Nemo - Illium Lights
Italy, 2006
Originally conceived for the Posthaus restaurant in St Moritz, the Ilium light concept was extended to a family of lights for Italian lighting manufacturer Nemo and launched at the Milan Furniture Fair in April 2007.
The interior of the restaurant was designed to support a modern alpine lifestyle, with a relaxed atmosphere. The tubular form of the free standing floor lamp, reading lamp, table lamp and pendant was partly inspired by the material they are made from, Conturax, an opal white glass tube. This elegant glass cylinder is lined with a frosted polycarbonate, so that the radiance is diffuse, and the internal fluting of the glass creates a delicate play of light. The polished steel base reflects the cylinder to create illuminated circles below. Both Foster + Partners and Nemo share an approach to design that follows the principles of sustainability – as the practice’s buildings and products are designed to minimise their use of available natural resources, so Nemo’s products explore fluorescent components to allow high light output with low energy consumption.