Minimalist Light Geometries

By Editorial Staff - 2 May 2025
Artemide has participated in the project

An old cellar, a timber roof with exposed trusses and open, airy spaces with a traditional soul – these were the raw materials that shaped the new headquarters of Reire, a Reggio Emilia–based company specializing in powdered ingredients for the food industry. Designed by GMRT Associati & Cacciavillani, the project re-imagines the space to improve the use of volume, boost energy performance and integrate forward-thinking innovation. Inside, one of the first steps was the addition of a steel structure to support a mezzanine level, doubling the usable area without compromising the building’s original spaciousness feel. The existing timber trusses were carefully preserved and integrated into the new design, creating a dialogue between past and present, such that tradition and innovation coexist to produce a space that is stimulating, practical and deeply respectful of the building’s history.

Developed in collaboration with Artemide, the lighting design integrates natural and artificial light in a manner that engages with the site’s architectural features. As part of this, the lighting optics were carefully selected to merge design quality with optimal comfort and productivity throughout the day.

Minime geometrie di luce © Michele Nastasi, courtesy Artemide

The optics selected for the workstations provide uniform, glare-free lighting that makes it easier to focus and improves indoor visual comfort. In the main area, the rhythm of the exposed timber trusses is crossed by Funivia, the lighting system designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua. Refined and minimal in its components, the collection is all about flexibility: a cable, lighting modules and fastening elements form the foundation for infinite configurations across diverse environments, without a need for fixed infrastructure.

A more purely decorative role is played by La Linea, designed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group, which really draws the eye on the wall near the reception area. Seemingly simple yet deeply innovative and technological, it is a flexible light tube that winds fluidly through space, tracing free-form geometries rather than rigid paths. La Linea can be folded onto itself to reduce its footprint, disappear into the architecture or, if desired, create graphic patterns that shape and energize an environment.

At Reire, the lighting design blends seamlessly with the material choices and the acoustic upgrades, shaping a space that balances modernity and efficiency while expressing the company’s identity, its commitment to sustainability and its forward-thinking spirit.