MBR JULY ALL

Malta Business Review
BUSINESS INTERVIEW
BUSINESS INTERVIEW
Malta Business Review
Discovering Innovative
Lighting Solutions
MBR: How and why did you become part of
the Light Design Solutions Ltd design team?
PC: The Company LIGHT DESIGN SOLUTIONS
(LDS), whose showroom and offices are
located in Birkirkara, has the primary objective
of providing a specialised lighting design
service that aims to enhance space and brings
out the aesthetic and architectural features of
the building. LDS was set up in 2008. I had
worked in the lighting design sector, for other
companies, for more than twelve years. I felt
that attaining the potential of my abilities
depended on others, besides the fact that
people needed a better understanding of
light usage and how light’s potential could
be exploited to transform it into an artistic
experience. The whole concept of the
employees and exhibits at the offices and
By G. A. Carol
Peter Cutajar’s experience in the
field helped him appreciate that
Light Design Solutions (LDS)
would have to collaborate with
foreign partners around the
globe, since this would offer good
quality products consistent with
the latest lighting technologies,
which are incessantly
revolutionising the lighting sector.
In this interview with Peter, we
learn more about LDS.
showroom of LDS is founded on the mission
to explain to our clients that lighting is not
just the light source but the LIGHTING EFFECT
that the source creates.
A significant objective of LDS
is to address the interaction
between human needs and
wishes; between architecture
and aesthetics; between
excellence, economics and
budget constraints
The decisive objective of LDS is the
optimization of space and making it effusively
functional. The presentation of light is central
for LDS because light enriches the character
Peter Cutajar, Light Design Solution (LDS)
and aesthetic feature of the designated area;
be it a house, a commercial environment,
outdoor space or a place that provides
entertainment. The motto of LDS is to enhance
people’s wellbeing by creating an appealing
and pleasant ambiance of the area they are
in. The Company strives to help its clients live
this experience. A significant objective of LDS
is to address the interaction between human
needs and wishes; between architecture and
aesthetics; between excellence, economics
and budget constraints. At LDS, we strive to
create a harmony between such concepts by
being imaginative, original and innovative,
rational, finding consensus with the client’s
needs and practical.
Every interior and exterior project is a new
challenge for LDS; even when the approach is
identical and the final results were achieved by
the employing the same techniques. Hence,
the art of lighting design demands innovation
and creativity because every project is unique.
The Company’s mission lies in its strength
to search and discover innovative and cost
effective solutions for lighting plans and
designs; project management; supervising
the installation of energy efficient products
and systems that the LDS is commissioned to
execute.
MBR: What are your greatest moments
or accomplishments personally and
professionally?
PC: Over the past years, LDS has been entrusted
with important projects around the Maltese
Islands and even abroad. One of the greatest
moments and accomplishments of my career
was working with the renowned Maltese
Architect, Professor Richard England (FAIA)
on the Dar il-Ħanin Samaritan Conference
Centre Project in St. Venera, conceived as an
overall series of open spaces aimed to engage
the lay people in meditative sessions, in both
its external and internal spaces. Professor
Richard England (FAIA) wrote that the lighting
designs for the above mentioned Conference
Centre, as planned and executed by LDS, not
only highlights the architectural features but
also enhances the whole project. He goes on
to state that roaming through the illuminated
spaces of Dar il-Ħanin Samaritan provides an
enchanting experience because it gives the
architectural design an added layer of poetic
quality. As an architect of the project I applaud
the finished product.
The Company’s goal is to create
a design where people can
enjoy the discernable aesthetic
architectural features
LDS was given a free hand by Professor
England to design the appropriate lighting
for this Conference Centre. It took us eight
months to finalise the lighting designs and
2 years to finish the lighting project. This
project and working with Professor Richard
England (FAIA) was a great milestone for LDS,
as it was a living proof of what LDS stands for.
The project demonstrated the Company’s
capabilities and potentialities unswervingly
and robustly.
MBR: In your opinion, what sets you apart
from other light design studios designers?
PC: In my opinion, such projects as Dar il-
Ħanin Samaritan Conference Centre lauded
by Professor Richard England (FAIA) are
proof of the Company’s credentials and the
service that it offers its clients. LDS provides
comprehensive service of professional
lighting calculations, wiring plans indicating
the precise position of the lighting fixture in
tandem with the size and cut outs for the false
ceiling contractor, together with 3-D images
showing the lighting effect created for our
clients. The service that LDS provides includes
supervising the execution of the lighting
design plans and the fixing of lighting fixtures
on site.
MBR: From idea to finished product – how
does a design become a lighting fixture
ready to go on the market?
PC: The journey from the conception of the
idea to the finished product goes through
a number of stages. The initial stage of the
project is that of a rudimentary design of the
project. The Company’s design team then
develops the simple idea and develops it into a
sophisticated notion of the light effect that to
be achieved. The Company’s team then sets
about designing the product starting with the
shape of the light fitting and finishing with the
optics. In the process we collaborate and keep
contact with our lighting manufactures in
Italy and Germany who construct the design
of LDS. Foreign Companies have placed the
designs of Lighting Design Solutions in their
Company’s official catalogue.
MBR: How would you characterize your
design work in five words?
PC: I would say that the design work of
Lighting Design Solutions is: Professional,
Comprehensive, Innovative, Imaginative
and Practical.
MBR: What are your goals and what is on
your professional bucket list?
PC: My goal is to create the awareness that
light design is as important as the architectural
features and the interior designs employed.
Unfortunately, many do not give light design
the attention that it deserves. It could be
that people consider the architectural design
and the finishing materials required (such as
bathrooms and tiles) for their new homes for
their new home more important. I believe
that individuals who spend thousands of Euro
(whether it is for their home or a business
enterprise) and do not give the necessary
attention to lighting would simply become
the owners of have a half-baked project.
MBR: What inspires your designs?
PC: Our designs are inspired by the concept of
beauty and how light can transform a simple
structure into art, and as Professor Richard
England (FAIA) stated, give the architectural
design an added layer of poetic quality.
Light plays a very important role in bringing
out the architectural features at night. The
Company’s goal is to create a design where
people can enjoy the discernable aesthetic
architectural features of the building not only
during daytime, bathed by sunlight, but more
importantly at night, illuminated by artificial
lighting.
MBR: With so much experience behind you,
how do you see the lighting market in the
future?
PC: The experience that I have gained in
the last nine years suggest that architects
and interior designers are realising that light
design is more complex than meets the eye. I
think that the lighting market has a promising
future because we have come to realise
that these professionals are recognising
the need to collaborate with lighting design
professionals. The secret for our success is
that if we want to create a particular light
effect, we are capable of visualising the light
fixture required that will produce the light
effect imagined, and if it is not found on the
market, we have the experience, expertise
and ability to create it. MBR
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