French luxury lighting editor Ozone and Dominique Perrault Architecture have been neighbours for years. Truly neighbours – Ozone’s offices literally overlook the roof of Perrault’s studio in Paris’ 11th arrondissement.
But they didn’t know it until a mutual friend introduced them two years ago and they decided to collaborate. Etienne Gounot and Eric Jähnke, Ozone’s co-founders, had long admired the desk lamp that Perrault’s firm designed for the Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand in the 1990s. Made of aluminium, it is a deceptively simple-looking structure of right angles and flat, intersecting planes.
Gounot recalls, ‘We very much liked the geometry, which is both strong and functional. When we met Dominique and Gaëlle [Lauriot-Prévost, Perrault’s personal and professional partner], we thought, why don’t we start with that? We proposed it, and they said, bingo.’
Ozone and Dominique Perrault: the ‘Furtiv’ collection
A desk lamp was the first object they designed for the new collection, called ‘Furtiv’. Gounot says, ‘We used the same proportions as the original, which is a bit bigger than you’re used to seeing. This oversized aspect gives it a monumental feel that pleased us – it’s really an object.’
And a heavy one, too, crafted in solid aluminium, aside from a slim tube hidden inside for the cord. ‘The weight lends it nobility,’ says Lauriot-Prévost, giving the lamp a gentle push to show that it also provides stability, despite the cantilevered shape.
Having designed a number of high-end industrial lamps, the architect was impressed by Ozone’s manufacturing skills. The company (which edits designs by the likes of Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Glenn Sestig) has an onsite workshop and collaborates with highly specialised artisans around Paris. Their careful attention to detail includes perfectly flush joints that are never soldered.
In addition to the desk lamp, ‘Furtiv’ comes as a standing lamp slightly taller than the arm of a sofa, a ceiling light in two different heights, and a wall sconce. Each model is available in a choice of two finishes: shiny mirrored or brushed aluminium.
The collection’s name refers to the way the lamp seems to vanish, notably when the light bounces off the various mirrored surfaces. 'It’s amazing how it reflects its environment,' says Lauriot-Prévost. 'Wherever you put it, the design disappears. So it works in a very contemporary environment, and in classic buildings, too.'
It’s also practical. Light filters through a laminated sheet of textured handmade paper, and a tiny button integrated into one side of the lamp adjusts the LED bulb from barely-there to reader-friendly. Lauriot-Prévost demonstrates that you can lay a book on top of the standing lamp, like a table, or place it upright against the rectangular body of the desk lamp. 'It’s not a sacred object,' she says. 'It’s meant to be used.'
‘Furtiv’ is on display in Paris at Galerie Downtown/François Laffanour, and available from ozonelight.com
Galerie Downtown/François Laffanour
18 Rue de Seine,
75006 Paris
