With its 2018/19 art book, designed by the Austrian architect Professor Dietmar Eberle of Baumschlager Eberle Architekten in conjunction with Sascha Lötscher of Gottschalk+Ash Int’l, Zurich, the Zumtobel Group presents the 28th edition in its series of unique artistic annual reports. In this year’s edition the designers focus on the interplay of light and space from an architectural perspective, and on making light visible through the use of strong contrasts. The publication was presented at the company’s Light Forum in Dornbirn for the first time on 24 July 2019.
“We are delighted that we were able to secure the services of Professor Dietmar Eberle, a renowned Austrian architect and longstanding friend of our Group, for the design of our report. We’re great fans of his architecture and his approach to architecture and so it meant a lot to us to be able to create a Zumtobel art book together with him. For me, this edition offers a unique representation of light and space,” says Karin Zumtobel, Head of Culture & Arts, Zumtobel Group.
Ever since 1991, the Zumtobel Group has invited internationally renowned figures from the fields of architecture, graphic design and art to present their take on the subject of light and the development of the company. In this task, the company leaves the chosen creative director a free hand in terms of the design, unhampered by any corporate design considerations. The outcome, year after year, is a series of unconventional unique printed works that have long since become collectors’ items.
In this art edition the designers interpret light from an architectural perspective, using photographs to show a range of lighting moods in space. The photographs illustrate architectural models complete with lighting scenarios which were created by students at ETH Zürich, the university for science and technology, working under the supervision of Professor Eberle in his teaching role there. The pictures are arranged through the art book in sequence, from dark to light, in order to make the effects of light more visible. The use of low-resolution printing for large images and high-resolution for small images is another strategy used to enhance light’s visibility. The overall effect is an interplay of contrasts – dark and light, black and white – that merge together, softening, in places.
“Architecture consists of light and shade – nothing more. Light is central to architecture – it’s only light that makes the world apparent, visible to us at all in the first place. So light is something we take for granted, as a natural given. The student works I’ve used in this annual report are all characterised by their engagement with light. This report presents one way of describing what lies ahead of us. What the students document in these works will be architectural reality in our society in 15 to 20 years’ time,” says Professor Dietmar Eberle, Baumschlager Eberle Architekten.
