Metal
Metals such as steel and alu­mi­nium – the most common mate­rials used for poles and lumi­nai­res in the urban land­scape – are gene­rally pow­der­coa­ted to pro­tect against cor­ro­sion. With a com­pre­hen­sive colour palette avai­la­ble, users have every oppor­tu­nity to steer the design, from har­mo­nious colour tones to high-con­trast accents. This can be used in addi­tion with various reflec­tor colours such as gold or as a block colour for the hou­sing. The diver­sity of fini­shes inclu­des metal­lic sur­fa­ces in tones such as bronze, gold or rosé which are crea­ted through a pro­cess of vapo­ri­sa­tion. These sur­fa­ces lend the pro­ducts a high-end look, and inte­ract per­fec­tly with their envi­ron­ment.

Con­crete
It is still unu­sual to see con­crete lumi­nai­res, even though it is the most com­monly used con­struc­tion mate­rial in modern archi­tec­ture. Con­crete is some­thing of a cha­me­leon: depen­ding on how it is pro­ces­sed, it can form either rough, or smooth cool sur­fa­ces, and it can be colou­red­mat­ched to its sur­roun­dings. In its typi­cal mani­fe­sta­tion as slightly struc­tu­red expo­sed con­crete, it is plain, simple, and radia­tes calm. Colour accents such as golden reflec­tors can be used to create a char­ming con­trast with the cool of the con­crete. From a prac­ti­cal per­spec­tive, this is a robust, dura­ble and rugged mate­rial. In the city­scape, con­crete ele­ments are viewed less as tech­no­logy and more as archi­tec­ture – per­fect for a clear, iconic urban land­scape.

Wood
Just as modern plan­ning con­cepts are again embra­cing nature as an inte­gral ele­ment of urban space, wood is also expe­rien­cing a renais­sance. Its advan­ta­ges extend far beyond the func­tio­nal: wood arou­ses emo­tions, it ema­na­tes a sense of warmth and natu­ral­ness, it is rela­xing, and at the same time crea­tes a vibrant atmo­sphere. Wood binds CO₂, pro­du­ces oxygen as it forms, and inte­gra­tes beau­ti­fully with its sur­roun­dings. As a mate­rial for lumi­nai­res and poles, wood is par­ti­cu­larly sui­ta­ble for living spaces that are in har­mony with nature and that are desi­gned to make people feel good. To get the right tech­ni­cal pro­per­ties, care­ful choice of the wood type, its ori­gins and the right sur­face treat­ment are cru­cial. This pro­tects the wood from the impacts of wea­ther, ensu­res a long life­span, as it also affects the appea­rance: for exam­ple with glaze effects that lighten or darken the natu­ral colour tone, or take it in a cooler or warmer direc­tion without masking the wood’s natu­ral grain and orga­nic cha­rac­ter.

Glass and poly­car­bo­nate
We use glass to pro­tect our lighting units. Its high light tran­smit­tance makes glass – this amor­phou­sly soli­di­fied mel­ting of mine­rals – not just a favou­rite con­struc­tion mate­rial for archi­tects; its good refrac­tion index means it is used as a func­tio­nal opti­cal mate­rial in lighting tech­no­logy – think lenses, fil­ters or glass covers. Resear­chers and engi­neers have suc­ces­sfully over­come its pro­ver­bial fra­gi­lity. Tem­pe­red glass ele­ments in lumi­nai­res can with­stand the highest of loads – and are easily recy­cla­ble at the end of the product’s life. As an alter­na­tive to glass, we use visually iden­ti­cal trans­pa­rent pla­stics such as acry­lic glass (PMMA) or poly­car­bo­nate (PC). Their advan­tage is that they are lighter, more robust and, as ther­mo­pla­stics, they can be die­cast to create com­plex com­po­nents, which in lumi­nai­res can serve as both visual and struc­tu­ral ele­ments. This mul­ti­func­tio­na­lity, cou­pled with type-pure recy­cling oppor­tu­ni­ties, ensu­res opti­mal use of valua­ble resour­ces.