are very inspired by the AJ lamp (designed by element of innovation.” Arne Jacobsen, Ed.). There’s something very striking about its geometry. It’s angled, but the shade is designed in such a way Continued on page 11. that one part of it is always aligned with the floor in one way or another. It is extremely sculptural but also very geometric.” Enrico Fratesi: “It’s a piece of architecture.” Stine Gam: “The shape of the foot harmonizes with that of the shade. The two are directly in proportion with one another ... there’s something almost mathematical about it. We’ve also been greatly inspired by the PH lamp (designed by Poul Henningsen, Ed.), but this is largely as far as the light quality is concerned.” What was the decisive breakthrough in deciding on the design of the lamp? Stine Gam: “We arrived at the basic design quite quickly. It was based on a mathematical formula. It’s not always the case that it’s like this, but it was this time. We took the horizontal line from the shade on the AJ lamp, and once that was drawn, everything else almost fell into place. It all went extremely quickly, but then it took an extremely long time finalizing the details. It had to function as a table and floor lamp, but then we discovered that it could also be used as a wall lamp.” Enrico Fratesi: “Our biggest challenge was to design the lamp so that it could be moved in several directions. We almost drove the engineers at Louis Poulsen crazy. Six men were assigned to the task. We worked with three different types of movement in the axis: inclination, rotation, and up and down. This made it very complex. It was a huge challenge, but there’s a fantastic team of engineers at Louis Poulsen with whom we had a very good working relationship. We were invited to a meeting which was also attended by the company’s marketing team and designers so that everyone could hear about our basic idea with the lamp. There 10 11 Do you, Enrico, represent the Italian tradition, and you, Stine, the Danish tradition in your products? Stine Gam: “Not quite, because sometimes you can see something else in the other person’s culture because you’re looking at it from the outside. But in many respects, it’s probably me who provides the Danish input – the rationalist, the considered, the analyzing approach. I always want to think through the process one more time, whereas Enrico is probably more dynamic and wants to develop the look more. While I’m constantly pulling on the reins slightly, he’s wanting to urge things forward. But I think you could say that we’re archetypes for our own cultures.” Do you use anybody else as a sounding board apart from yourselves and the customer? Stine Gam: “No, our work – furniture and lighting – is almost an obsession for us. We talk a lot about it. And we spend a great deal of time thinking about it.” Enrico Fratesi: “It’s almost always just been the two of us, so it would probably be difficult for anyone else to be part of the process. We understand each other implicitly without having to put everything into words. We understand each other’s sketches, even when they have been dashed off very quickly and are unclear to other people. We’re also very different, so it doesn’t mean that we can’t discuss things, but at the end of the day we always know which route to take. It would be almost impossible for an outsider to play a role in this process.” Stine Gam: “We’re very aware that furniture design must have a long lifetime, so it’s a big responsibility designing a lamp like this. It must be able to stand the test of time, which is why we devote so much attention to every detail. It’s different with an exhibition, which might last for a week or so – then you can be more expressive. A piece of furniture calls for more precision and a critical approach.” You are also a couple in your private lives. Do you have any rules about not working when you are at home? Stine Gam: “No, and it actually seems to work OK. We often sit and discuss a particular detail over the dinner table. Once the children are in bed, our attention might return to a small screw, for example, that needs refining – it’s like this all the time.