Earlier this month, we showcased the finalists in Philips Strand Lighting’s competition to upcycle its PATT 23 and PATT 123 theater fixtures into new luminaires that celebrate the original and then-highly innovative function of the iconic products. The winner, London-based Paul Nulty Lighting Design’s (PNLD) “Anamorphosis,” was announced on March 10 at The Society of Light and Lighting’s Fresnel Lecture held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in London. Nulty’s design revises a PATT 23 fixture by exploding its parts in a suspended, chandelier-style installation.
“Many lighting designers will have grown up with the PATT 23 and spent hours lovingly maintaining it and taking it apart, so to see its deconstruction in PNLD’s design brings back those memories,” said Mike Simpson, lighting application design lead for the competition’s sponsor Philips as well as a judge for the event, in a press release. “I think it’s very appropriate when celebrating an iconic spotlight to be able to look inside and consider how the original design has stood the test of time.”
Said Karen Smart, the PNLD team leader: “Being short-listed and having ‘Anamorphosis’ made was amazing enough, but to then be invited to the Royal Institution and have our design declared the winner in the historic building was real honor. The team couldn’t be prouder, it’s an amazing feeling and a moment we will all remember for a very long time.”
The design was chosen from among three finalists that, in addition to PNLD, included “Back to the Future” by lighting designer Joe Vose of Light Bureau in London and artist Derek Goldsmith’s “321 Zero.” Prototypes of all three designs were built by Howard Eaton Lighting in London and displayed at the show.
