Haus of Glass
LUCIE KOLDOVA LIT UP IMM COLOGNE WITH HER MOOD-SETTING FIXTURES
Ever since the launch of Muffins, a lamp that looks a lot like the baked good it’s named after, Lucie Koldova has been on an upswing, establishing herself as one to watch in the lighting world. After living and working in Paris, the Czech native returned to Prague in 2014 to start her own studio – a decision that makes sense, considering her preferred medium is glass. “I understood what a treasure we have here,” she says, referring to the tradition of glass-blowing her home country is renowned for. “I realized I could contribute to that centuries-old legacy.” Her ambition was on full display in Cologne this January. Koldova was selected for Das Haus, the annual installation at IMM in which one designer is invited to realize a full-scale concept house. Titled Light Levels, Koldova’s house emphasized lighting as atmosphere – or “spirit,” as she calls it. Each of the five rooms was themed around a particular daily-life ritual, from sleeping to lounging (though there was no kitchen – Koldova, who is also art director for lighting manufacturer Brokis and mother to a young son, doesn’t see cooking as part of her future). While each room offered wildly inventive compositions, the bath zone best exemplified her mastery at fusing hand-blown techniques, technology and femininity. Featuring Ivy, a branch-like fixture that sprouts glass buds, Koldova used dozens of the stems to form a constellation that hung above a partially sunken bathtub. Paired with blonde-wood wall panelling, the pulsating display cast a hypnotic glow that was stunning. Ivy is expected to hit the market later this year.