A long-term design process

Smart magnet system in new fixture sees the light of day

The development of a brand new fixture certainly takes some time. From the first sketch on paper to the presentation of the finished product ... it takes time and hard work. Sometimes it takes several months, sometimes it takes even a little longer. In the specific case of Nala, a newcomer to lighting manufacturer Exterus, it took ... much longer!

Nala's story reads like a train. About five years ago, Juri Vannieuwenborgh, business manager of lighting manufacturer Exterus, had a rough idea of working with some kind of magnetic system in a lighting fixture. He put himself at the drawing table, made some sketches and then put them aside for a while. Vannieuwenborgh didn't forget his sketches, and last year he picked them up again. The goal: to develop a new fixture with the innovative magnetic system and present it during Architect@Work. It just barely succeeded.

Creative with magnets

The most striking feature of the Nala spotlight is, of course, the magnet system that controls the directivity of the spotlight. "Of course, we are not going to show the back of our tongue as to how the magnet system works," laughs Vannieuwenborgh. "An obvious advantage, of course, is its flexibility and the fact that the sleek, rectilinear cylinder spotlight fits nicely magnetically into the rosette so that the rod is not visible." 

Choices all around

What began as a sketch eventually became a series. "Some elements of the Nala spotlights are always the same," Vannieuwenborgh clarifies. "Whichever version of Nala you choose, the diameter of the spotlight is always 40 millimeters. Also in terms of light source, we opt each time for a COB LED of 710 lumens with a consumption of 8.7W."

"Still, there are several choices to be made to arrive at the perfect Nala for a project. Purely coincidental but nice to pass along: for most of the choices to be made, three variants are on the table. First, with Nala IM4, 6 and 9, there are three possible drill holes available. The IM4 involves a 35-millimeter drill hole, the IM6 is 45 millimeters, and the IM9 involves an 80-millimeter drill hole."

"For the finish of Nala, you can choose from three 'precious metals,' namely anodized bronze, champagne and gun metal. And the reflectors involve a 16-degree beam (very focused light on a specific spot), one of 36 degrees and one of 50 degrees. Add to that the two possible light colors 2700 and 3000K and a wide range of projects is within reach. Think about residential applications or, for example, as accent lighting in a showroom."