Illuminating Trends: New Lighting Products for Winter 2023

These new lighting systems and fixtures were designed for a variety of building needs and aesthetics.

Refractory Studio created this cast-bronze inverted trough with a hand-chiseled interior that reflects the light of concealed LED strips, resulting in soft indirect illumination. Measuring 48" long, the made-to-order fixture is available in a choice of six finishes.refractory.studio

Midcentury Modern Danish architect Arne Jacobsen is known for several now iconic products, among them the AJ floor and table lamps for Louis Poulsen, which the Denmark-based company is taking outdoors with the launch of AJ Garden. Available in a black finish, the lamp comes in two heights—3½" for path and 272/3" for ambient illumination—with spike, base, or anchor mounting options.louispoulsen.com

A modular grid system that combines lighting with sound-absorbing PET felt, LattiX from Axis Lighting comes in both 2' x 3' and 3' square formats that can be grouped with additional grids or panels to achieve a particular visual or acoustic result. The modules are specifiable in eight wood finishes with a choice of eight felt colors.axislighting.com

USAI follows up its LittleOnes “barely there” recessed lighting with Micro Doubles, which uses the same technology to power a pair of tiny fixtures within a single housing. Offered in downlight, adjustable, and wall-wash formats, or a combination, it delivers up to 1600 lumens though 1¼" apertures.usailighting.com

Resembling a cluster of supersize grapes, Unika Vaev’s Holly provides a touch of whimsy, along with sound control, for this sculptural grouping of 9¾" diameter globe lights and acoustical-felt-covered spheres. Vertical and horizontal configurations are both offered, as are acoustical-only versions in three felt colors: Anthracite, Light Grey, and Terracotta.unikavaev.com

LightArt’s new collection may look like authentic timber, but it is really composed of parent-company 3form’s eco-friendly Varia resin, which is both lighter in weight and easier to clean. The fixtures are available in wood-grain finishes, including walnut and white oak, plain or with one of two laser-cut patterns, and on three of LightArt’s styles—I/O Drum, Cigar Pendant, and LA2 Three Beam (shown).lightart.com

The minimalist monopoint fixture from Lucifer Lighting conceals an adjusting mechanism that allows for rotation and tilting up to a full 90º. Available in two sizes, it can be wall or ceiling mounted, and specified in five new anodized-aluminum finishes, such as obsidian and light patinated bronze.luciferlighting.com

A build-it-yourself plaster-in system by PureEdge Lighting, TruCurve BIY recesses into 5/8" drywall without the need to modify joists. Architects can specify the degree and radius of the curves and desired length in 1' increments. Further simplifying the system, the LED strips and lenses are field-cuttable, as needed.pureedgelighting.com

Former RECORD editor Sheila Kim is a Brooklyn-based journalist who writes about commercial and residential architecture, interior design, and products.