Low-key elegance: The head office of footwear label Le Silla

Report
Low-keyelegance:Thehead
officeoffootwearlabelLeSilla
Project:LeSillaFactory,PortoSant’Elpidio/Italy
Architect:IvanPalmini,studioipalmini,Macerata/Italy
Photographer:SebastianMayer,Berlin/Germany
TheofficesatthenewlybuiltheadquartersofLeSilla,wherethe
Italianfamilycompanydesignsanddevelopsitsexclusivefootwear,
hasbeenequippedwithERCOrecessedluminaires.
Aswellasdeliveringfunctionalitywithexceptionalenergy
efficiency,thelightingsolutionenhancestheelegantcharacterof
thepremises.
Exceptionallyhighheels,extravagantdesign,elegantmaterialsand
anartisancraftsmanshiparethecharacteristicfeaturesthatbest
describetheexclusiveladies’footwearlabel,LeSilla.Definingitself
asabrandwithapassionforseductiveanddistinctlyfeminine
shoes,forstyleandluxury,forqualitymadeinItaly,thecompanyis
basedinLeMarche,nestledbetweentheAdriaticSeaandthe
ApennineMountains,inaregionofCentralItalythatisknownfor
itslongtraditioninleathercraftsmanshipandshoemanufacture–a
heritagewhichthecompany,foundedin1994bydesignerEnioSilla
andhispartnerMonicaCiabattini,proudlyandsuccessfully
continues.Asagrowingbusiness,today’srangeextendstobagsand
beachfashioninanadditiontotheshoes,andissoldthrougha
retailnetworkthatincludesLeSillaboutiquesinMilan,Florence,
Moscow,BakuandDubai,aswellasinothermajorcitiesfrom
EasternEuropetotheMiddleEast.
Clearspatialstructuresforglamorousfootwear
Lastyear,LeSillamovedintonewpremisesinPortoSant’Elpidio.
Thecomplex,builttodesignsbythearchitectIvanPalmini,provides
spaceforthecreationandproductionoftheshoecollectionsas
wellasfortheadministrationofficesandthebrandoutletstore.In
markedcontrasttotheratherglamorousstyleofshoes,the
architectureoftheheadofficeisdefinedbyalinear,almoststerile
designvocabularythatreflectsclassicalmodernism.Theoffices,
whicharelargelyseparatedbyglasswalls,aswellastheadjoining
designstudioareilluminatedduringthedaywithnaturallight
enteringthroughlargewindowareasthatoftenextenduptothe
ceiling,offeringanexpansiveviewofthesurroundingswhilstgiving
theinterioranairy,modernandtidyfeel.
Thelightingconceptbriefing:Designqualityand
optimumglarecontrolforcreativeworking
Therequirementsfortechnicallightingintheoffices–including
theconnectedmeetingroomsandEnioSilla’sdesignstudio–were
high.ThearchitectPalmini,whohadalreadydesignedtheLeSilla
flagshipstoresinMilanandFlorence,strivesforclearlydefined
spaces.Nothingshoulddistractfromthearchitecturalstructure
other,thatis,thancarefullyselectedanddeliberatelyplaced
furnitureandequipment.Forthisreason,heprefersadiscreetand
unobtrusivelightingsolution,preferablywithalmostinvisible
luminaires.Furthercriteriafortheselectionoflightingtools
includedglarecontrol,energyefficiency,lowmaintenancecostsas
wellastheoptionofapracticalandusefullightingcontrolsystem.
Thedesignstudio,wheretheconceptsfornewcollectionsare
createdandwherematerialsandcolorsneedtobecarefully
considered,additionalcriticalqualitativespecifications,suchas
brilliantcolorrenderingandthedeliveryconsistentcolor
temperaturewereaddedtheequation.
Quintessenceforefficientvisualcomfortwith
freedomindesign
ERCOproposedalightingsolutionbasedonQuintessencerecessed
lightingtoolsasasinglerangeofluminaires.Thisconceptfulfilled
alltherelevantcriteria,andthankstoERCO’sproprietaryLED
technology,combiningsuperblyuniformlightwithexcellent
luminousefficacyandglarecontrol,italsocompliedwiththe
Europeanstandardsrequiredforofficeworkspace(EN12464)
requiringjustafewluminaires.Theeconomicandecological
advantagesofthisexceptionallyefficientlightingsolutionare
perfectlyobvious.Quintessenceis,asitwere,theall-roundstar
amongtheERCOrecessedluminaires.Itsmodularsystemdesign
facilitatesaflexiblelightingconceptasaunifiedwhole.Downlights
incombinationwithdirectionalluminairesandwallwashersmeetall
therequirementsofaperception-orientatedconceptforambient
andaccentlighting.Downlightswithfloodandwideflood
distributionsilluminatethehorizontalsurfaces,particularlytheLe
Sillaworkstationandconferenceareas,withoptimumuniformity.
Thewallsandshelving,incontrast,areilluminatedusing
wallwashers,givingtheroomalightandspaciousimpression.
Consistentminimalistceilingdesignwithdownlights
Foroptimizedsynergywiththebuilding’sarchitectureandto
achieveaharmonious,low-keyceilingdesign,LeSillaoptedforthe
squareversionoftheluminaire.Theresultisaformallycoherent
andyethighlydiscreetilluminationwithprecise,linearintersecting
beams,withoutcompromizingonthelightquality.
Duetothelargewindowswiththeresultingoccuranceofnatural
lightintheLeSillaoffices,particularfocuswasgiventotheprecise
coordinationofdaylightandartificiallight.Onceagain,ERCO
impressedwithitshighlyefficientlightingtechnology,which
allowscontinuousdimmingofthelightdownto1%.Thewarm
whitelight(3000K)createsanaturalandpleasantambiencewith
amazingbrilliancewhilstmeetingthehigheststandardsofnatural
colorrendering,therebyprovidingidealconditionsforthetypeof
creativeworkinwhichEnioSillaandhisteamareengagedevery
day.
Efficientglarecontrol,stablecolortemperatureanduniformlightdistributionareall
essentialforanergonomicandpleasantworkstation.
ThesquareversionoftheQuintessencerecessedluminaireharmonizeswellwiththe
linearandcleararchitectureoftheLeSillabuilding.
Adesign-drivencompanylikeLeSillaappreciatesERCOLEDluminairesparticularly
forexcellentcolorrendering.EnioSillaisseenheresamplinginhismaterialarchive.
EnioSillaconsidersashoemodelwithhispartner,MonicaCiabattini,andacreative
assistant.
Quintessencewallwashersilluminatethewell-stockedshoeshelvesinEnioSilla’s
designstudio.
Aperfectcombinationofnaturalandartificiallight–viewoftheLeSillaoffice
lounge.
MonicaCiabattini,co-founderandCreativeDirectorofLeSilla,isheadingtoher
office.
Brilliantanduniformlight–idealforEnioSillatogetcreative.
TheERCOlightintheLeSillaofficeloungecreatesafunctionalyetcosyambience.
TheQuintessencedownlightswithwidediffuserensureoptimumilluminationofthe
largeconferencetableintheofficesectionoftheLeSillabuilding.