Well-known for his experiments on innovative interactions between architecture, physiology and meteorology, architect Philippe Rahm has designed the installation “Spectral Light” for the Artemide showroom of Corso Monforte. His project explores the breakdown of the light spectrum and its effects on men, pets, and plants.
The growing interest of the lighting industry in the composition of the electromagnetic light spectrum and of the emitted wavelengths has three main reasons: the first reason concerns health and biology, as well as the beneficial psychological and physiological effects of light; the second is the need for energy saving to prevent global warming, and the third is an intrinsic reason, connected with the technological development of artificial light and with the physical properties of LEDs.
In “Spectral Light”, different spectra were designed and adjusted to the needs of the individual house “dwellers” – men, pets, birds, plants. For these spectra, the necessary wavelengths to see, grow, and enjoy the benefits of light are presented.
This research is transferred to the project conceived for Artemide: the “artificial rays” contained in the top convey the different wavelengths, whose colours remain visible, as in some sort of “electromagnetic impressionism.” In the translucent bottom, the waves mix together and fade to white by colour addition.
"This encounter with Philippe Rahm and his mindset – says Carlotta de Bevilacqua, designer for Artemide – seems to be a natural step forward in the on-going research of Artemide on sustainability, as well as on psychological and physiological perception. Starting off from the study of light and of its relation with man, space, and the environment, perception is investigated as a tool to learn about the visible world, to come up with an esperanto composing a universal spectrum to take care of the wellbeing of man, pets, and nature.”
