Light becomes a furniture fixture



Despite colossal achievements in most areas of civilisation, it does seem extraordinary that the last breakthrough in the march towards cost-effective, more efficient lighting was back in 1962 with Nick Holonyak's LED (light-emitting diodes) technology.

"Though the word 'revolution' has been devalued by overuse, LEDs are only the third revolution in illumination technology since the dawn of fire," explains Mark Mills, a physicist and co-author of the verbosely titled The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy (Basic Books, 2005). "To crudely analogise: LEDs are the quantum equivalent of using a butane lighter instead of rubbing sticks to start a fire."

Despite the breakthrough, early commercial use of LED technology was hardly earth-shattering for the lighting movement due to their poor quality - although the cheap digital watch industry did rather well. Today however, the new generation is literally 1,000 times more effective. "High power LEDs are on the verge of being able to radically alter the entire lighting landscape with staggering improvements in both lighting efficiency and efficacy," predicts Mills.

Lighting designers tend to agree: "When blue LEDs were developed about five or six years ago it made an enormous difference to the scope with which you could work with them," says the American lighting designer James Clar, currently working with Traffic Gallery in Dubai. "Along with the existing red and green LEDs they completed the toolset for lighting design."

The knock-on effect of LEDs in lighting design has even been felt in the most traditional sectors of the industry with Swarovski attempting to break the monotony of the ubiquitous three-tier crystal confections that have been in favour for generations. Their annual Crystal Palace Collection collaborates with the world's leading contemporary designers to re-invent the chandelier as an art form.

The star of Crystal Palace 2008 was an installation by the designer Ross Lovegrove incorporating a chandelier and a table. Within its dining art space, the inverted chandelier appears to have melted through the ceiling to deliver three-dimensional light above and below the table while its crystals are reflected on the table's aluminium surface, reflecting their liquidity and light. Stunning - but far too awe-inspiring to eat dinner off.

The blurring of light and art is becoming a recurring theme with younger designers, many of whom are inspired by the work of Ingo Maurer, a German lighting designer who has been producing whimsical lit art for more than 40 years. Maurer's signature device is a light bulb with little white wings handmade from goose feathers attached to its metal base and incorporated into wall lights and chandeliers on the ends of twisted metal rods. These Lucellinos, as he calls them, appear to flutter about like birds or tiny cherubim. The designer was also called upon to design a giant, gleaming snowflake of steel, light and crystal that has hovered over the intersection of New York's Fifth Avenue and 57th Street during Christmas's past and was joined this year by a twin in London's Knightsbridge.

Although critics may argue that Maurer's work is less art and more high-end kitsch, there's no denying his experiments with new technologies have yielded some gorgeous objects melding lighting design and furniture. "Bench" is exactly that - albeit made of plate glass and embedded throughout with wireless LED lights that sparkle like stars reflected on water.

Maurer has also created wallpaper with built-in circuitry and LEDs as has fellow designer, the Dutchman Jonas Samson. The wallpaper slowly changes colours and patterns to mesmerising effect.

Sotirios Papadopoulos is another designer fusing light and furniture with his Full Moon console table. Coated with ELI (Eco Light Inside), an eco-friendly material developed by the designer, it creates a realistic, glowing effect when the lights go out - for added va-vroom it is delivered with an accompanying CD of music designed specifically for the Full Moon.

Going back to his roots, this month also sees the launch of -Papadopoulos's Gamma Ray light, which will glow in the dark for eight hours after it is turned off.

But even if the lighting cognoscenti are ready for furniture that does double-duty as a lighting system, are the rest of us?

Clar thinks so: "People want to see crazy cutting-edge lighting design and they have become far more accepting of electronics. For instance, 10 years ago no one would have a clue what to do with an iPhone but now most people could find their way around one. It will be the same with electronic art and design."

It may be some time before most of us find our way around the technology of Kunal Kushor of the -Dubai-based designers Born Unequal. With a Masters in electronic engineering and robotics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - alma mater of no less than 26 Nobel laureates in physics and chemistry - Kushor just wanted to go into lighting.

"After I graduated I came to Dubai and had a few friends working in residential interior design," he recalls. "They were buying extremely expensive chandeliers but they seemed so big and dull. I felt there was a lack of innovation in the industry so I decided to design one myself."

The result was a concept Kushor calls "a cocktail of art and light". Crystals, spotlights and LEDs come together alongside robotic technology so they move and change their shape. In the Dipti lighting series, the Amorphous chandelier has the ability to change its orientation up to several dozen times creating a -series of flowers, stars and arcs.

"They are the first chandeliers in the world with the ability to do this," states Kushor, explaining the simplicity with which their owners can programme in different sequences with the simple touch-screen remote. He's even done a similar installation at floor level with his -Crystal Garden, suitable for anyone with the odd 20m x 20m spare space waiting to be filled with ever-changing blooms and sunbursts. According to Kushor, dynamic lighting is the future. "I'd like to think that within five to six years people can have lighting throughout their home that changes with their mood - why should it be static when it doesn't have to be?"

Not surprisingly, it's difficult for Kushor to explain his technology in layman's terms but suffice to say it's a smorgasbord of latching, rotating, spring cables and linear slides - with up to 600 motors and activators used in each installation. He's currently working on lighting with butane so a fire appears to float within the installation. "The crystals present in three dimensions, so they can appear to be suspended. Just like the candles that float in mid-air in the Harry Potter movies - this technology can do the same."

The Portuguese-based designer Beau McClellen has also used robotics in his chandelier for a client in Qatar. When unveiled later this year, at a staggering 64 metres long, it will be largest in the world. Fashioned into a gorge with a "river" of light running through it, the chandelier's small robot runs along the inside to remove any exterior dust - relief indeed for anyone who might have otherwise been summoned to clean it.

McClellan describes himself as a designer working to change the focus of the lighting industry through the implementing of LED technology: "I'm a fan of LEDs not only because they are more efficient than typical light sources, but from a design point of view they are small, lightweight and powerful," he says.

He's not alone. At last year's LightFair International 2008 in Las Vegas (no stranger to a chandelier or two) LEDs were the talk of the event. The message from its key-note speakers was that the solid-state lighting technology that was cutting-edge a few years ago is now approaching mainstream status - a fact borne out by LightFair's Innovational Awards programme where almost 45 per cent of the new products involved LEDs.

Clar feels that the UAE is the perfect vehicle for taking cutting-edge lighting outdoors as well as in. "You can do some incredible lighting around the architecture here; it's the perfect backdrop." Like many lighting designers (McClellan included), he has a background in film. "One of the key ideas that struck me when I started to get into media theory is that as you look at light your brain is interpreting it as shapes and colours. Over time these are combined to become storylines that begin to evoke an emotional response. That's a powerful tool."

Clar feels it is the job of a designer or artist to think outside the common structure. "I am observing everything that is around me and am trying to develop a new way of looking at things. The possibilities with light are just so much more than what is being produced today."

One of Clar's latest projects is the development of a lighting design with a sensor that can measure carbon dioxide output from cars. "The idea is to put it on the highway, and then as cars pass by they will help form installations that change with the emissions from every passing car - it sounds crazy, but we have the technology to do it - it can happen."

if you go

The flights 

Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning. 

The trains

Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.

The hotels

Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.

Expert input

If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?

“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett

“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche

“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox

“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite

 “I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy

“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

The specs: 2018 Maserati Ghibli

Price, base / as tested: Dh269,000 / Dh369,000

Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 355hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm @ 4,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 8.9L / 100km

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding

World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88

Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883

COMPANY%20PROFILE%3A
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Envision%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKarthik%20Mahadevan%20and%20Karthik%20Kannan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20The%20Netherlands%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Technology%2FAssistive%20Technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204impact%2C%20ABN%20Amro%2C%20Impact%20Ventures%20and%20group%20of%20angels%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Company%20Profile
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

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DMZ facts
  • The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
  • It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
  • The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
  • It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
  • Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
  • Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
  • Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012. 
  • Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now