Milan 2015: British architecture firm Foster + Partners has created a minimal pendant lamp from two metal discs for Italian lighting manufacturer Lumina.
The Dot pendant comprises two main elements: a small, suspended disc below a large circular reflector. The lower disc contains an array of LEDs behind an optimised lens, which focuses light onto the reflector above to create an even illumination. A custom-designed heat pipe carries electrical power to the LEDs and draws warmth away to the reflector above, which acts as a heat sink.
"The idea was to create a pendant light that is visually simple and discreet, yet technically advanced," Foster + Partners' Mike Holland told Dezeen. "The graphic approach was similar to the Flo light, which our industrial design team designed for Lumina in 2011 – like the pendant, this has a pared back, streamlined form with no extraneous controls or cables."
The light, which is the first piece in a planned collection to be launched throughout 2015, has been designed to work in a variety of settings from the home to the office. It will be available in three diameters: 600, 800 and 1,200 millimetres.
"Just as architects are concerned with every stage of the process, from the initial concepts to seeing a building through to completion on site, so too are industrial designers," said Holland. "We work throughout the cycle of design, making models and prototypes, visiting the workshops where our products are made, looking at how they are used to see if we can develop a concept further."
"We don't just consider how a product will look, we analyse how it will be specified, manufactured, transported, installed and managed," he added. "All our work is driven and designed by making, whether in our workshops or 3D-printing studio."
Mike Holland is a partner and the head of industrial design at the architecture firm, which was named the world's "most admired architect" for the ninth consecutive year in January.
"As Foster + Partners is a fully integrated practice, our team works closely with interior designers, architects, engineers, materials researchers and many other specialist disciplines," he told Dezeen. "This gives us a great deal of flexibility and access to an unrivalled depth of resources – for example, we can collaborate with our workplace consultancy, who focus on analysing and understanding the future of the office."
The department comprises 14 industrial designers who are currently working on 30 projects. "Right now we are working on a wide range of products, from office systems, transport and building products, to furniture and lighting," he said.
Holland joined Foster + Partners in 1995. His work has included the design of airport seating for Vitra, furniture for Molteni and lighting for Louis Poulsen.
The Dot pendant was presented as part of the Euroluce lighting section at this year's Salone del Mobile in Milan.