Iconic brings alabaster radiance to modern interiors

French creative art workshop Atelier Alain Ellouz has unveiled its Iconic range – part of the Edition collection of lighting elements – that aims to bring harmony and consistency in terms of style, material and design to any kind of project.

“Iconic pays tribute to contemporary architecture,” says a spokesman for Atelier Alain Ellouz, which specialises in sculpturing alabaster and rock crystal. “This family of lighting elements plays on different constructions based on basic, unconventional, conical forms sculpted from alabaster stone. As a set offering cohesive style thanks to shared contours, Iconic comes in four distinct designs - Lab, Flo, Pli and Gama – each presenting different types of lighting in a variety of formats.”

Each piece is conceived with a weightless, sleek structure, combining feminine contours and abrupt edges.

Alabaster’s subtle backlighting diffuses a natural radiance while breathing life into the stone. This full range of elegant lighting elements is designed for both hotels and homes, adding the perfect note to any type of interiors, from the most classic to resolutely contemporary styles, he says.

Inora ... timeless design.

Origami-inspired switches boast timeless design

ABB, a global technology leader, has unveiled a new range of simple and stylish light switches and wiring accessories that is said to offer a highly versatile design palette for the Middle East markets.

Designed with quality, functionality and simplicity in mind, the Inora range creates a timeless aesthetic to complement the interior style of any residential or commercial building in the region, says the company.

Its clean lines, gently curved rockers and stylish top and bottom chamfer frames were all inspired by the ancient Japanese paper folding art of Origami. The upper and lower turning surfaces of the frames form a symmetrical, minimalist and balanced aesthetic, making its unobtrusive design a truly versatile accessory for any building interior, it adds.

Samuel Merkli, ABB’s Head of the Global Product Line Wiring Accessories, says: “Inora’s timeless ergonomic design uses straight lines for visual segmentation. It combines functionality with high quality materials and safety features and is incredibly quick and safe to install. The new range is the ideal choice for installers as well as interior designers, as the design industry here in the Middle East continues to deploy innovative solutions.”

RIB ... colour-contrasting, linear relief structure.

RIB woven rugs are ‘unusually three-dimensional’ 

German carpets expert Reuber Henning has introduced a new woven rug collection known as RIB in collaboration with renowned design studio Besau Marguerre from Hamburg.

While woven rugs are usually flat – flat weave being the technical term – the RIB collection has a colour-contrasting, linear relief structure, making the rugs particularly lively, soft and tactile, says a spokesman for Reuber Henning.

The unusually three-dimensional rugs with strong ribs are the result of research conducted by the design studio into materials and handicraft techniques. The strong ribbing of the new collection not only makes the woven rugs look unusually three-dimensional – it also makes details such as warp and weft threads or the type of weave particularly clear, he says.

After a series of experiments, Besau Marguerre decided on a novel combination of two types of fabric, a rib and double weave. The rib weave is used for the raised ribs, which are extra-thick due to the use of a particularly large number of weft threads. The stripes in between are woven in double weave, which allows for a colour change. In a departure from convention, the fringes are knotted from the weft threads, not from the warp.

The special design of the RIB collection emphasises the artisanal character of the rugs hand woven in India.  Colour contrasts in rhythmic alternation create tension and make the rugs quite literally shine, says the spokesman.