Espaces contemporains
Magazine · 2023
INTERVIEW LIGHT FOR MATTER In 2001, Davide Oppizzi founded the design agency DCUBE.Swiss in Geneva, specializing in light engineering. His fertile imagination and in-depth knowledge of technologies have given rise to lighting projects for prestigious brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Audemars Piguet, and the development of lighting for major international manufacturers.
WHAT TYPES OF LED ARE AVAILABLE ON THE MARKET? For residential lighting, there are three typologies. On the one hand, individual bulbs using old classic bases (type E27 or E14) which can sometimes be programmable. On the other hand, all integrated luminaires – the LED and its printed circuit are in the body of the bulb. And finally, LEDs in linear assembly, to illuminate cornices or furniture details (stup LED). WITH “FULLY INTEGRATED” LIGHTING, DID WE NOT INVENT THE DISPOSABLE LIGHTING? Planned obsolescence in lighting dates back to the first electric bulbs whose filaments were weakened in order to replace them more often… 20 years ago, LED manufacturers promised 100,000 hours of life. operation. Over the past 12-15 years, guarantees have increased to 50,000 hours for professional lighting, and from 15,000 to 25,000 hours for screw-in bulbs for the general public. The limited lifespan of the lamps often comes from the body of the luminaire which, if it is too small, has difficulty dissipating the heat projected by the LED towards the rear. Without a sufficient mass of metal to act as a heat sink, there cannot be a powerful LED bulb. On the other hand, an LED must be controlled by an electronic system, which often only lasts 10,000 to 20,000 hours. Universal ranges called “retrofit” have been developed which allow the LED-PCB-Aluminium assembly to be extracted. But they only exist for professional lighting. WHAT NEW POSSIBILITIES HAVE LEDS OFFERED TO DESIGNERS? There are many. But we can cite the development of portable lamps, which is only possible if they consume little. In this line of products, I designed the Curiosity lamp for Artemide which can be recharged with a USB cable. It can light up the terrace on summer evenings or be used indoors to enhance an object. And its consumption is very low (1.6 w). CAN A DESIGNER ADDRESS THE QUESTION OF HEALTH THROUGH LIGHTING? For a long time, the biggest concern with LED was its glare and its too predominant blue spectrum curve in photometry, which destroyed our natural clock through the inhibition of melatonin and disrupted the circadian wake-sleep cycle. Today, the integration of multi-color diodes into LED components, diffusing warm and cold light, as well as developments in programming, allow us to reproduce the curve of the sun. In our studio, we are very active in hospitals where we create atmospheres that regulate the sleep cycle of patients and also caregivers. WHAT ABOUT CITY LIGHTING? We work on all issues of light pollution that are harmful to our environment when designing outdoor lighting. The Needo lamp for Artemide includes a filter that eliminates the blue spectrum, which further protects the plant and animal circadian cycle. YOU HAVE DESIGNED SEVERAL HYBRID, DUAL-FUNCTION LIGHTS. WHAT WERE YOUR OBJECTIVES? The light must bring added value to the product, be useful. In our creative process we seek to bring together two worlds, furniture and lighting, which sometimes have never met. This is the case, for example, of the Ametis shower for Graff where the light therapy system really illuminates the shower area without any other light input. WHAT CHARACTERIZES YOUR APPROACH TO LIGHTING? For 21 years, we have defended the idea that “light reveals the material”, in other words, that good lighting is often much more valuable than the finish of the luminaire itself. But our vision of light lies even more in what we today call “Human centric Lighting”, that is to say the art of mimicking natural light so that lighting promotes health, comfort and well-being. dcube.swiss
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