We're thrilled to share that Sabine De Schutter will be speaking at the upcoming TEDx Berlin Salon event - "Our future in a circular economy - No Time to Waste "!

At Studio De Schutter, we always champion sustainable lighting. Our approach stems from a respect for nature and the environment, as well as protecting and reusing what is existing.

Join Sabine on the 11th and 12th of April where she will share her insights and ideas on circularity in construction, architecture and lighting design. See you there!

The LIT Awards, also known as the Lighting Design Awards, is a competition that celebrates excellence in lighting design across various categories such as architectural lighting, interior lighting, exterior lighting, and product design. The awards recognize innovative and creative lighting solutions that enhance architecture, spaces, and experiences.

This award attracts submissions from lighting designers, architects, engineers, manufacturers, and other professionals involved in the lighting industry from all over the world. Winning a LIT Award is considered a significant achievement and provides recognition and visibility within the lighting design community.

For the third year in a row, Sabine De Schutter was asked to be part of the jury panel. With the large number of entries in various categories, this is not an easy task. It is an honour to be in the front row seeing many great submissions showcasing cutting-edge lighting designs and to honour the talented individuals and teams behind them.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly being used in various aspects of design to enhance efficiency, creativity, and problem-solving. Here is how we see the potential and how we used it in our project for the Harry Potter Theatre in Hamburg.

The lighting scheme of the Harry Potter Theatre looks poetic, yet it is very technical and realised through parametric design and detailed engineering. The biggest challenge in this project was dealing with the static limitations and the constraints of the listed building, whilst creating a dense cloud of light bulbs.

Algorithms enabled us to merge the different limitations and generated design variations based on specified criteria and constraints (slide to see the overview). The light cloud consists of more than 3000 and 7,5km cable. From early on in the design process we started working with parametric design (Rhino + Grashopper), due to the complexity of the structure and the design intent for the lighting scheme. This allowed us to experiment with the shape of the cloud and design a system in which every one of the 3,000 pendants with 37 different lengths could be allocated.

Like this, AI helped us to manage complexity from planning and production to mounting of the lighting. We see a future in IA powered architecture, and thus lighting design.

Collaborating closely with LXSY architekten and our lovely client, we embarked on an extensive roof renovation in Berlin-Kreuzberg. For this project, we consulted on both the daylight and the artificial lighting. We studied and optimized the skylight positions to achieve the perfect balance between natural and artificial illumination.

The dining area is the highlight for our client. Given the brief that the space should remain flexible for different table positions and settings, we created an eye-catching lighting feature with mouth-blown globes from Bocci. Each globe is unique and the copper mesh embedded in them, makes for a warm glow and textured look.

Circular building is revolutionising various aspects of the design process and construction methods. With the workspace Impact Hub Berlin at CRCLR House the architects of LXSY ARCHITEKTEN have won the FRAME AWARD 2023 "Co-Working Space of the Year". This achievement marks a significant milestone in the building industry, highlighting sustainable building practices.

The circular concept employed at Impact Hub Berlin is centred on the reuse of materials and lighting fixtures “as found”, including upcycled components. Approximately 70% of the materials and products utilised in this project are sourced from recycled, reused, or renewable sources. High-quality reused and new renewable materials were used as they are. Lighting systems have been modernised with energy-efficient LED retrofits where necessary.

Circular lighting planning from theory to practice.

Impact Hub Berlin is a community and co-working space where the concept of circular construction was put into practice, transitioning from theory to reality. It stands as the first co-working space to implement sustainable building practices of this magnitude. Approximately 70% of all materials have a history, and this also holds true for lighting.

We collaborated with LXSY ARCHITEKTEN, allowing us at Studio De Schutter to engage in circular lighting planning. Priority was given to the reuse of fixtures from the existing inventory, such as those from the former Impact Hub, as well as those from partners like Concular. This included converting old fluorescent light fixtures to LED to reduce energy consumption during operation.

Circular planning and construction also encompass what happens to materials, whether they are building materials or lighting fixtures, after they've been used in a project. This is where modular systems come into play. Fixtures consisting of components that are not glued or permanently installed but rather assembled through screws promote maintenance, interchangeability, and ensure the longevity of the installation. Examples include traditional sockets, power rails, or LED strips, where light sources can be easily replaced with many manufacturers offering alternatives.

Garden lighting for office in Berlin

When it comes to designing outdoor lighting, independent lighting designers consider various factors, with their primary focus on preserving the beauty of darkness. Studio De Schutter achieved this in this project through lighting controls, optimal lighting placement to prevent sky glow and spill lighting, and the selection of warm colour temperatures. For this particular location in the heart of Berlin, the lighting designers of Studio De Schutter worked around the concept of foreground-background, emphasising the view and perspective from the different windows from the office spaces.

Studio De Schutter is an independent lighting consultancy based in Berlin and Antwerp that develops tailor-made lighting solutions for creative workplaces, hotel and retail spaces, and light art installations for public spaces. 

For Sabine De Schutter and her team, design is about creating meaningful spaces that positively affect people's lives. People and their needs are at the centre of their human-centric and future oriented approach. They do not allow themselves to be constrained by conventional lighting norms and love to add a sparkle of creativity to each project. The studio seeks to understand individual requirements to develop bespoke solutions or light-hacks that build a sense of community in a workspace, add a touch of identity and beauty to a hotel, or bring out the character of a listed building.

Women Light Artists - the book, featuring the work of 40 female lighting designers and artists amongst which the work from Studio De Schutter.

Things to visit during Milan Design Week! Studio De Schutter is listed on the Fuorisaloni event guide and map with the group exhibition Isola Design Gallery.

Belgium is Design puts all Belgian initiatives in Milan during the Design week at the Salone del Mobile and the Fuorisalone on the map. Studio De Schutter is part of this year’s Milan Design Week with Celia - a modern chandelier.

After two years of development, we are excited to finally share our very first product series with you.

We have worked on many custom and site-specific installations in the past, however, this is a new direction for us!

‘Celia’ is a multifunctional Big Light, a modern chandelier and a line drawing in space.

This design exists between the functional and the decorative and arose from the need to illuminate a space from a central point.

We are excited to finally share this with you!

We have got exciting news... Stay tuned, more coming soon. Very soon!!!

Lighting for public art - enhancing the night-time identity in Saskatoon.