Above from Louis Poulsen
/Louis Poulsen have launched Above … a new pendant light designed by Mads Odgård.
Made in spun aluminium, the simple but beautifully-proportioned shape is a steep-sided cone that is open at the top and bottom but the line of the side is continued, without a break or change in material, to run up and over the top to form a broad loop - almost like a handle - that holds the flex.
There are four sizes - the largest with a diameter of 550mm - and the shades are either matt black or matt white and both with a white interior. They form a pool of light below but the narrower beam of light up, and the dramatic under-lighting of the loop, gives a strong sense of a solid sculptural form and a distinct element of drama.
This starkly minimalist design is stunning but it also illustrates really important lessons for other manufacturers … the more minimal the design, the more important the precise line and the proportion of the form becomes and, as with Above, the more that decoration is stripped away and the more that details are simplified, then the quality of production and quality of materials become paramount.
The small version of the light has a diameter of 175mm but there are also options for intermediate sizes at 250mm and 400mm so the design is minimal but the possible effects are infinite from tightly-controlled spot lighting from a small single low-hung light, to lines of lights over a work surface at a uniform height to the most dramatic groupings of lights of different sizes in a group and set at different levels.
