Illuminating with style: lighting solutions for the modern workplace (and beyond)

As hybrid working becomes the established norm across the world, our workplaces and homes are changing to accommodate the new reality. Last year's 'The Future of Work Survey' by real estate consultants JLL indicated that sustainable credentials and high-quality, flexible office spaces are some of the key ways in which employers can create optimal conditions and boost their employees' productivity in the new world of work. Workplaces are increasingly becoming better, rather than simply bigger, with all aspects – from layout and environmental performance to furnishing and lighting – increasingly optimised to add value. 

Lighting is one of the key factors in workplace design. As well as increasing occupier well-being, well-designed contemporary lighting can be sustainable, energy-efficient and contribute to the overall look and feel of the space. Swedish manufacturer Zero, founded in 1978 and still running as a family business 45 years later, offers a growing range of compelling indoor and outdoor solutions, including an expanding range of modular lighting.

Working with well-known Swedish architects and designers such as Note Design Studio, Front, Monica Förster, Kjellander & Sjöberg and Tham & Videgård, the company has become synonymous with a combination of the latest technology with a fresh twist on pared-down Scandinavian style. This fusion of functionality, innovation and aesthetic appeal makes the lighting solutions ideal for modern office spaces, meeting the ever-evolving needs of users while enhancing comfort, productivity and overall well-being.

Zero has also expanded its modular collections in order to offer adaptable solutions to their clients, launching four such product lines since 2020. Launched last year, Slices is a collection of pendant luminaires with an integrated disc-shaped shade wrapped in sound-absorbing material. Designed by Halskov & Dalsgaard, the product can be customised to incorporate a range of discs in varying diameters and colourways, giving the user the option to vary the aesthetic throughout a workplace or to create a uniform, sober look. Furthermore, it allows more freedom when designing the rest of the space and furnishings, such as choosing exposed brick walls or ceilings, as the fixtures can help satisfy acoustic requirements.

Another relative newcomer to Zero’s portfolio is Compose; introduced in 2020 and designed by Jens Fager, the product line consists of metal pendant lights – available in a curated range of colours – with variable lampshades that include painted metal, perforated metal or clear glass, green glass, grey glass or matt-white glass, as well as raw/untreated brass or copper. In 2021, the company added linear and circular pendant sets and this year, wall, table and floor lamps were added, along with a larger metal shade that allows for more impact.

The two most recent modular additions are Lumo and the Curve Crown series, which are also designed to meet the demands of modern office environments (as well as all kinds of spaces). Lumo is a line of pastel pendants that can be adjusted with triangular, linear and square armatures producing rigorously geometric compositions, or freely arranged as single pendants to form clusters as desired. It is also available with an in-line tension bracket for indoor mounting. Launched in 2022 and designed by Thomas Bernstrand, the shade is made of 6mm thick aluminium and, as with the other modular products, the cable comes in a matching colourway.

Meanwhile, the original Curve has been designed by Front for the 2018 renovation of Sweden's Nationalmuseum and was released last year for the general market. Consisting of curved tubular armatures and a hemispherical shade, the lamps can be playfully interwoven – just like a flower crown – into different chandelier configurations, enabling maximum creative flexibility in the workplace (or ultimately in any other space).

As with all its current products, Zero uses the latest LED light technology to ensure energy efficiency. Just as important, the company prides itself on short supply chains, sourcing 80% of components and materials within a relatively tight 200km radius from its base in southern Sweden. This allows for more effective quality control and also decreases the carbon footprint for shipping during the manufacture. The company's headquarters reuses an old glass factory that has been retrofitted and expanded to accommodate its current use rather than building a wholly new compound. In the same spirit of longevity, Zero's products are built to last, and components are generally reusable and or recyclable and the company offers a service to retrofit its older models with newer, energy-saving LEDs whenever possible.

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