Luceplan

Storia

Formed in 1978, Luceplan cements the idea of three architects, Riccardo Sarfatti, Paolo Rizzatto and Sandra Severi who wished to consolidate the experience developed during their long-standing collaboration with Gino Sarfatti, founder of Arteluce. He was an experimenter and acclaimed innovator in the sector of lighting fixtures. These are the noble roots, but the story we wish to relate does not follow a chronological sequence of events in the company’s growth, but rather ‘highlights’ constancies in it's evolution. A history marked by well-defined constant factors from the very start – experimentation, research and quality, by a philosophy focused on creating “beautiful items for the public at large” and by an attitude, a discrete refinement that has never been lost over the years. This is the mark left on lighting fixtures that have not been designed for short-lived wonder, but to be the natural outlet of a continuous, ongoing drive dedicated to the essence of every project, a fastidious care of detail and steady improvement. The result of this consistent experimentation that in turn implies skilled technological research. Passion for design and entrepreneurial courage, is a Luceplan commitment, both with a considerable investment in production – the new trademark Elementi di Luceplan, a line of technical, architectural and contract lighting fixtures which was formed in 2006 - and in marketing. It has opened new international branches (Copenhagen joins New York, Paris and Berlin) and more self-brand stores (there are three flagship store in Milan, New York and Paris, and about 2,000 points of sale in the world). On May 2010 Luceplan has become part of the Philips Lighting Consumer Luminaires business.

Philosophy

Luceplan was set up with the object of creating and producing interior and exterior lighting and to enhance the quality of living. Energy saving is therefore a top priority and cannot be confined to the ratio of lighting to energy consumption: it must embrace the environmental compatibility of our whole operation – from choice of materials to the manufacturing process, from product durability to product maintenance.If an object is to last, it needs to be beautiful as well as technologically sound. But a long-lasting product also offers better environmental compatibility and it outlives fashions.

What we believe in

Attention to details If its necessary spare parts, maintenance and cleaning are foreseen, a product will have a longer life expectancy. Designing the life cycle To design beyond the birth of a product and to envisage even the exhaustion of its purpose and its disassembling; to design its recycling or reuse, and to innovate its packaging Respecting the environment Not use pollutant paints and processes, will all combine to reduce its impact on the environment. In R&D That is why research is an integral part of our business. The future To understand how consumer patterns and industrial production change, how fresh energy resources and new forms of optimisation and saving are developed, how different forms of distribution are established; how new answers to the demand for lighting will alter the ìhome speciesî and the ìcity speciesî: the way of "being with light".

Environment and design

The term ecosustainability, which is widely used today, has always been an intrinsic part of Luceplan’s DNA. It is so deeply interiorised that it has not been emphasized, consistently with the company’s natural, instinctive attitude. Luceplan has always kept aloof from new but often empty proclamations. And in the sea of high-flown declarations and statements that abound in the world of design, Luceplan has a clear and precise vision of sustainabilty: “Design also focuses on easy, differentiated waste recovery and on weathering seasonal trends. It rationalises the assembly process to compress packaging volume, and makes use of the ultimate, highly efficient light sources.” For Luceplan sustainability means research and innovation, the constant factors in its history. It is no mere chance that Luceplan was the first company in the lighting sector to introduce materials and technologies that met ecological requirements, which were widely used later. The same occurred with LEDs that were borrowed from “other” select production sectors – after careful work performed in cooperation with designers to remove all bonds – to achieve a lighting performance that was comparable with traditional light sources, while maintaining the added value of low consumption and high flexibility. Or again for the small photovoltaic cells designed for outdoor devices.