Interior

Aqua Creations - Environmental Conscious Design

L'Officiel Austria spoke with Albi Serfaty, founder and creative director of lighting design studio Aqua Creations, who – through his work – aims to bring environmental awareness to the design world.

Tell us about your recent works and the studio’s noteworthy mission.

I am really excited about our latest works as we have started communicating about issues that go beyond design and that are important. Last December, we had our debut at Design Miami with an installation titled ‘Light On Water’, which goal was to shine a light on the alarming state of freshwater imbalance around the world. We presented a lighting collection that draws inspiration from the shape and particular alarming state of freshwater lakes around the world, such as lake Chad (located in Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger) which shrank by as much as 95% in its history, and lake Doiran (in Greece and North Macedonia) that is on the verge of an ecological disaster after drought and excessive use of its water.

The centerpiece symbolized a utopic lake which we named ‘Lotus Lake’, it offered a dreamy emotional three meter diameter kinetic light sculpture which allow the viewer to change the composition of the ‘water’ from harmonious to restless.

Thanks to a new technology which we developed in-house; ultra-thin shades covered with the studio's signature silk; these lamps can illuminate the space without revealing the light source. The shades can feature a different silk color on each side and emit radiance by creating its own background color. The collection ranges from table lamps to larger mobiles. Each lamp functions as a luminous artwork, containing the distinct characteristics of The Lakes; moving silk shades that use the wall as their backdrop for their luminous glow.

We chose specifically for Design Miami to present these works because we knew this is a strong platform that would reach many influential people and make ‘waves’ throughout the design world.

floor flooring interior design hardwood wood furniture living room speaker monitor chair

How did you arrive to the concept of combining design and social issues?

I have always been drawn to the hypnotic nature of light and my work always has been strongly influenced by nature. A snorkeling trip in the Red Sea in Egypt was the inspiration for the first designs of Aqua Creations, which I co-founded in 1992; even our name derives from it.

For almost 30 years, at our studio light has been a powerful medium to evoke emotions. Now, we are using our emotional design language to understand the relationships with our surroundings and the world around us. Our works create awareness by starting a conversation about the importance of preserving and protecting these vital resources.

photography adult male man person machine wheel lamp
floor flooring person

"Creating awareness with The Lakes collection is the studio’s first step towards making an impact"

lamp lampshade floor lamp
lamp lighting lampshade chandelier machine wheel

What more can we expect from the studio and its future endeavors?

We want to strengthen people's connection to nature by spreading the word about our mission and by involving the right people. Besides creating awareness, we are also focusing on other ways of how we can ‘give back’ to nature.

With our latest project ‘Reef Protectors’, we are working to set up a structure to protect the coral reefs in the Red Sea, Egypt. In particular, the coral reefs in the same area as where Aqua Creations was ‘born’ during that snorkeling trip almost 30 years ago. We assembled a team with people both from our studio as well as locals. Together, we work on educating the locals and tourists on how to treat the coral reefs in order to protect this delicate ecosystem for future generations to enjoy. Creating awareness with The Lakes collection is the studio’s first step towards making an impact.

photography adult male man person lighting art modern art lamp glasses

For more information, you can visit: www.aquagallery.com

Recommended posts for you