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Products That Do Good

Source: ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING Magazine
Publication date: 2006-06-06

By A|L Staff

This year, Architectural Lighting's editors were compelled by the good intentions of several manufacturers to make the world a better place-with products that give a nod to the ideas of reuse and recycling, or that offer a hand to struggling communities in places such as Columbia, Indonesia, and Africa. While not an overwhelming trend, it is a rustling in the bushes that deserves attention. We also recognized the ever-intensifying industry attention to products that embrace the notion of daylight as an essential design tool. Lastly, we were very interested to learn of a new ballast, designed to aid the overburdened power grid-and in the process, save energy-currently being developed by the Lighting Research Center. Three cheers from all of us to these efforts!

products that do good
COMMUNITY COMMITMENT
Besides being downright beautiful when artfully combined with light, 3form's products have achieved a new level of responsibility with the Full Circle line. Including five options, the collection utilizes renewable resources provided by communities from developing countries. River Rock (left, top) incorporates stones collected by Indonesian villages adversely affected by the tsunami. Palau (left, bottom) includes bark, gathered and processed by indigenous peoples in rural Columbia, from the coconut palm. Another, Ithemba, featuring woven wire mesh, utilizes the efforts of African women artisans afflicted with AIDS or HIV.
products that do good

RECYCLED AND RECYCLABLE
A few manufacturers are recognizing the importance of reuse. Though not a full-on trend in the lighting industry (unlike carpeting manufacturers, who have been onto recycling for years), it is worthy of note. Eleek, a company in Portland, Oregon, has created its entire product line around the concept, with items such as the Spoon sconce (left) and the Pod, Starlight, and Normandy pendants (right) all fabricated from recycled metals. (See other Eleek products on pages 34 and 55.) Meanwhile, MB Wellington Studio addresses the issue from the opposite direction: its plastic Lightblocks products (top) are fully recyclable.





products that do good


BRAND NEW DAY...LIGHT
Solar-control products abound; indeed, this year they earned their own page. From glass, to shading systems, to controls, the category is expanding. Pictured center, PPG's architectural glass product Vistacool Azuria, when combined with Solarban 60 low-E glass, provides a light-to-solar-gain ratio of 1.63. (The company's impressive Solarban 70XL actually maintains a ratio of 2.33.