Ventura Lambrate is a thriving and indispensable component of Milan Design Week. Everyone who exhibits here has been selected for the value of their ideas and the quality of their finish work, and notably, while celebrity names are still drawn to the precinct, it’s really the student exhibitions and unknown names that leave the greatest impression.

The vibe is young, festive and spontaneous – just the right environment for new ideas to thrive. And when it comes to ideas, this year sees the subject of Light playing out in interesting ways, with designers going beyond mere aesthetics to investigate the effects that lighting has on its surroundings and on those who view it.

Here’s some of what you’ll get to see.

Playing with Colour
Inspired by the value that colour can give to lighting, UK-based studio One Design Space have created light objects with colour-dyed acrylic discs that offer endless possibilities to play with tone and atmosphere.

Vapour Light
Studio Their&vanDaalen returns to Ventura Lambrate with their latest project, VAPOUR Light. The lamp has an irregular shape and finds its origins in the studio’s fascination with the movement of structures in nature and the contrast between straight and organic shapes.

Natural Forces
Playing with gravity and magnetic forces, OliveLab’s latest project is a lamp in which functionality is determined by equilibrium. The light of the minimalist Equilibrio lamp is only diffused through the Plexiglas when the two vertical parts of the lamp are in perfect balance.

Concept of Presentation
Basten Leijh will show several of his latest products and concepts. Each will be individually displayed in a cylinder of light, the beam encased in a Kvadrat fabric sleeve. In collaboration with Modular Lighting, the exhibition setup allows the warmth and intensity of the light beam to be personalised through a connectivity app.