Light has found a new home

Fael Luce is a leading player in the supply of large area lighting systems. Gaetano Gabriele Dossi’s design for the company’s new HQ required the total demolition of an old, obsolete office block of three floors plus a basement. The new building was constructed in exactly the same spot. The old office block stood alongside the company’s production plant and excavations extending underneath this were required in order to construct the basement for the new building. Soldier piling was therefore needed along the side of the factory to maintain its static equilibrium and allow excavation work to be completed in safety. On top of this, work also had to be carried out a short distance from the side of the road, near electrical power lines and below the level of the existing factory foundations.
The new office building has four floors (one below ground level and three above) of 700 square metres each, giving a total surface of 2800 square metres. The flat roof provides an additional useful space of over 700 square metres, and has been used to install the building’s systems. Inside are a brand-new laboratory, a 200 m2 showroom, a training room, a meeting room large enough to seat 100 people and a number of video-conference rooms plus, of course, offices, toilets and washrooms, a foyer and a reception area.
The building is characterised by a simple, contemporary, geometric design enhanced by alternation between solid infill walls and bands of glass that break up the plasticity of the facades. The contrast between milky white facades and black surrounds adds to the effect. « Lighting is the mission of Fael Luce, » explains Gaetano Gabriele Dossi, the project’s architect, « so light simply had to be the dominant theme of this design. The entrance, reception rooms and technical office on the ground floor and the managerial offices on the first floor are extremely luminous spaces. The only filter between the interior and the outside world consists of a double height window, so natural light abounds. In the evening, this is illuminated from the projection over the second floor, in which spotlights of various sizes have been installed to create a starry sky effect. »
The interior of the building reflects the simplicity and purity of the exterior. Spaces are defined by full height glass. The choice of materials and colours gives the rooms an essential, almost ascetic appearance. Rigorous furnishing continues the chiaroscuro contrast of the facades. The floors are finished in grey porcelain tiles from Casamood’s Materia Project Honed collection that blend in effectively, creating a modern cement look.