We have worked together on several projects, including McKinsey, Alteo, Novo Nordisk and Ayvens, where Pontlight supplied custom luminaires designed and manufactured specifically for each interior design concept.
With Turkish roots and strong ties to Hungary, the company has been working on projects in Hungary and internationally for more than 15 years, with a particular focus on custom lighting solutions. Alongside their standard product range, they design and manufacture luminaires in bespoke sizes, shapes and colours – often in close collaboration with designers.
We already knew all this about Pontlight. But seeing what happens between an initial idea and the finished luminaire is a different experience altogether.
A multi-day study tour in Istanbul gave us the opportunity to do just that: to see behind the scenes of production, meet the specialists and partners behind Pontlight, and hear the personal stories of Yusuf and his colleagues. It gave us a better understanding of the flexibility, curiosity and solution-oriented mindset that we have long experienced in Pontlight’s work.
Day one: Pontlight – when an idea becomes light
Our first professional stop was Pontlight’s production facility in Turkey, where we were able to follow the entire process at close range – from the work of the design and development team, through the various stages of manufacturing, all the way to final assembly.
It is hard to think of a lighting challenge that does not immediately set them looking for a solution. If a project calls for a special LED solution, they develop one. If the dimensions are outside the standard range, they adapt the construction accordingly. And if the form goes beyond the usual boundaries of lighting design, their focus is on finding a way to make it work.
It was particularly fascinating to see how engineering precision and craftsmanship come together in this process. Behind every striking lighting installation lies a multitude of small decisions, prototypes, technical details and careful assembly.
A good example is the Alteo project, where a custom luminaire with a flowing, curved geometry running across the floors became a defining element of the concept. We complemented the lighting with a series of acoustic baffles that follows the same curved line, visually integrating the lighting and acoustic systems.
The acoustic product was developed specifically for this project and had not previously been used elsewhere. Starting from the design concept, we worked together to develop a solution that aligned form, acoustic performance and manufacturability, making the original idea feasible.
This is where the real value of our long-term collaboration with Pontlight comes into play: their manufacturing expertise is present not only during implementation, but already throughout the design process.
Day two: Formarch – from light to metal, and a new chapter
On the second day, we stepped into the world of Formarch’s manufacturing partners. Behind the innovative material solutions of its carefully selected international manufacturers is a shared approach: to offer possibilities for architectural and interior design projects that do not impose ready-made answers, but leave room for bespoke design ideas.
Our first stop took us into the world of metal fabrication. Perforated and expanded metal sheets, custom-cut patterns, three-dimensional surfaces, façade elements, suspended ceilings and fully bespoke metal structures can all be developed through a process that begins at the concept and technical design stage.
From a designer’s perspective, this is precisely where one of Formarch’s most compelling possibilities lies. Rather than being defined by a fixed product catalogue, the design concept itself can become the starting point for production. Material, structure, surface, form and spatial expression can all be tailored to the specific needs of the project.
And in the afternoon, we changed wavelengths
After all that metal, we shifted into the much softer world of acoustics for the afternoon.
In Formarch’s approach, acoustics are more than just a technical problem to be solved. The colour palette is almost as vibrant as a walk through an Istanbul bazaar: bold shades, muted tones, and a wide range of textures and forms opened up before us. This allows acoustic elements to become an integral part of the interior design concept.
Size, form, colour, rhythm and composition can all be tailored, giving designers a new toolkit of metal and acoustic solutions from Formarch that naturally complements Pontlight’s lighting expertise.
When the tea runs out, there’s always another. When the ideas run out… they don’t.
A professional trip can be measured in lumens, square metres, production capacity and technological possibilities – but in Istanbul, some things are much harder to quantify. Hospitality, for one.
Turkish tea accompanied us throughout the days with such effortless, seemingly endless refills that after a while we barely noticed: by the time a glass was empty, somehow it was full again.
But perhaps it is not only the tea that will make us miss Istanbul.
While we were learning about light, metal, acoustics and manufacturing, we also gained a closer look at the mindset we have encountered many times throughout our work together.
An unconventional form or a design idea that may seem bold at first does not end the conversation here. Instead, another tea arrives, the drawings come out, and someone says:
“All right. Let’s see how we can make it happen.”
As a designer, there are few better things to hear from a manufacturer.
Perhaps this is what we truly bring back from Istanbul – alongside a better understanding of the manufacturing processes, plenty of inspiration, and the memory of more than a few cups of Turkish tea.
