Slamp: Naturally Futuristic Lighting Design
NEW LIGHTS
'S'Wonderful, 'S'Marvellous Slamp!*
Plastics were revolutionary in the world of design. Mid-century designers of furniture and lighting who first embraced this new technology are now remembered as some of the most groundbreaking pioneers in their fields.
Because they unshackled themselves from the physical limitations of traditional materials such as wood, glass, and metal, those men and women were the first artisans in centuries to truly let their imaginations take wing and create designs the likes of which had never been--and could not have been--seen before. It is that legacy of creativity and technological innovation that is honoured, celebrated, and continued by Slamp.
A pair of Accordèon chandeliers, complimented by an Accordèon table lamp, designed by Marc Sadler for Slamp
Designing the Future
Founded in 1994, Slamp has devoted itself to exploring new technology and pushing the boundaries with the same passion and ingenuity as the first lighting designers who experimented with plastics.
After decades of research and development, Slamp has developed a vibrant and eclectic line of gorgeous designer lights. Through the combination of their patented technopolymers and collaborations with esteemed and iconic designers, their designer lights enjoy forms and shapes that would be impossible with any other material.
All of Slamp's technopolymers have been carefully developed to naturally repel dust through antistatic treatments and to resist both damage and heat. But, also, Slamp's brilliant engineers have devised each individual technopolymer to be uniquely remarkable in its own way:
- CristalflexⓇ--used in strong, clear, crystalline designs such as Aria Transparent chandelier by legendary architect Zaha Hadid--is actually more transparent than glass or crystal, but stronger, lighter, and more flexible.
Aria Transparent suspension lights, designed by the late Zaha Hadid
- OpalflexⓇ is a blend of technopolymer and glass crystals that increases diffusion and refraction of light while maximizing malleability of form. This makes OpalflexⓇ perfect for applications such as Bios collection or the playfully vibrant Gemmy family by Alessandro Spalletta.
- Where metallic finishes for non-metals are usually painted on, Slamp's line--GoldflexⓇ, SteelflexⓇ, CopperflexⓇ, and PewterflexⓇ--are infused with their metallic finishes through hyperbaric vaporization. This allows designs such as Nigel Coates' Ginetta suspension light--a slimmed-down "digital evolution" of a chandelier--to add a noble, opulent depth to its central metaphor.
Nigel Coates' chandelier-inspired Ginetta pendant lights in gold, silver, and black
- PlainflexⓇ is used where a clean, simple presence is needed for extra support for other elements.
- And, finally, LentiflexⓇ, Slamp's go-to medium. Lentiflex combines crystalline and organic properties, offering crystal-like refraction of light through fluid, natural forms, as with Adriano Rachele's energetically poetic Étoile pendant light.
Powerfully ethereal, Étoile suspension lights and Étoile ceiling light add a dramatic splash
Using these remarkable materials has empowered Slamp to offer geniuses like Marc Sadler, Robert Wilson, Lorenza Bozzoli, Marcantonio, and Elisa Giovanonni the chance to bring their most elusive flights of fancy to splendid life.
But Slamp's commitment to forward-thinking and designing the future is not simply a matter of materials. The unique qualities of Slamp's technopolymers is what enables the creation of designer lighting systems such as Miguel Arruda's Nuvem. Arruda says of the multiple-award-winning Nuvem's exceptionally light and airy design that "we didn't make a lamp; we made a ceiling." This refers to the way that Nuvem's individual modules can be quickly and easily combined to create vast, fluid arrangements, rising and dipping to embrace architectural spaces in a textured blanket of ethereal illumination.
Lighting the Way Forward
One of the most important ways in which Slamp looks and strives toward the future is in ensuring that the Earth has a future. Slamp's commitment to sustainability and ecological thinking has been a part of their DNA since they were founded, and has played a pivotal role in their growth and expansion over the years.
The largest initiative Slamp has pursued in maintaining sustainability has been--perhaps counterintuitively--the development of their selection of technopolymer materials. Their faith in these materials was endorsed by a 2016 study by Trucost for the American Chemistry Council, which found that use of technopolymers resulted in an environmental cost up to four times lower than alternatives.
Slamp's new environmentally-conscious headquarters outside Rome
Not satisfied to just leave their environmental commitment at that, however, Slamp has further embraced their responsibility to protect the planet through numerous other actions:
- When Slamp opened a new headquarters outside Rome in 2019, they designed it to use sustainable materials and to reduce climate and artificial lighting needs throughout the facility to reduce its carbon footprint.
- All of Slamp's proprietary technopolymers were designed to be recyclable.
- All materials--from technopolymers to packing cartons and materials--used by Slamp are used in accordance with international environmental regulations.
- Slamp has eliminated the emission of CO2 and other toxic and greenhouse gases from their production process via coldcutting for luminaires such as the Cactus family of lights.
- They have worked with designers and engineers to minimize waste through intelligent design of materials and components.
The Cactus Prisma and Cactus families of lights... and also some dude
Another initiative that deserves special attention is Slamp's 2019 partnership with Italian plastic engineering firm DS Group. The Dal Sasso Group is a forward-thinking company that has blended a sustainability focus with its endeavours in plastic injection-moulding. Working together with Slamp, DS Group has devised a brilliant collaborative effort in which they recycle Slamp's waste materials into components for new bumblebee hives.
Once a month, DS Group takes the collected remnants of Slamp's already environmentally-engineered coldcutting process and shreds them into 5mm plastic pieces. The pieces are then used to replace virgin plastic in the production of housings that house queen bees and form the basis for new bee colonies.
Owing to this unique end use, this entire process not only reduces the amount of plastic waste in the world, but is also already helping to rebuild bee populations. Those bees, then, help replace artificial pollination methods in the agriculture industry, which are not only more time and labour-intensive but often also involve the release of chemicals and greenhouse gases.
Contemporary Lighting with a Natural Feel
Slamp's reverence for nature extends into their designs, as well. Thematically, their often favour rich, natural forms for their lighting designs, which is likely due to the malleability and vibrance of the various technopolymers Slamp offers them to work with.
As the title of Slamp's latest campaign, Flower Power, indicates, they wholly embrace this lush floral influence when it sprouts up in the design process. The combination of natural essence with futuristic technopolymers creates a marvellous juxtaposition that invites further exploration and complexity in these relationships.
The Clizia family, for instance, resembles a dense treetop, with light filtering through fixed, translucent "leaves." This creates a shadow-and-light effect that is at once natural and, owing to the colouring and square shape of these "leaves," futuristic. The clustered boxwood bush was the inspiration for Nigel Coates' Fiorella collection, which takes a simple, two-dimensional shape as its theme and erupts into a complex three-dimensional form.
Marc Sadler infused LaFleur with a vivacious dignity, making it a joyously elegant companion for cocktails
By heating and manipulating a thin LentiflexⓇ sheet, Marc Sadler created the divine LaFleur portable table light. Life courses through this delicate-looking floral design, bending and refracting along every fold of its technopolymer "petals."
En Rose, La Vie Ceiling and Wall Light
Slamp's holistic, forward-thinking philosophy and passion for natural, organic themes is perhaps best-represented in La Vie, a new ceiling and wall luminaire from the mind of Adriano Rachele. A geometrically organic blossom formed from OpalflexⓇ, La Vie was inspired by the Flower of Life, a concept from New Age philosophy.
La Vie ceiling light in the Multiblue finish
Adriano Rachele
Although only recently named such, The Flower of Life motif has appeared in the art of almost every ancient culture on Earth. It depicts the intersections of multiple overlapping circles, often used to represent the many intricate and subtle ways all forces and beings interweave in a universal tapestry.
La Vie leans into the "flower" part of the Flower of Life by drawing its total from geometrically-arranged petals instead of circles. Angles and edges in the translucent Opalflex diffuser toy with light and shadow to imbue La Vie with a formal metaphor of life, death, and rebirth--which can be further complicated by choosing one of the vibrant chromatic colour combinations available in addition to the essential white.
La Vie makes a clean and refreshing addition to bathrooms, powder rooms, and en suites
Beyond its artistic value, La Vie is simply a wondrously warm and dynamic luminaire. It offers a pleasant and friendly presence that embraces all who are lucky enough to experience the glow it produces, making it particularly suitable for designers looking to add a fun, vibrant touch to lighting plans for hotels, lounges, or restaurants.
Wall or ceiling, white or chromatic, La Vie bursts with life and joy
Thanks to Slamp's young, forward-thinking core philosophy, their entire product line offers vibrant, thoughtful, and cost-effective solutions for both residential and commercial projects. More, their lively and energetic luminaires offer a new, intriguing voice that nonetheless echoes that of more traditional designs and materials. Explore the tremendous possibilities offered by Slamp's innovative line of technopolymers and breathtaking designer collaborations at LightFormSHOP.com, or visit our offices and showrooms in Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Kelowna, and Winnipeg to discuss your lighting needs.
*Deepest apologies to George and Ira Gershwin.