Lucerne, Switzerland
“At atelier oï, we often begin our creative process with an encounter with the material,” says Aurel Aebi, co-founder, atelier oi.
“Our goal was to find a way to make the sustainable material speak in a new way,” he adds.
Led by Aurel Aebi, Armand Louis, and Patrick Reymond of atelier oï together with Swiss manufacturer Impact Acoustic have designed a new sound-absorbing luminaire that combines illumination and acoustic properties for an architectural space creating a very special atmosphere in the space where the fixture is located.
Impact Acoustic, a provider of sustainable acoustic solutions, joined forces with renowned Swiss design studio atelier oï to breathe life into Oloïd, a lighting design that amalgamates acoustic excellence and intuitive design.
The team channeled their respective expertise in acoustic engineering, material research and design innovation into the unique sound-absorbing luminaire.
The new Oloïd pendant light is efficient, intelligent, as well as aesthetically surprising.
Made using Archisonic® Felt, Impact Acoustic’s proprietary high-performance acoustic absorber, Oloïd displays sound absorbing properties with sustainability and responsible material sourcing at its core.
Moreover, Archisonic acoustic felt is a material made by upcycling PET bottles. To echo the philosophy of Impact acoustic, it was important for the designers to offer a mono-material product with easily removable and changeable parts.
ARCHISONIC® Felt, a unique material employed to realize the product design, is an environmentally friendly acoustic solution and a versatile building material—valued in both the architecture and furniture industries.
Instead of relying on newly extracted materials, the designers resort to upcycling single-used plastic bottles.
For every square metre of finished material, 88 post-consumer PET bottles are upcycled. This sustainable and high-performance acoustic absorber caters to the motley requirements of construction through different material thicknesses and an array of colour options.
“To create organic shapes, we had to push the limits of the material’s rigidity and flatness,” states the designers.
“With the right tools and processes, we were able to test and give a whole new characteristic to Archisonic sheets.”
“It was a pleasure to work with such a good, stable, reliable and versatile material.”
“Our goal in partnering with Impact Acoustic was also to gain an understanding of the machine used in the production process and explore its potential for novel, creative applications.”
‘The wide colour palette allows us to imagine this product in a variety of environments and to push our creative process,” continues atelier oï.”
“From lively, electric colours to calmer, more soothing tones, we offer our customers a wide range of choices and allow them to find a product that suits them.”“What fascinated us in this collaboration was to observe the transformation of the material.”
“By exploring and experimenting with the technology used by Impact Acoustic, we were able to develop organic forms and create astonishing volumes from a flat and rigid material without any visible trim lines.”
“We achieved this through a unique angled cutting style and the folding of the panels.”
“This allowed us to transform the 2D panels into 3D bodies—from surface to body.”
And all this was possible thanks to the collaboration with Impact Acoustic, the exchange of know-how and experience. Our success was made possible by the trust Impact Acoustic gave us.”
Project: Oloïd Luminaire
Designers: atelier oï SA and Impact Acoustic AG
Manufacturer: Impact Acoustic AG
