Melting even concrete: OCCHIO

Can concrete be made to melt? This flowing, supple quality is actually in the nature of concrete – first poured, then solidifying into what it’s required to be. Under certain light, it loses its hardness, transforming into an almost velvety entity, allowed to return to its original naturalness with all its imperfections: an unvarnished, raw material bathed in a soft sensuality.

With the undulating play of light and shadow, the rigid, black concrete walls of this private house in Passau – called ‘Fels in der Brandung’ (English: a pillar of strength) are also brought to life. The name does not come from nothing: the original house, destroyed by the flooding of the river Inn, was replaced by a building that looks like a rock, overlooking the water, massive and majestic, defying the floods. The strength demonstrated by the clear architecture on the outside is transformed on the inside by an inviting, homely ambience, which – supported by the effects of the light – takes away the directness of the concrete that is visible all around.

koeberl doeringer architekten, who were responsible for the design, planning and realisation of the project, deliberately decided on luminaires from the Occhio portfolio, which offers architects suitable lighting solutions for scenarios ranging from accent lighting to the complete illumination of entire buildings. Whichever the case, light plays an important role in architecture: The power the sun has to create moods during the daytime is given over to artificial light when it becomes darker.

The light takes the coolness out of the concrete and the luminaires merge with the architecture. The Più alto spotlights – tone on tone with the black walls – elevate the concrete itself to a work of art, illuminating all its pleasant, little imperfections. And rotating and turning in all directions, the lighting effect can be individually modified, creating ever new scenarios.

In the kitchen, three symmetrically arranged Più alto spotlights are used to perfectly illuminate the cooking island and the work area respectively, while at the same time emphasising the geometry of the room. The Mito volo pendant luminaire from the Mito linear series can also be seen as an architectural element. This is a clearly defined luminaire used to illuminate the dining table, whose height and distance from the tabletop can be intuitively adjusted to the respective situation thanks to infinitely variable height adjustment control.

In the living area, the luminaires detach themselves a little from walls and ceiling and appear as independent objects. Luminaires from the Mito series, with their, elegant, round, bronze-coloured, jewellery-like luminaire heads, complement the individual areas. While the Mito largo arch luminaire – its wide arch almost describing a room of its own – tilts its head gently over the cosy seating group in the living area, providing a sense of security, the less expansive Mito raggio, with its shorter arch, creates a similarly inviting situation together with the lounge chair. The light colour and intensity of both luminaires can be individually and continuously adjusted, with the spectrum ranging from cool, fresh morning-light to the warmer, cosier light of the evening.

The light of the spotlights, on the other hand, refracts on the raw walls, literally showing the materiality of the concrete in a new light. The spotlight itself thus also emerges from its own shadow as purely a technical lighting-tool, becoming increasingly a design object in the dramatic interplay with architecture and space.

Occhio shows that spotlights are not only an attractive form of lighting for museums, offices and shops, but are also suitable for use in the private domain too – and not only with Più alto. Spotlight families such as lui spotlights with zoom function and interchangeable objectives or the articulated io spotlights with their minimalist spherical shape lend rooms a certain special appeal. Cool architecture with lots of glass, metal and concrete benefits from the great flexibility of such versatile spotlights, which allow light to be used in the way the situation requires at that particular moment.

A special atmosphere can be created at home, but also in restaurants and hotels, not least thanks to sophisticated technology that is elegantly concealed in the luminaire heads. In addition to the variety of possible applications and great flexibility afforded by their modularity, lenses, inserts and colour-filters can also be used to create your own personal light displays. It is not for nothing that light is considered the fourth dimension of architecture.

© Architonic