The latest luminaire from visionary New Zealand lighting designers Nightworks Studio is as playfully evocative as it is precise. It’s a statement piece that cements the studio as a leader in the local design community, and an addition to an evolving portfolio that has put Nightworks firmly on the global stage.
“We launched Nightworks Studio in 2020 with the desire to push the boundaries of the local lighting design scene with exceptional pieces that define spaces. Because we are an independent studio, we’re free to express our ideas and designs to their full potential. We design without constraint using the finest materials and best technology available,” co-founder and lead designer Ben Wahrlich tells us.
La-De-Da became an 18-month exploration into a hero piece: a bold, large, statement that would complement the existing Nightworks range.
“Early on, we decided we wanted to create a form that had a flowing nature to it; something that would hold its own as an iconic part of an architectural setting.”
La-De-Da is that and more. As you move around it, it has a transient quality, a wave-like dynamism — gently opening and closing — a play on lightness and darkness. “It was a poetic way to be able to approach a design,” Ben says.
It’s a fitting addition to an award-winning range, which includes Tasman, a family of modular pendant lights that express a gentle, sinuous form; the Offcut Wall Sconce, an alluring juxtaposition of remnant stone and teacup globes; and Code, a system of modular lighting components perfectly arranged into a variety of pieces fusing hand-blown glass and solid brass — designs and their namesakes drawn from the dots and dashes of Morse code.
Ben’s experience in wider design fields led him to explore automotive manufacturing techniques, elements of which were customised to create La-De-Da. Crafted from a double layer of sheet metal — in either aluminium or brass — the form is created with a three-dimensional press.
“The linear top of the shade flows down like a layered skirt.”
The ceiling canopy is magnetic, hiding the workings of the light, allowing the full form, including the custom-made wires, to become a single, sculptural object.
Available in two sizes, and in a deep red tone, Ember, a more subtle Warm Grey, Anodised Gold, and Chrome, La-De-Da stands alone as a powerful hero, or works beautifully when clustered as a pair or pendant group.
“The Chrome is quite magical; it really stretches the design further because it acts almost like a convex mirror, accentuating the play on light and shadow. It’s an alluring, captivating piece,” Ben says. A brass version will be released in late 2024.
In terms of the name, that was something the wider team decided on.
“It’s quite a Kiwi term, la-de-da. It’s playful, a bit tongue-in-cheek, and echoes the luxuriousness and playfulness of the product.”
La-De-Da was launched in New Zealand and
globally on 1 August.
