Architectural SSL's Product Innovation Awards (PIAs) showcase the latest and greatest advancements in the lighting industry. Here are the 2022 honorees in the downlight, multiform factor, and specialty lighting categories. See the list of jurors here.
Category: Downlights
LittleOnes, USAI Lighting
What the iPhone was to the cell phone industry, the LittleOnes is to the home technology and lighting industry. The first collection of tiny, architectural- grade recessed ceiling-light fixtures, it can deliver more than 1000 lm. Suitable for homes, offices and public spaces, the LittleOnes LED lights are a full line of fixtures, all with apertures of less than 1". Features include ceiling-to-floor wall wash achieved through a five-part optical system; adjustable and dimmable lights; and square and round wall wash options. Four fixtures light a 100 SF space.
Atomos, Lucifer Lighting Co.
Available with 1" or 2" apertures, Atomos delivers a considerable amount of light with no glare. The 2” provides up to 900 lm of glare-free illumination while maintaining beauty in the ceiling. The 1" offers roughly 500 lm, also glare-free, and seamlessly disappears in the ceiling. The retention wheels, which accommodate 0.5" to 2" ceilings, make it easy to install.
Juror comment: “Slim profile with performance built in, prime for a high-end space, commercial or residential.”
NU Deep Regress, Alphabet Lighting (Ledra Brands)
A 4" recessed downlight delivers up to 3400 lm with an exceptional 38-degree cut-off angle. Offering changeable optics, dynamic LED color and intelligent control, the fixture recesses 2.5" into the ceiling. The product is compatible with a honeycomb louver and specialty lensing for enhanced glare control.
Juror comment: “Subtly enclosed inside the ceiling plane, this projects a strong level of light.”
ID+ 2.5" Downlight and Wall Wash, Focal Point
Designed with flexibility in mind, the ID+ 2.5" is a small-aperture solution for accent, task, or ambient lighting. With beam spreads from 20 to 90 degrees, it offers outputs up to 1900 lm and is available with CRI values of 80, 90, or 97. Its warm dim ranges mimic incandescent and halogen sources. Optics include two cone options—a 60- or a 75-degree cutoff—to support visual comfort and quiet ceilings. The latter enables wide flood, very-wide flood, and super-wide beam spreads.
Category: Multi-Form Factor
Plusminus, Vibia
Vibia with designer Stefan Diez has designed a bespoke collection that features a fabric belt and various light fittings to lend individual sensibility through contemporary technology. The belt provides support and electrical conductivity. The lights are attached using a clip-and-connect system. Plusminus eliminates the differences between pendant, sconce, and floor lights because it allows elements of the collection to be adjusted, attached, or removed as desired.
Juror comment: “The design takes lighting beyond the fixture and allows the function of the fixture to impact space.”
Peerless Renna Wall Solution, Acuity Brands/Peerless Lighting
The latest addition to the Peerless lighting family, the Renna delights designers with its expanded range of mounting options—suspended linear, ceiling surface-mounted, wall-mounted, and a wall wash in—direct and indirect distribution models, and configurations that combine these products in any number of ways. An innovative power and control system greatly simplifies design, installation and commissioning of the linear system, driving up to 32 linear feet of luminaire per module.
Juror comments: “I found this product line fascinating for not just its aesthetic beauty, but also the limitless possibilities it offers... all within the limits of easy installation and straightforward controls. This luminaire is a refreshing solution to workspace lighting.”
Category: Specialty
MRL-2, Kirlin Lighting
A linear slot fixture designed specifically for the demanding requirements of MRI suites, marrying architectural form, color quality, and MRI technical robustness. MRI spaces can be challenging for designers, as the technical requirements involved in producing non-ferromagnetic fixtures that eliminate electromagnetic noise in the suite are multiple. The integrated system, with a 2.5" fixture, is available in static white and RGBW for full spectrum color and enables practitioners to make patients more comfortable by varying the color in the room while a scan is in progress.
Tranquility Series, Axis Lighting
Allow overhead lighting to bring a sense of calm to an interior by camouflaging the luminaire behind inspiring images, textured graphics and custom colors and finishes. Available for in-ceiling and wall-mount applications, this biophilic design solution is great for healthcare settings. Scalable up to 20' square, the luminous ceiling panels offer a uniform glow and varying drop-lens heights so designers may choose from installations that are flush, drop lens, or regressed.
EVO 6" Downlight with Care222 Technology, Gotham Lighting
To reduce active pathogen load on surfaces in high-traffic areas, the EVO UV-Only, and Visible Light-Only Solutions, allow disinfection technology without compromising lighting. In the cylinder, it’s available in surface, pendant, or wall mounting, and for new construction/remodels with recessed downlights. The system features a patented excimer lamp and dosing electronics module that can provide a measured dosage of filtered 222nm far-UVC light. When used properly, the wavelength emitted inactivates viruses and bacteria at levels that don’t penetrate living tissue.
Whisper with Care222 Technology, Mark Architectural Lighting
Available with Ushio Care222 UV disinfection technology for pathogen control, Whisper reduces active pathogens on nonporous surfaces and in the air with far-UVC light. Whisper with Care222 features a mercury-free far-UVC excimer lamp that contains a patented short pass filter for narrow band 222nm emissions, removing wavelengths of UV light that penetrate living tissue in skin or beyond the tear layer in eyes. It is available as a 2' square or 2'-by-4' luminaire with options for one or two Care222 modules, also delivering up to 8500 lm of illumination at up to 90 CRI.
VCM8, Luminaire LED
The IP65-rated, corner-mount VCM8 has soft edges combined with a robust construction that can complement industrial settings. For strength, it features an IK10 rating, an all-aluminum, ligature-resistant construction, and a polycarbonate lens. For longevity, the product offers a highly durable finish that withstands a 4,000-hour salt spray test. Complete with a lifetime warranty against vandalism, it withstands physical impact and environmental abuse.
Juror comment: “This highly durable, resilient product for heavy-use applications still tries to maintain a sense of design.”
To see Architectural SSL's 2022 PIA honorees, click the categories below:
- Application, Acoustics, and Components and Light Sources
- Exterior Lighting
- Track, Indirect, and Industrial Lighting
- Decorative/Pendants
- Linear and Omnidirectional Lighting
- Downlights, Multiform Factor, and Specialty Lighting
This article appeared in the November 2022 issue of Architectural SSL magazine.
