London Design Festival 2015: Luca Nichetto on his Alphabeta lamps

Amira Hashish meets designer Luca Nichetto. His Hem Alphabeta lamps are on display at Somerset House as part of London Design Festival
Time to shine: Luca Nichetto
Amira Hashish18 September 2015

Luca Nichetto is lighting up Somerset House. The Italian designer has collaborated with Scandinavian brand Hem to create the Alphabeta lamp collection which is on display as part of London Design Festival.

Just like combining letters of the alphabet to create words, the pendants can be customised by shape and colour to allow for, they say, 10 billion options.

“I like thinking about the object not only from the functional but also the holistic point of view,” says Nichetto.

“In the Ancient Greek or Egyptian alphabets they designed their letters, there was something really graphic about the alphabet and the visual connected with sound. I wanted to reflect this in my installation at Somerset House.”

In the centre of one of the rooms in the West Wing Galleries Nichetto has installed a grand piano, the 88 keys of which illuminate 44 lamps, allowing an interaction between light and sound.

“I analysed lamps on the market and different ways of projecting the lights. I wanted to combine all these projections of light into one product with a good price point,” adds Nichetto. His blend of Italian passion and Scandinavian practicality is rooted in many of his designs.

“I have two studios, one in Stockholm and one in Venice. In 2003 I met my Swedish girlfriend who became my wife last year. She is the reason I first landed in Sweden, it was not for a design strategy. But when visiting Stockholm I built up a relationship with the design community. Working with Scandinavian companies helps me become more international in my approach. In the Italian culture of design most of the time is spent connecting with quality and the emotional part of the object. In Scandinavia it is about the functional and environmental aspects. Matching these two big schools of thought helps me create my pieces.”


Despite the cross-cultural approach that Nichetto now exercises so well, his introduction to design was very traditionally Italian.
“I was not even planning on becoming a designer. It happened really naturally. I was raised in Murano, a small Island close to Venice famous for the glass production. My grandfather was a glass blower, my mum was a decorator and 99 per cent of people in Murano are connected with the glass industry. People said I was talented at drawing so I decided to study at the Institute of Art in Venice, in the glass section of course.”

Afterwards he attended the University Institute of Architecture of Venice where he earned a degree in industrial design. Nichetto says this is where he realised design was a profession.

Smart furniture: the Alphabeta lamps are digitally customizable

“During the last year of my university studies I knocked on the door of Salviati. At the time [the 90s] Salviati was one of the most important brands on the island. The British art director Simon Moore saw my folder and said he could see I was really talented but that I did not understand what a company wants. He asked if I could pass by a day a week so that he could teach me the business side. I had the chance to meet all these famous designers who were working with Salviati including Ross Lovegrove, Tom Dixon and Thomas Heatherwick. It was a tremendous experience to see how different personalities presented their work. After a year I made my first glass collection for Salviati and it became a bestseller.”

That same year he began his collaboration with Foscarini, for whom he not only designed products but also worked as a consultant on new materials research and product development. He designed his first Foscarini lamp in 2000 and in 2003 he created a pendant for them called O-Space. “That lamp opened the doors for me to be recognisable in the design world and other companies contacted me.”

Chic pendants: the lamps work well over a dining table

By 2006 he set up his own studio Nichetto & Partners which has collaborated with leading furniture brands across the world including Cassina and De la Espada. Nichetto manages to strike a fine balance between artistic vision and commercial savviness.

“I put 50 per cent of myself but also 50 per cent of the knowledge and heritage of the company I am dealing with into my projects. I have worked with brands with super strong history or with new digital approaches but I have learnt that the most important thing is the match of the personalities.”

The Luca Nichetto with Hem Alphabeta lamps exhibition runs Mon-Wed and Sun 10am-6pm, and Thurs-Sat 10am-9pm at Somerset House; londondesignfestival.com

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