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The world is constantly changing; even Democritus knew: “Panta rhei “ – everything flows. What the Greek philosopher could not imagine more than 2000 years ago is the speed at which the world is spinning in the digital age.
What was hip yesterday is out of style today. What worked perfectly today is no longer state of the art tomorrow. The technological shift has long since arrived in the light and illumination segment, too.
Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, have conquered the lighting market, arriving first as subtle lighting strips and later as full ambient lighting.
Today they can be found in everything from tiny flashlights to powerful automotive headlights.
LEDs are semiconductor elements that convert electrical energy directly into light. This efficiency is the secret to its success; a LED lamp with a modest 8 watts can now take the place of a 60 watt bulb in a stairwell, for instance. It does its job efficiently, though more sophisticated standards for quality of light are scarcely met.
Innovative LED technology put to intelligent use
There are many good reasons for an upscale lighting manufacturer such as Occhio to not immediately and spontaneously jump on the LED bandwagon. Not until the highly promising digital LED lighting technology actually meets the ambitious quality standards can it be considered for use in luminaires that impress not only with their quality of material and craftsmanship, but also with their modularity, their ability to grow with the demands of the situation.
Occhio’s distinguishing luminaires are timelessly puristic, making it possible to design lighting systems that can grow over time with the demands of their users. Axel Meise, Occhio’s founder and designer, wanted to transfer this philosophy to the new technology, while also maintaining the company’s high standards for design, functionality and ease of use. “We developed the technology for this ourselves,” Meise explains, “ and in doing so, we gave serious consideration to the new possibilities of this technology.”
Nature-inspired colour nuances and depth
Together with its in-house development, the lighting specialist from Munich now represents a LED-based,
innovative overall concept whose sum of qualities may well be unique. For light, the qualitative measure of all things is the sun, and its unit of measure is the Colour Rendering Index. Occhio gets very close to that at CRI 97, for reference, natural sunlight is CRI 100. In addition, colour temperatures can now be reached that are very similar to an incandescent or halogen light. With a range of changeable and dimmable modules in 2700 or 3000 Kelvin and variable power settings, Occhio has created a veritable high performance LED package, based on this technological development. Warm colour temperatures (similar to halogen at 3000 Kelvin and similar to incandescent lighting at 2700 Kelvin). They are thereby predestined for the private and professional environments.
The colour temperature of the Mito series of luminaires can even be adjusted in the range from 2700 Kelvin to 4000 Kelvin, for light that adapts to every mood, from a warm lighting atmosphere for relaxing evenings through to stimulating, cool working light. Occhio has also ushered in new era of LED lighting technology with another innovation, VOLT technology. The integration of LED and electronics in one compact module makes working with light as easy as in the day of the light bulb: simply plug in to the existing power supply, no remote power supply units, and no limitations when it comes to quality of light and dimmability. The innovation was first used in the Più VOLT series of spotlights, where the LEDs and electronics are combined into one compact, replaceable module. The design of the luminaires is thus further reduced and they can be installed anywhere.
Experience a new interaction with light
By independently developing the electronics, Occhio was able to put fundamental thought into their operation. What resulted is a practically magical gesture control introduced by the Sento LED:
It is operated without touch right at the head of the luminaire. Thanks to an innovative sensor technology, the light is turned on/off and dimmed with an intuitive move of the hand, there is even an integrated fading function that allows the light to be spread continuously between uplight and downlight.
A simple hand motion upward or downward is enough to magically shift the full lighting though the technology Occhio calls “touchless control“. It goes without saying that the lighting system can also be controlled remotely by app via Bluetooth: With Occhio air, Occhio expands its modular spotlight system to include a new dimension of operation. Independent of any home automation system, the Bluetooth control is integrated right in the luminaire head of the Sento and Mito. Recessed and surface-mounted models are available for all other models.
The luminaires can thus be controlled easily and intuitively with a wireless system, no installation work needed. Simply download the App and get started: switching, dimming, “up/down fading“ or “color tune”, entire lighting scenarios and groups can be controlled.
The Occhio air controller opens up a completely new dimension of user convenience. Designing with light turns into pure joy. But the added value for the user is not limited to the fascinating control possibilities. The perfect craftsmanship that goes into making each luminaire is immediately evident upon coming into contact with it.
Every Occhio luminaire is crafted from selected materials such as aluminium, brass and steel. In addition to lacquered finishes, highly sophisticated Eloxal and PVD finishes are also available.
The technical components of the lights include optical lenses and specially treated glasses, while an intelligent thermal management system extends the life time of the LEDs to produce what is ultimately a one-of-a-kind quality experience. In truth, the LED revolution isn’t one, rather, it’s an evolution taking place in many small steps up to the point of perfection. And in the end, Occhio will be ready with the full spectrum that will bring a lasting change to the world of light.
OCCHIO
Occhio is one of the most innovative companies in the lighting sector and the market leader in Germany in the sector of high-quality design lighting. Established by Axel Meise in 1999, Occhio is based on a simple yet revolutionary idea: Drawing on the belief that quality lighting means quality of life, the Munich-based company develops integrated, multifunctional luminaire and spotlight systems. Offering universal designs and quality light, Occhio connects spaces and uses light to enable entire buildings of the highest quality to be designed.
With its headquarters in the heart of Munich, Occhio now employs more than 140 people. Its products are sold across Europe via premium lighting retailers and the company’s own flagship stores in Munich and Cologne. Outside Europe, Occhio is becoming increasingly successful in markets such as India, Australia and Russia.
by AN shopfitting magazine no.148 ©
