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Gentle is a humorous outdated factor, one of many oldest in truth. As outdated because the universe and simply as unruly, it has been guiding human conduct since lengthy earlier than we realized to construct, bringing pleasure with every dawn, quelling concern as firelight, invisible as infrared and seemingly unending as LED. It may be so completely different in its functions, but it’s at all times mild, refusing to suit neatly into the classes we attempt to impose.
In workplaces or medical areas, mild is pinned down by requirements, anticipated to supply brightness, suppress glare and preserve effectivity with medical reliability. Whereas in eating places, resorts or houses, it performs a unique position, softening notion and coaxing ambiance from even probably the most odd of rooms. Architects are properly practiced at assembly these opposing calls for, layering the useful with the emotive. But, the market nonetheless tends to separate the technique of reaching them: technical techniques constructed for efficiency, ornamental fixtures designed for temper. Nevertheless, nice structure can not exist with out each.
Of their collections, Vibia ensures precision and ambiance aren’t opposing forces however situations that may be tuned collectively. Modular techniques are engineered to offer designers compositional management — tracks, connectors, dimming protocols — whereas acquainted typologies are reworked into sculptural presences that form temper and notion.
This twin method underpins a lot of Vibia’s catalogue and was introduced into sharp reduction on this yr’s Architizer A+Product Awards, the place two very completely different collections had been acknowledged. Bind, a observe system designed with Martín Azúa, offers architects with a spine for choreographing mild throughout any plan. Whereas Class, created with Sebastian Herkner, transforms the out of doors lighting into beacons of ambiance, with its fluted glass diffusers turning what would usually be thought of infrastructure into an emotive presence. Collectively, they illustrate a producer that has realized to stability specification with sensibility, giving architects instruments and atmospheres in equal measure. Architizer spoke to the staff at Vibia to search out out extra about how these two clever merchandise got here to be and the way they outline Vibia as a model.
Vibia obtained awards for 2 contrasting lighting options this yr. What does the popularity of each Bind and Class reveal about your present priorities as a lighting producer?
Receiving accolades for each Bind and Class in the identical yr affirms the breadth of Vibia’s design ambition—one which spans the architectural and the sculptural, the technical and the emotional. These two contrasting techniques mirror a twin dedication: to empower designers with precision-engineered instruments like Bind, whereas additionally reimagining typologies with poetic resonance in out of doors areas, as seen in Class. It reveals our present precedence: shaping atmospheres via mild in all its varieties, harmonizing rigor and expression.
Vibia describes its mission as serving to to form areas via ambiance. How does that ambition affect the way in which your merchandise are designed and developed?
At Vibia, we perceive mild not simply as illumination, however as a design materials — one which defines notion, guides emotion and animates house. Our ambition to form ambiance drives each side of product improvement. It conjures up us to create instruments for designers which might be each modular and significant, elevating the narrative potential of sunshine throughout various typologies and contexts. By prioritizing qualities akin to visible consolation, pure rhythms, and emotional resonance, our lighting options contribute to environments that nurture well-being — areas the place individuals really feel extra current, linked, and comfy.
Bind is described as an atmospheric lighting resolution somewhat than only a fixture. What hole available in the market or in architectural lighting design had been you aiming to handle?
Bind emerged from the ambition to dissolve the binary between technical and ornamental lighting. Within the present design panorama, architects search lighting techniques that provide flexibility with out aesthetic compromise. Bind fills that hole: a minimalist but expressive observe system that permits atmospheric interventions at each scale.
The observe system allows each technical and expressive lighting typologies in a single set up. Why was it vital to deliver these two approaches right into a single system?
Bringing technical and ornamental typologies into one unified platform displays the evolving wants of spatial designers. Initiatives at this time demand each precision and ambiance, typically in a single gesture. Bind makes it doable to calibrate mild from a single, elegantly engineered spine.
Bind makes use of a pincer connector that permits luminaires to be positioned anyplace alongside the bar. How does that stage of flexibility change the way in which designers method structure and composition?
Its pincer connector exemplifies this adaptability. By permitting luminaires to be positioned freely alongside the observe, designers are liberated from inflexible constraints—capable of choreograph mild as a spatial composition somewhat than a hard and fast set up.
Bind gives delicate management over mild density and distribution. What varieties of spatial programmes profit most from this stage of customization?
The delicate tune-ability of Bind — its skill to dial mild depth, distribution and lighting impact — makes it best for environments that evolve. Retail, hospitality, gallerie, and hybrid workspaces profit from this responsiveness, because it permits mild to adapt to shifting spatial narratives and useful wants.
Was Bind conceived as a system for new-build initiatives, or is it equally suited to retrofit and adaptive reuse contexts?
Whereas Bind is completely fitted to new-build initiatives, its discreet profile and modular nature additionally make it a strong resolution for retrofit and adaptive reuse. It’s about giving designers the liberty to rethink present situations with precision and style.
Class reinterprets the bollard as a extra expressive, sculptural ingredient. What was the conceptual start line for the gathering?
Class is a beacon that resonates with the poetics of place. The place to begin was to raise a usually utilitarian ingredient, imbuing it with character and craft, reworking it from infrastructure into an architectural assertion.
The fluted glass diffuser offers the sunshine a mushy, ambient high quality whereas concealing the supply. Why was this kind of lighting impact vital in an outside setting?
The fluted glass diffuser was important to this transformation. It gives a mushy, ambient glow that feels intrinsic to the panorama, somewhat than imposed upon it. By concealing the supply, the luminaire disappears into its personal mild, creating temper somewhat than glare.
Class is obtainable in each wall-mounted and freestanding variations. How does that adaptability reply to the way in which out of doors areas are being designed at this time?
With a number of utility availability, Class addresses the rising complexity and intentionality of outside design. Landscapes at this time are curated extensions of inside house, and Class helps that continuity with formal coherence and useful versatility.
The gathering consists of distant dimming and sensible management choices. How are shoppers and designers utilizing these options to form exterior environments?
As with different Vibia collections, Good wi-fi management is enabled by an elective accent that permits customers to show lighting right into a dynamic, experiential layer of design.
Bind is suitable with a number of present Vibia collections. How did you make sure that integration would really feel seamless, each aesthetically and technically?
To make sure seamless integration with iconic Vibia pendant collections, Bind was developed with aesthetic compatibility and technical synergy in thoughts. The result’s a system that blends effortlessly, visually and functionally, with our broader design language.
The place are you seeing the strongest uptake for Bind and Class? Are sure sectors or typologies main demand?
Bind has seen sturdy uptake in hospitality, office and mixed-use environments the place flexibility and management are paramount. Class resonates particularly in residential and hospitality realm initiatives the place emotional expression and visible continuity are key.
Has there been a shift in the way in which lighting is specified as a part of a undertaking’s architectural narrative?
We’re seeing a shift in how lighting is specified—not as a technical afterthought, however as a foundational element of the architectural narrative. Merchandise like Bind and Class reply to that shift by providing designers expressive, built-in techniques that form how areas are felt as a lot as how they’re seen.
What did it imply for Vibia to be recognised within the Architizer A+Product Awards, and the way has it affected conversations with specifiers or collaborators?
Being honored within the Architizer A+Product Awards was a second of reflection and momentum. It validated our perception that lighting may be each useful and poetic — and that the market values this synthesis. The popularity has sparked deeper conversations with architects, specifiers and collaborators who share our imaginative and prescient of lighting as an architectural language.
What would you say to different lighting manufacturers contemplating submitting to the A+Product Awards?
To different lighting manufacturers contemplating submission, we’d say this: these awards are greater than a platform: they’re a dialog. They invite the business to have fun not simply design excellence, however the concepts that drive it.
The winners of the A+Product Awards have been introduced! Looking forward to subsequent season? Keep updated by subscribing to Architizer’s A+Product Awards Publication.
