Lo storico palazzo milanese di via Pontaccio, sede a partire dagli anni ’90 della Maison FerréIn the 1990s, Maison Ferré took over a wonderful old building on Via Pontaccio in Milan. Now, it has been transformed into the new Kiton showroom, taking full ownership of this symbol of Italian fashion.
Franco Raggi was entrusted with the revamp, having already been behind the original transformation of the building into a fashion maison under Gianfranco Ferré. It gave him a chance to reassess his previous work and he sought to keep its spirit using this “austere space in a late Art Nouveau building to house an efficient, elegant and beautiful working space”. Much of the work centred on the double-height main hall and the areas facing Via Pontaccio and Via Fiori Chiari. The technology also required updating, with work on the lighting system entrusted to Alexander Bellman at Gruppo C14. The approach adopted was that normally taken for an art gallery or museum since it is essential the colours of the fabrics are properly illuminated, while also allowing a real degree of flexibility. Redoing the lighting was about thinking through “the typical issues for a fashion showroom, such as the option to light display tables during marketing campaigns or to be able to control the lighting and atmosphere very precisely”.
Such multiplicity of needs was further complicated by the size and height of the hall, the skylight, the vertical pilasters on the walls and the various artworks. Ultimately, the solution sought to take its cue from the building, but to create an autonomous, complete lighting system. In practical terms, this meant bolstering the roof light with a series of LED warm white spotlights (3.000K) that highlight the iron and glass of the skylight.
Opton Erco was the specific collection chosen, using 28W 6° narrow spots and 38W spots, as it offers simple, crisp lines, high performance (i.e. energy savings) and sharp lighting. The luminaires are installed 9 m above the floor, but this significant height did not detract from the ability of this product - only launched in January 2014 and first used in this project - to function efficiently while producing a precise light band. The final parts of this lighting design are the stylised light masks on the pilasters and a ring of Nobi-FontanaArte lights from the previous lighting system.
Erco’s Optec LED spotlights have been used in the small side rooms. Outside, on the main elevation, Focalflood LED lights were placed at the bases of the large windows and Kubus LEDs on the rear façade.
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