Aesop lighting design - Light dancing on the darkness

FEATURING AN illuminated centrepiece that elevates the visitor experience.

For Aesop’s space at Doncaster, ambience collaborated with the team at Aesop, interior designers March Studio and builders EMAC

The project features a mix of architectural luminaires from Symphony Lighting, andro, and the Brise – a petite and refined mini adjustable projector. The hallmark of the space is the incredible ceiling sculpture, featuring glass bottles intersected with angled light play. The piece is illuminated using Roll luminaires. “My favourite part of the project was definitely the ripple highlights throughout the ceiling. – Roshavi Hettige, Project Coordinator, ambience.

ILLUMINATING THE CEILING SCULPTURE FOR AESOP

Glass interacts with light in three main ways: reflection, refraction, and absorption. The first things to take into consideration when illuminating and angling for the project were Beam angle, colour temperature, intensity and position plus height. Angled light reveals curvature and texture; overhead light flattens. Multiple angles reduce harsh shadows but can also reduce the drama. Roshavi adds “We angled our Roll XS track lights to accentuate the ripple effect.”

Dark glass (brown, green, black) usually contains metal oxides or other pigments that absorb more light and transmit less and celebrates surface and absence rather than glowing from within. It reflects only specular highlights, small bright points where the light directly hits. It also creates a diffused glow on surroundings, evoking themes of mystery, reflection, depth, and containment, as if light is being swallowed and only fragments return to the viewer.

A percentage of light is reflected off each glass surface, depending on the angle of incidence and surface polish.
Curved surfaces distort and scatter reflections, creating highlights and glints that move when you move.
Light passes through the glass and bends (refracts).
The degree of bending depends on the thickness and curvature of the bottle, which creates visual depth and distortion.

When you direct spotlights at the bottles you can create strong specular highlights – producing bright pinpoints or streaks of reflection.
These highlights will move dynamically as you walk around, giving the sculpture a sense of life and shimmer.
Dark bottles absorb much of the light, creating heavy contrast between bright specular spots and deep shadowed areas – we like to think of it as lighting dancing on the darkness

Inter-reflection sees each bottle reflect and interplay delicately. This produces subtle secondary reflections, creating visual complexity — little ghost images of neighbouring bottles, like a dark kaleidoscope. The result is a mesmerising and inviting centrepiece that captivates and elevates the visitor experience.

The space is located at Shop 1077, 619 Doncaster Rd, Doncaster VIC 3108, Australia. Interior Design: March Studio / Aesop Store Dev, Build: EMAC Construction. Photos via Aesop.

“Glass interacts with light in three main ways: reflection, refraction, and absorption. The first things to take into consideration when illuminating and angling for the project were Beam angle, colour temperature, intensity and position plus height.”