The Patera lamp by Danish designer Øivind Slaatto for Louis Poulsen was so popular that the Danish lighting manufacturer received numerous requests to expand the line. A larger and smaller version was recently announced. Although bearing the same intricate design, each dimension functions differently, allowing designers and interior decorators to have more play with scale. The largest size serves as a centrepiece or a modern chandelier that tie various spaces together, while the smallest lamp gently accentuates particular sections of a space.

From the get-go, Slaatto wanted to create a pendant lamp that embodied light in its most basic and natural manner. “What is the most essential light that we all know? Well, it’s the sun,” he says, tracing back to the root of his inspiration. The Patera takes after the spherical form of the sun, shaped by an intricate composition inspired by the Fibonacci sequence – the spiral cell pattern that belongs to nature, appearing in human growth and seed formations, to name a few.

“At first glance, it appears to be nothing but a white, perforated ball, but closer inspection reveals its detailed design, which features a host of circles, angles and holes,” says Rasmus Markholt, Design Manager at Louis Poulsen.

The complex geometry, materialised by a white synthetic material, enables Patera to spread light in all possible directions without causing glare. This ideal combination of direct and indirect light was achieved through tireless experiments with 3D softwares and physical prototypes. Slaatto was also inspired by Poul Henningsen’s iconic PH Artichoke and the three-shade lights for Louis Poulsen.

Despite being highly mathematical and scientific in his approach, Slaatto has created a poetic light source of everlasting value and honest expression.

Louis Poulsen is carried in Hong Kong by ViA.

Øivind Slaatto
www.slaatto.dk