Stone Designs is no stranger to interior
lighting and architectural design, having
been established for nearly 25 years. With
a wealth of experience spanning over two
decades, and an emphasis on approaching
project design with a human focus -
thesStudio’s expertise coupled with its
unique and endearing aesthetic focus came
into play with the completion of its latest
project, Funicamp.
Nestled in the Pyrenees mountains,
Funicamp, part of the Granvalira - is the
biggest ski resort in Southern Europe. Stone
Designs had already been designing various
spaces for the Grandvalira for a number
of years, and as such was drafted in to
transform what was formally a crossing point
into an appealing space for skiers.
The design concept for Funicamp was
inspired by the Everest base camp, and so
too are the architectural and decorative
lighting elements. This was achieved
using a variety of lighting fixtures within
the multiple functional spaces that make
Funicamp, and as such bring a slight
variation to the overall general base camp
aesthetic. This is clearly emphasised in the
restaurant area, where Asteroid fixtures
from Innermost with their hard angular and
white edges evoke connotations of mountain
ice and inject an artificially wild and rugged
element to this bastion of tourism. Stupa
fixtures, also from Innermost, are visually
similar to the ceilings of Tibetan temples
found around the mountainous landscape.
The installation made use of climbing rope,
bespoke made for the the project, which
hangs illuminated from the ceiling like a
mountaineer’s paradise. Further helping to
conjure scenes from the famous mountain
vista are Foracami fixtures from &Tradition
with their oriental rounded shape,
reminiscent of Chinese paper lanterns.
Additionally, Grain fixtures from Muuto were
used due to the warm radiant light emitted
whilst simultaneously soaking up a minimal
amount of visual real-estate.
The locker area was a vicinity that the
designers wished to draw less attention to,
this was done through the use of spotlighting
to accentuate the crossing areas, as well
as highlight bespoke furniture such as the
benches between lockers and leaving the
lockers’ doors in darkness, as to respect the
privacy of the users.
The lighting in the shop predominately
consists of architectural spotlighting,
providing a warm and almost amber hue
when reflected off the wood panelling
of the walls and ceiling. The counter is
illuminated with Ireland fixtures that were
designed for Grupo B.Lux, in order to make
it stand out from the rest of the shop. The
entrance and information points are entirely
spot lit in order to frame all the areas that
have been redesigned.
As parts of the building had been left
untouched during the design overhaul, Stone
Designs opted for spotlighting in specific
points to accentuate the various spaces as
well as generate a sense of depth within
Grandvalira. This deliberate lighting style
was done to evoke a scenographic character
and reinforce the perforce spectacle of
being in an Everest-esc base camp, whilst
drawing attention away from the areas that
had not been touched. This was done by
integrating architectural lighting into as
as many decorative elements as possible,
helping to efficiently light such a grand
space and further add to the illusion that
one is immersed in an extravagant frontier
space as opposed to a commercial arena for
tourists.
Just like the mountaineers waiting at base
camp to ascend Everest, the designers at
Stone Designs had their own challenges
to conquer when crafting such a visually
distinctive environment. This came in the
form of transforming a spartan, cold andimpractical space constructed of slate into
a warm, cozy and alluring hub of activity.
While there were no structural constraints
for the design team to navigate, one
challenge they did have to get around, was
the daylight being reflected off the snow,
which made it difficult to Illuminate certain
spaces because of the light contamination.
Stone Designs commented on the evocative
space they created within what was
previously a blank shell of a building, telling
darc:“Thanks to the theme and concept
that we chose for the project, it ended up
being much more colourful than we had
planned at the beginning. The contrasts are
stronger between the restoration areas and
the lockers and that helps to differentiate
them.”
With only three months from the project’s
conceptualisation through to completion,
it is clear that Stone Designs has taken the
cultural mise-se-scene of the Nepalese and
Tibetan areas and expanded upon it at a
phenomenal pace, culminating in Funicamp,
a summit truly scaled.
http://www.stone-dsgns.comFrontier Design
With a limited time frame, Stone Designs tranforms a barren transitioning
point at the Grandvalira in the Pyrenees Mountains into Funicamp, a vibrant
warm hub of actvity reminscent of Everest's Basecamp.
Images: Alberto Monteagudo021&TRADITION FORMACAMI PENDANTS
GRUPO B.LUX IRELAND FIXTURES
INNERMOST ASTEROID & STUPA PENDANTS
MUUTO GRAIN FIXTURESlighting specifiedFUNICAMP, PYRENEES MOUNTAINS, ANDORRA
CLIENT: GRANDVILIRA
INTERIOR DESIGN: STONE DESIGNdesign details