Silverspan fluorescent light fittings
Light Fitting
1968 (made)
1968 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Fluorescent light fittings: RotafIex-Concord's Silverspan Made by Concord Lighting Limited, a Rotaflex (Great Britain) Limited company. Batten designed by Robert Heritage, DesRCA, RDI, FSIA; attachments designed by Luciano Zucchi. The Silverspan range of fluorescent light fittings was developed as the result of a decision by Rotaflex to enter the fluorescent market with a range for general commercial use. Robert Heritage, Rotaflex's consultant designer, was briefed to design a single batten to which various attachments could be fitted. His solution, developed in direct succession to the British Aluminium Design Award-winning Silverline fitting, uses two L-shaped extruded aluminium sections, held together with a continuous hinge at one junction and a snap action at the other, as the housing for the control gear. Two plastic end pieces fit on to the extrusions, and the attachments clip into slots in aluminium end plates. The batten is only 1 3/4 inches by 1 7/8,' inches in section, the smallest that would house the choke. The whole Silverspan range has been designed to meet all European electrical and mechanical standards, and care has been taken to consult overseas agents at all stages of development.
The attachments have been designed by Rotaflex's staff designer, Luciano Zucchi, and include pelmets (giving light from both sides of the fitting) and directional shields (giving light in only one direction), both in extruded anodised aluminium and available in a silver or silver and teak finish. The pelmets and shields are also available in Matchmaker versions, where the fitting is supplied with double-sided adhesive tape on the front so that the customer can attach his own fabric or wallpaper. The third attachment, Fernland, is made of vinyl laminate with decorations moulded into it. An opal or prismatic diffuser is also available.
The economies in production made possible by the Silverspan batten's flexibility in use are compounded by Rotaflex's policy of using modern production methods to cut labour costs. For instance, the choice of an extrusion has enabled components to be slotted into the batten with no other fixing required.
Design Journal, No.233, Fluorescent Light Fittings, May1968, p.40.
The attachments have been designed by Rotaflex's staff designer, Luciano Zucchi, and include pelmets (giving light from both sides of the fitting) and directional shields (giving light in only one direction), both in extruded anodised aluminium and available in a silver or silver and teak finish. The pelmets and shields are also available in Matchmaker versions, where the fitting is supplied with double-sided adhesive tape on the front so that the customer can attach his own fabric or wallpaper. The third attachment, Fernland, is made of vinyl laminate with decorations moulded into it. An opal or prismatic diffuser is also available.
The economies in production made possible by the Silverspan batten's flexibility in use are compounded by Rotaflex's policy of using modern production methods to cut labour costs. For instance, the choice of an extrusion has enabled components to be slotted into the batten with no other fixing required.
Design Journal, No.233, Fluorescent Light Fittings, May1968, p.40.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 9 parts.
|
| Title | Silverspan fluorescent light fittings (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Aluminium, plastic and anodised aluminium. |
| Brief description | Silverspan fluorescent light fittings, designed by Robert Heritage and Luciano Zucchi and manufactured by Concord Lighting International Ltd. Council of Industrial Design Award 1968. |
| Physical description | Silverspan fluorescent light fittings, aluminium and plastic batten and anodised aluminium attachments. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Gift of the manufacturer |
| Object history | Historical significance: Winner of the Design Centre Award in 1968. |
| Summary | Fluorescent light fittings: RotafIex-Concord's Silverspan Made by Concord Lighting Limited, a Rotaflex (Great Britain) Limited company. Batten designed by Robert Heritage, DesRCA, RDI, FSIA; attachments designed by Luciano Zucchi. The Silverspan range of fluorescent light fittings was developed as the result of a decision by Rotaflex to enter the fluorescent market with a range for general commercial use. Robert Heritage, Rotaflex's consultant designer, was briefed to design a single batten to which various attachments could be fitted. His solution, developed in direct succession to the British Aluminium Design Award-winning Silverline fitting, uses two L-shaped extruded aluminium sections, held together with a continuous hinge at one junction and a snap action at the other, as the housing for the control gear. Two plastic end pieces fit on to the extrusions, and the attachments clip into slots in aluminium end plates. The batten is only 1 3/4 inches by 1 7/8,' inches in section, the smallest that would house the choke. The whole Silverspan range has been designed to meet all European electrical and mechanical standards, and care has been taken to consult overseas agents at all stages of development. The attachments have been designed by Rotaflex's staff designer, Luciano Zucchi, and include pelmets (giving light from both sides of the fitting) and directional shields (giving light in only one direction), both in extruded anodised aluminium and available in a silver or silver and teak finish. The pelmets and shields are also available in Matchmaker versions, where the fitting is supplied with double-sided adhesive tape on the front so that the customer can attach his own fabric or wallpaper. The third attachment, Fernland, is made of vinyl laminate with decorations moulded into it. An opal or prismatic diffuser is also available. The economies in production made possible by the Silverspan batten's flexibility in use are compounded by Rotaflex's policy of using modern production methods to cut labour costs. For instance, the choice of an extrusion has enabled components to be slotted into the batten with no other fixing required. Design Journal, No.233, Fluorescent Light Fittings, May1968, p.40. |
| Bibliographic reference | Design Journal, No.233, Fluorescent Light Fittings, May 1968. p.40. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.780 to H-1968 |
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| Record created | April 27, 2011 |
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