Funivia Collection

Funivia is a collection of lights that goes beyond the limits of architecture and tradition to make freedom its cornerstone. Designed by Carlotta de Bevilacqua for Artemide, Funivia is a collection that is as refined as its components are essential: a cable, the light modules and fastening elements. Yet, these can be combined for an infinity of solutions suited to the most divergent of locations, especially as no special installation is required. This essential approach is imbued with a “mountaineering spirit” in the search for new degrees of autonomy of light, exploring new spaces and pushing the boundaries of more standard systems. Despite this pioneering sense, the inspiration for the collection is rooted in human experience, in interpersonal relations and in how relations develop, seeking to give practical form to these in a limitless lighting system.

The very name of the collection – cableway in English – is derived from the structure and function. In the same spirit as a cable car, these spotlights hang along the cable – a sort of bridge – and are hooked in place a bit like padlocks that not only fasten the module in the desired spot, but also absorb the necessary power from the cable. The special cables are able to withstand both mechanical and thermal stress despite their minimal cross-section. This makes it possible to install them on walls, ceilings or even floors in a crisp, unconstrained web of cables at different heights and angles. A single power source is potentially the starting point for an infinite creation, with the only limitation being the power along the line.

The light modules are available in different types (downlight, diffusing, sharping) and sizes, and can be attached directly to the cable or suspended, opening up multiple specific, professional lighting solutions. The universal fastening element is also the hub for an intangible network, that is, a hi-tech control mechanism that uses a BLL system (designed especially for complex lighting solutions, such as Funivia) to interact with the Artemide App, which provides the interface for managing individual lights, groups of devices or entire lighting scenarios. The essence of this solution is a unique IP address for each module. The ultimate effect adds sophistication to any environment, with the app able to control the quality of the LED lighting in real time or to use pre-configured or newly created scenarios.

The Funivia Collection also embodies the principles of sustainability and limiting consumption – principles that guided this collection right from the earliest design stages, as can be seen by, say, the decision to integrate existing solutions in the catalogue to avoid unnecessary new additions. It is in this light that innovation should be seen as a sustainable dialogue that goes beyond all spatial limits.