LUCE 349

LUCE met architect Massimo Roj, founder of Progetto CMR, an integrated design company, in Milan, in the offices on Via Russoli, the beating heart of an activity that in 30 years of life has achieved “staggering” numbers: 260 million sqm of master plans, 40 million sqm built, 4,000 projects in 8 countries, 8 offices around the world and 50 awards and recognitions. This space full of life, objects and suggestions not only recounts Massimo Roj’s approach to work in partnership, but also his many passions: music (especially rock), art, sport and nature, all expressing an enthusiasm and a way of thought that goes beyond architecture itself.

LUCE caught up with Daan Roosegaarde, a representative of a new generation of creatives who see art and technology as fundamental tools for tackling the environmental challenges of our time. His projects, which range from air purification to solar energy, show that innovation can be at the service of humanity and the planet.

That of Davide Groppi is a light rich in meaning.  It is an element that becomes a sign to tell stories as in a film or theatre set. He is passionate about mathematics and philosophy and his vision is a perfect synthesis between humanism and technology, and also between lightness of shape and the search for profound meanings. His words in LUCE’s interview testify a cultured vision, a great, authentic passion for his work and a continuous, spasmodic desire to always experiment with something new, or “the most beautiful light in the world.”

Winner of the Compasso d’Oro 2024 (the Oscar award for industrial design ideated by Gio Ponti in 1954) with his Biga lamp, made by the Friuli-based start-up company Lym, architect Marco Zito is a designer and associate professor of Industrial Product Design at the IUAV University of Venice, and visiting professor in Rwanda, Egypt and Uruguay. The award-winning lamp, on display in Milan until 15 September at the ADI Design Museum, is the most recent of his many creations. Venice, which is the home of his studio, and the water of its lagoon, are a source of inspiration for his designs that are often rooted in the territory and have won international awards and recognition. Marco Zito’s practice deals with product design, exhibition design and architecture.

The innovative Merlata Bloom shopping center, just opened, is inspired by the helical structure of DNA and breathes new life into an underdeveloped area of Milan. Designed by Arcadis-CallisonRTKLand, its creative director Jorge Beroiz and his team, it is a tribute to sustainability and everyday life, as it promotes responsible consumption and meets the highest standards of urban planning so as to have a positive impact on the environment and society. L+DG Lighting Architects founded in Athens by lighting designer Thomas Gravanis designed its lighting project with tailored lighting solutions aimed at creating an urban oasis. LUCE asked Gravanis to explain the lighting design of Merlata Bloom, which connects Mind and Uptown, two of Milan’s most important urban redevelopment projects.

Francesco Murano, architect and lighting designer dedicated (by choice) to art, has illuminated more than two hundred art exhibitions in Italy and abroad.

“Every exhibition has its own story… The responsibility of the lighting designer becomes not only to illuminate the work, but to put it in relation. My working method requires commitment in interpreting the author, you have to know how to grasp his identity: first I document myself and try to grasp his spirit, in order to understand whether to put more light or less light, warmer or less warm, more detailed shadows or fewer shadows and so on…”

LUCE met with the set and lighting designer Angelo Linzalata, an artist who, through his refined technical and aesthetic research, merges set design and lighting design, ranging from prose theatre to opera, treading the main Italian and international stages. “… I feel great emotion when working outdoors, in the silence of the night, in the emptiness of the scene, in the unexpectedness of a rain shower and in the hope of endless time. Then the unfailing dawn will come: the wonderful light of life…”

LUCE talks to Prof. Franco Cotana, CEO of Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico, RSE S.p.A., which is in charge of Italy’s electricity and energy development and is a full professor of industrial and technical physics at the Department of Engineering of the University of Perugia. He has been active and present for years in the most important working groups on energy transition at a national and international level and he tells us about the role of RSE in the process of sustainable energy transition, also addressing the issue of the challenges and opportunities of nuclear power.

The concept of good light is increasingly becoming a new paradigm in which it is light itself that motivates us to better understand the interconnections and the beneficial synaesthetic and healing effects it produces in our psyche and body. Already in the last century, light had been widely used for therapeutic purposes starting from the assumption that the light radiation on the human body might be beneficial, and this both outdoors, under sunlight, and in indoor environments. In fact, light directly affects the central nervous system, regulating mood, alertness and circadian rhythms through the stimulation of the retina and the sending of signals to the brain. This implies the need to receive the amount and intensity of light that is physiologically necessary throughout the day, and also its harmonious integration and interaction with artificial light especially in the design of places intended for care and hospitalisation such as hospitals, so as to allow the patient to receive, in the right place and at the right time, that particular environmental condition that comforts, sensitises and also gives him the psycho-physical condition that can better cope with his stay and recovery.

LUCE features the first of a series of two articles by Maurizio Rossi, full professor of Design at the Politecnico di Milano and president of the AIC-International Colour Association, and by architect and lighting designer Paola Bertoletti, discussing and exploring the subject of Artificial Intelligence, a topic that is more relevant than ever today and which is significant and complex for all its ethical, social and cultural implications. The discussion is based on an analysis of state-of-the-art research and applications in this area. AI, in particular deep learning, is revolutionizing lighting management, enabling energy optimization and improved occupant comfort. Smart lighting systems, integrated with sensors and IoT networks, can automatically adapt to environmental conditions and user needs, providing personalized lighting. These technologies are turning smart buildings into “Cognitive Buildings”, structures that can dynamically adapt to changing conditions and provide improved living experiences through continuous data analysis and machine learning. However, these innovations present challenges including the need to ensure that AI solutions are accessible and easy to use for everyone, regardless of their level of technological expertise.

LUCE meets LeoNilde Carabba (1938, Monza, Italy), one of the pioneers of Italian Light Art and a scholar of astronomy, astrology and Kabbalah, investigating the “spiritual in art.”

Her circles, spirals and triangles in fluorescent colours live under a Wood’s lamp and originate from darkness. She is a stellar, cosmic, alchemic and symbolist spatialist who would have fascinated Gustav Jung.  Heir of Lucio Fontana, she puts fluorescent and phosphorescent colours and other mixed techniques at the heart of her research as an expression of a personal tension towards the infinite, towards the origin of the mystery of the universe. Carabba, explorer of the unknown, made her debut in 1966 with her experiments on the refraction of light, achieving, through the use of glass microspheres, a surface with variable luminous intensity according to the viewer’s angle without the need for mechanical means.

Light is increasingly becoming part of a broad and constantly evolving context. The topic was addressed and discussed in depth during the 21st National Congress of AIDI, the Italian Lighting Association, which took place on 24 and 25 June in Bologna, at the Palazzo dei Congressi. “While our lives are becoming more and more frenetic and there are constant accelerations, we are also trying to slow down and respect natural rhythms that also involve light.” This was a reflection by Laura Bellia, President of AIDI, who introduced the four topics that were covered during the Association’s National Congress entitled PASSATO / FUTURO L’influenza della luce sul cambiamento degli stili di vita (PAST / FUTURE The influence of light on changing lifestyles). Light and Nature, Light and Cultural Heritage, Light and the City and Light and Health were the four thematic areas addressed and extended through the papers and contributions of the invited speakers, and by two round tables and three interactive workshops.