In Italian, “metterci la firma” (sign up for something, put your name to it) is a colloquial way of saying it’s something we’d like to see come true. Or we use it to say we’re endorsing a convincing concept, a project we believe in: “Ci metto la mia firma” – “I’ll put my name to that”.
We know what it means to make a project our own, give it our all and check every detail, and not be satisfied until it turns out the way we’d pictured it and we’ve added that certain something that makes it all work, that makes the result unique, like a personal signature.
That’s why we’re not surprised when that certain something turns out to be a lighting fixture.
At L&L, we give the designer the opportunity to “put their signature”, their name, on the light, using their own creativity to ensure the lasting high quality and reliability of the lighting solution.
Customization requests
All the features of the lighting fixtures in the L&L catalogue – aesthetic, electronic, optical and LED – can be customized. The following graphs show the most common customization requests that we receive and process daily.
The most common customization requests that we receive and process daily: (from left to right) power supply change, RAL finish, LED colour temperature and specific CRI, outer casings
There isn’t much to say about changes to the power supply because such decisions concern programming choices between fixtures that start off with different power supplies, or are dictated by site constraints.
When renovating historic buildings, for instance, it may be that the lack of signal wiring makes it necessary to change the lighting fixtures’ power supply: 230Vac fixtures with built-in DALI may be switched to constant current or voltage, with remote controls.
RAL finishes
Finishes, on the other hand, account for around 40% of customizations, and here we can give a few more examples.
In the first two cases, painting the body in a specific colour (RAL) allows the user to choose the most appropriate shade for the fixture’s future setting, whether that be the closest green to a certain type of foliage or the ivory that best matches the marble on the walls of a church. In the case of the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan, the colour requested for the wall-mounted fixtures directed at the inside of the colonnaded quadrangle was RAL 3011 red, to match the colour of the bricks.
Then there are the requests dictated purely by a fondness for certain colour combinations, as illustrated with the group of ceiling-mounted fixtures in the first photo. Choosing a strong colour can make the lighting fixture the star of the interior design, as is the case with these projectors painted RAL 3011 red installed in a home in France, or with these suspended fixtures in a hotel in Milan – entirely red, right down to the cable.
Turis, bespoke ceiling-mounted version 
Find out more about the product 
Go to the project and credits
It’s not only the paint finish that can be changed: an all-glass cover can also be given a bespoke look. The recessed fixtures below usually come with grey serigraphy around the trim, but this can be requested in white if required (first photo).
Or, for a swimming pool, the cover on the recessed fixtures can be changed to bright green to match the pool walls (second photo).
Litus 2.4, standard version with grey-serigraphed screen and customized version with white-serigraphed screen Find out more about the product
Moby 2.1, customized version with green-serigraphed glass cover Find out more about the product
LED characteristics
One of the most frequently requested customizations concerns the light’s colour temperature or the LEDs’ characteristics in general.
For the garage of a hotel, we were asked for the light emitted by the Lyss projector to be the same shade as the hotel structure’s signature colour. At Genoa’s Galata Maritime Museum, on the other hand, ARCHH Associati asked that the track projectors be fitted with white LEDs with a colour temperature of 3500K.
Lyss 1.0, 7W, customized version with green LED colour, clear 10°x180°, grey Go to the project and credits
Zab Track 2.0, customized version with 3500K LED colour, 23W, white Go to the project and credits
On request, the fixtures can be fitted with LEDs with a high colour rendering index. This is what happened with this agritourism concern, where, to enhance the texture of the red bricks, the linear profiles were fitted with CRI >90 LEDs.
Neva 1.1, 2700K, 27W, 10°x40°, with honeycomb louvre, customized version CRI 90 Go to the project and credits
We have recently received quite a few requests for customized LED solutions from France, where regulations1 governing the use of warm colour temperatures have been introduced to reduce and prevent light pollution, particularly in parks when there are no people about or nature reserves where more amber tones are required.
Outer casings and installation
We also supply tailor-made outer casings for purpose-made recessed fixtures or for relamping, or we modify standard fixtures so they can fit into pre-existing cutout holes on site. One example of this is Genoa’s maritime station: to light the building’s facades, customized Stra 3.0 fixtures were commissioned with a larger trim diameter than the standard version.
Stra 3.0, 3000K, 25W, 30° + 14°, tamper-resistant screws, customized version with trim ø330 mm / Moby P 1.1, RGBW, 9W, 31x64° / Moby P 2.1, RGBW, 20W, 62° Go to the project and credits
The project for the Grand Çamlıca Mosque in Istanbul required square casings to be created to take the Rio 2 recessed linear profiles. The casings were pre-assembled and fitted with brackets to facilitate their installation on site.
Recently, we had the pleasure of lighting the Hypogeum of Santa Maria in Stelle, an archaeological site that in 2020, at the end of a long restoration project, received a new lighting system developed by Verona-based Lucearchitettura.
Here, as elsewhere, the significant constraints that an archaeological site of this kind brings with it have been skilfully overcome thanks to the creation of pedestals designed by Lucearchitettura. The need to avoid any visual interference with the cycle of paintings contributed to the definition of the pedestal’s geometry: its height is determined by the cornice with a perspective meander decoration.
We made the pedestals to the design by architects Cinzia Todeschini and Lorella Marconi, and we fitted them out with projectors, running their cables inside the structure. The bases, which house the control gear, have magnetic doors to facilitate its inspection.
“Our job as lighting designers is to imagine spaces of light and shadow and to find the technical means to realise them.
As much as possible, we try to use what lighting manufacturers offer us, but we often find ourselves obliged to transform existing equipment, either with new accessories to be integrated into the lighting fixture, or by changing the optics or the source to achieve a specific effect, or by transforming the lighting fixture for a specific application.
These transformations should therefore not be viewed as value added to the project but are the purpose and intrinsic qualities of the lighting design.”
Emeric Thienot, Lumesens, ACEtylène 2020 award
Lighting designer Thienot gave this inspiring description of his profession during the Caves Champagne Joseph Perrier project in Châlons-en-Champagne, France.
On that occasion, too, we at L&L worked alongside the designer, a true artisan who shaped the light from the projectors so that it evoked the reflections of water on the cellar walls.
In addition to the network of underground tunnels, the outdoor spaces also benefited from a metamorphosis of their lighting to offer visitors an immersive experience.
Here, the design required compliance with the French PRM (persons with reduced mobility) regulation, which stipulates an average illuminance of 20 lx on the ground; once the Pasito step light was selected for the covered walkways, we were asked to integrate the same step light into a bollard to provide a light uniformity that visually connects the walkway in the courtyard with the covered passage.
A step light turned bollard brings us to the subject of fixtures with a customized installation. This was the case with these River profiles: they are usually only installed on walls or in the ground, but they have found a place on the ceiling of this canopy in Cerignola thanks to customized anti-fall kits.
River 2.0, 4000K, 40W, 47°, installed in the ceiling / Lyss 1.0, 4000K, 7W, frosted 20°x180°, white / River 1.0, 4000K, 20W, 10°x40°, installed in the ground Go to the project and credits
What we can do for you
💻 Design and lighting performance study
⏱ Rapid prototyping
⚙️ Prototype engineering and industrialization / order management
📞 After-sales support
Meet the team
Federico Bevilacqua, Custom Product Specialist. He is your contact for customized product design. He ensures the quality of the end result by personally overseeing every step from A to Z. He listens to the lighting designer’s needs so we can produce the desired solution and meet the detailed technical requirements.
Alberto Danese, a highly experienced lighting designer, checks the light output with dedication and precision.
Umberto Novello is the quintessential technical support person – you can count on him for assistance.
Our R&D department is responsible for testing and certifying the fixtures in accordance with the relevant standards. If the project requires it, he can follow the processes for international certification.
Specialists in LED technology, since 2007.
We have 60,346 standard product codes in our catalogue, but we are ready to give you your own customized version.
Put your signature on your project
Bibliography
1: Light Zoom Lumiere, https://www.lightzoomlumiere.fr/article/6-nouvelles-prescriptions-techniques-en-eclairage-exterieur/#quel-temperature-de-couleur-arrete-nuisances-lumineuses, 12/04/2021
