Cube Light Darc North American Report

Cube Light.  British Columbia-based lighting designer and manufacturer, Karice, has launched its latest product, the Cube.  A design that lay dormant since 2016 was brought to life again through inspiration from Lead Designer at Karice,
Maurice Dery’s, grandchildren and the idea of carefree play with objects. The idea first came from the Rubik’s cube.  “It was the bold colours and simple form that sparked the idea for a new design in the summer of 2016,” explains Dery.  “As other projects became a priority, the Cube idea got shelved for some time until that spark of an idea was reignited.  Watching the children play and build with a carefree attitude, I wanted to create a light that was bright, playful and simple in form.”  The shape, form and size of the fixture had been determined, but the challenge for the team was to create a light source.  “We knew we wanted the fixture to be bright with a high CRI index from an LED source, but we also knew we would be limited by the small constraints of the fixture,” explained Dery.

“One of the main challenges we had to overcome was dealing with the amount of heat that would be generated. Our designer Jordan took on the task of developing the light source for the fixture. This included sourcing a suitable LED
for our requirements and designing and developing a heat sink that would manage the heat produced.” The core of the fixture is comprised of a newly revised, custom proprietary aluminium extrusion that Karice designed and developed. The shape of the extrusion was fine-tuned over the years to accommodate the design needs as it changed and developed. “Further custom aluminium end caps were designed and produced in-house with our CNC milling
machine,” elaborates Dery.

“Karice also manufactured the heatsink developed with the light source that we chose to use and a decisio was made in the early prototype stages to move away from using acrylic as our diffuser material. We began working with a local
company to develop a new lens made from polycarbonate. Since polycarbonate can be extruded, we were able to design a profile better suited for our aluminium extrusion.  “The use of the polycarbonate lenses is a great product
improvement as the ease of installation and removal of the lens was significantly improved. We were able to balance the amount of light emitted, while still hiding the light source and eliminating hotspots.”

Cube Light, the bright colours of this fun product give it its stand out character. The fixtures are available as both downlights as well as with a side lit option. There is also a selection of standard colours for those wanting to obtain a more conservative look.

Interior Design Magazine Spring Market Tabloid showcases our CUBE Light

Interior Design Magazine CUBE

After designing and building the internationally award-winning ‘DaVinci Lighting Collection, Maurice Dery of Karice felt challenged to go back to a project he began envisioning in 2016. The CUBE light is inspired by the Rubik’s cube, a universally renowned puzzle, and the fun and joy of watching his grandchildren play and build with carefree abandon. Maurice wanted to create a light that was bright and playful in colour and also in form. CUBE is very relatable — its pure and simple design. The cube is the essential building block of structural learning and experimental design which begins at a very young age and stays with us through all our lifelong journeys.

This Karice signature design is based on a simple concept, yet it is executed with exquisite craftsmanship, locally in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

CUBE is an artful piece of design and craftsmanship that would captivate from the gallery to the boardroom — and every punctuated space in between.

Karice designs, develops and manufactures custom premium lighting, focusing on a modern aesthetic enhanced by the latest technological innovations. Their vast portfolio reflects a diverse international client base and includes many award-winning signature Karice luminaires. A strong segment of their collection also consists of custom, client-oriented collaborations — from art pieces to larger production runs. Karice has the capacity and creativity to produce the most challenging concepts with true craftsmanship, efficiency and design excellence.

WHISTLER CUSTOM LIGHTING WHISTLER CONFERENCE CENTRE

Custom Lighting Whistler Conference Centre, a story to be told.  The picturesque city of Whistler has long been a destination for vacation and business travelers alike.  Tourism Whistler set its sites on the Whistler Conference Centre to meet the growing demand for a state-of-the-art conference facility.

The Whistler conference Centre revitalization plan brought a 5 star wish list to their design team.  The facility as it was lacked the flexibility for the conference centre to attract events it was marketing to.  The A+D design team of Lynn Rines Interior Design worked with Tourism Whistler’s Mark Wrightson to bring together a tight cohesive professional discipline team working closely with their construction team.

The original architectural features a West Coast feel of large structure wood beams and wood ceilings providing the natural warmth expressed in many Whistler structures. The light design concept began with a goal to open up the ceilings in the conference centre foyers and ballrooms. The conference centre was looking to attract conference clients requiring large gatherings, ballroom facilities, and specialty entertainment events.

The design team began very early to address the outdated lighting system. It was potentially holding back the multi-use concept design and the ability to fully appreciate the original architectural design.

WHISTLER CUSTOM LIGHTING –  WHISTLER CONFERENCE CENTRE

The light element became the key ingredient to achieve the design goals. Lighting Consultant, Margot Richards joined the design team to ensure light goals would be achieved with the new lighting equipment. The design concepts along with technical lighting requirements were brought to the team at Karice.

Karice then began the work to engineer, design and build the lighting fixtures and ensure the lighting concepts became a reality.  Extensive testing went into achieving the impressive and flexible lighting levels that were required.  The custom designed luminaires needed to light up the voluminous architectural space of the main hall and have the flexibility for more intimate functions. Karice utilized the very latest in LED technologies to achieve the design goals. Each chandelier delivers over 32,000 lumens of down light, 16,000 lumens of up light and x8 spot lights delivering 1800 lumens each.  A Multi-channel Dali Dimming system was used to satisfy the design requirements of the electrical engineer – Integral Group.

The main ballroom is illuminated by large nine-foot round diameter, copper finished chandeliers. This aesthetic blended exceptionally with the beam structures of the main conference areas.  Two identical large chandeliers flanking either side of the impressive stone fireplace make a striking presence in the grand foyer of the centre.  In the ballroom, twenty large 6-foot-high wall sconces make their statement on the four perimeter walls.  The lower level of the facility is completed with the same aesthetic, with 4ft diameter flush mounted custom fixtures.

In designing the ballroom space further physical considerations for flexibility were required. The conference centre received requests to host concert events. This brought the lighting elements into the equation. Working with the design team Karice had to design the ability to have the chandeliers clear show specific Audio-Visual Equipment. The solution,  each chandelier was mounted on an electric hoisting system that enables the lights to be lifted up and down. This was a feat, considering that each light weighs in excess of 600 pounds each. Accomplishing this also allowed for floor level maintenance of the chandeliers.

TOURISM WHISTLER

The newly renovated facility reopened in the Summer of 2020.

Be sure to visit WHISTLER CONFERENCE CENTRE