Venice, Italy – Known for its contemporary, innovative designs, Italian lighting specialist Lodes is proud to announce its first collaboration with international architecture and design studio, Snøhetta. The partnership sees the launch of a new lighting collection entitled Volum, an exclusive series of glass lamps that is poetically simple yet complex in its technically driven solution.
Designed to fill a space with an uninterrupted, 360-degree illumination, Volum glows uniformly in all directions providing a calming and coherent radiance. Snøhetta was inspired by the architectural need for a contextually adaptable and scalable pendant light and consequently created an elegant white blown glass lamp available in four size options.
Not only does Volum pay homage to the Italian tradition of globe-shaped, glass lamps – in particular, the glassblowing process that morphs glass into naturally imperfect shapes – it also sets a new standard with modern architectural sensibilities injected by the Oslo-based designers. The four globes measure 14cm, 22cm, 29cm and 42cm (diameter), and despite their different sizes, they complement each other intuitively and harmoniously. Seamless and understated, each Volum globe sees the diffuser and frame appear as a single form – from which the cable is the only hanging element. To achieve this level of superb cleanliness, the upper part of the glass has been skilfully cut – at 45 degrees – so that it can be closed with a translucent methacrylate lid that seals the lamp. While the lid conceals a metal part attached to the diffuser and the frame that houses the light source, the only exposed element on the outside is a small opening that allows the cable in and helps balance the globe.
Volum is completed with a glossy white finish that is bold yet traditional, offering a decorative touch thanks to the reflections on the surface. With a single transparent hanging power cable, the three smaller sizes can be hung individually, as well as in a cluster on a canopy to make unique compositions. With its re-interpretation of a lighting archetype, Volum represents another step in Lodes’ ongoing exploration of the relationship between lighting, space and the ways in which the individual interacts with these elements.
Marius Myking, Director of Product Design at Snøhetta comments: “We often talk about the notion of prepositions – the relationship between objects and people in a space. Applying this way of thinking, viewing something as above, below or next to something else, to a light source, it needs to be as functional and beautiful from all prepositions in space. The Volum series solves this in its technical solution while celebrating the craft of glassmaking.”