Our world has never been more cross-dependent. Boundaries are not made of physical walls, but are losing their material substance to become a web. Thus, while ideas, skills, and innovation can spread freely, with an impact on the planet’s destiny, decline can undermine our common future at the same time. The world is facing three main challenges: fairness, stability, and sustainability. With this scenario in place, a company like Artemide wonders about the meaning of designing – today – such an important shared asset as light, a customary element in our lives.
Indeed the competence of Artemide, traditionally focused on relations between man and light and, particularly, on individual wellbeing and space perception, has constantly expanded in the past few years to confront with the issue of the conscious use of energy and of environmental resources. Light is thus conceived according to universal values, and designed respectfully of man’s rights and duties towards himself and the planet: long life, conscious consumption, eco-efficacy and “more with less” become the foundations for good design, producing an improvement in the quality of life, offering man a perceptive experience, and ensuring man’s self-determination in space and time. This modern vision of light design is nourished by a combination of know how and innovative technological, electronic and optical skills, giving life to open platforms of product systems that can be updated on an on-going basis. Solutions for light and system control are offered respectfully of the planet, ensuring focused energy consumption.
Artemide proposes for the 14th edition of Designers’ Saturday a “Manifesto Installation” of light animating a 500 sq. m. space, where visitors can follow an emotional, psycho-physiological route towards gradual consciousness across four luminous installations:
1 – light feeds space. a luminous sculpture welcomes visitors and offers an exciting perceptive and spatial experience (Cosmic Leaf, Cosmic Angel, and Skydro designed by Ross Lovegrove)
2 – light feeds mind. A space of light where colour perception relates with man’s psycho-physiological pace (Altrove designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua)
3 – light feeds nature. A forest of light and colour creates a natural scenario of beneficial light effects in favour of plant development (Metacolor designed by Ernesto Gismondi, Yang designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua)
4 – light feeds earth. A “meccano” of light turns into the testimonial for a responsible Life Cycle Assessment of products for environmental protection (Tolomeo designed by Michele de Lucchi)
To support these values, the whole installation was conceived with ‘SecondUse’ products, Artemide’s contribution to Designers’ Saturday 2012 in Langenthal intends to provide the visitors with instruments for a critical review of the role of light and of the man-light relation, with man seen as a proactive part, responsible both towards himself and the planet.
