Seven Important Lighting Exhibits at Salone 16

The International Lighting Exhibition, or Euroluce, is held alongside Milan Design Week on alternate years. While it isn't going to be on again until 2017, there's still plenty related to lighting, happening at this year's Salone del Mobile, that will be of interest to architects. In this roundup, we cover a few of the eye-catching exhibits to check out.

The right lampshade often makes the difference between elegant lighting or unpleasant glare. Design studio N°21 employs the macramé technique, an alternative to weaving or knitting that uses textile knotting, to good effect in their collection of shades.

Carrying on from last year's trend of lamps hung from the ceiling with criss-crossing wires, suspension lamps are still very much in vogue. Italian lamp maker Foscarini showcases their Smash collection this year.

The octahedral "X Diamond 3/60" by Stickbulb employs 3-foot long maple struts joined by beautiful cast brass joints. Bulbs are inserted along the length of the 60 maple struts, for a playful bounce of light in all directions - an effect that draws the viewer to walk around the fixture, and discover its multiple layers.

British designer Lee Broom's display setup for his "Optical" light collection, is as much of interest as the objects themselves. Conceived as a travelling exhibition, it recreates a palazzo with stucco and Corinthian columns - inside a delivery van! Inspired by the monochrome graphics of the early 1990s, a pattern of black stripes features around one end of the spherical lamps.

New York based Apparatus unveils the new "Circuit" collection of lamps. Featuring a luminous glass capsule nested in a brass shade, each self-contained unit can be repeated to create larger fixtures that can be arranged in alternating or stacked configurations.

Renowned Czech glass maker Lasvit shows their "Tac/Tile" collection. Based on a purist triangular glass block designed by André Fu Living, Tac/Tile combines traditional glass craft with advanced glass fusing glass methods. The glowing glass tiles are framed by champagne gold and anodized bronze elements.

Norwegian designers Bjørn van den Berg and Falke Svatun showcase their "Aerial" floor lamp, a versatile design for a variety of domestic settings. Whether over a low sofa, mid-height recliner, or high bar counter, Aerial casts light perfectly thanks to a round granite element that adjusts the stand's height and curvature, by moving along the powder-coated steel neck.

For more from the world's biggest design event, on the latest innovation, colour trends, new materials, and much more, visit simplysofas.in/MDW. (Subscribe before 17 April and you could win special prizes, including exquisite Tonin Casa clocks worth ₹30,000!)