The Light Gate, iGuzzini's new headquarters in Milan, sits in via Brera, the area of Lombardy's capital considered to be its cultural district, with institutions like the Accademia di Belle Arti and the Pinacoteca di Brera that Maria Teresa d’Asburgo pushed for in 1776. A creative corner characterized by nineteenth century buildings such as the one that houses The Light Gate, which is not just a workplace, but a space where contamination of disciplines, hybridization and sharing take place, the address at which you can meet iGuzzini, but above all at which you can study many aspects linked to the culture of light.

Designed by Alfonso Femia Atelier(s), The Light Gate is set up as a flexible, innovative, multi-material and polychromatic space of about 1000 square metres on two levels. The ground floor houses offices, meeting rooms, workshop rooms and common spaces, while the basement houses The Light Experience and the lounge, a multi-purpose space for meetings and events. The entrance hall is the heart of The Light Gate. It is accessed from the courtyard of the nineteenth-century building and is the point from which the ‘central backbone’ winds, connecting the various functions on the two floors. The hall leads to the operational spaces. It features the iconic Drop by Drop pendant signed by Alfonso Femia and made by iGuzzini for the public library of La Spezia, here with various black, red, opal and chrome finishes. The various areas are connected by luminous gates, red portals that use light markings to represent iGuzzini's corporate values (Innovation, Beauty, Openness, Humanity, Integrity).

The path within the ground floor is defined by a calendared track with adjustable Laser Blade XS lamps installed on it, alongside a line of Underscore InOut light with Tunable White technology. The ‘central backbone’, in which Laser Blade XS recessed lamps are laid out in an irregular grid on the slatted wooden ceiling to create the effect of a starry sky, leads to the operational offices, with diffuse and uniform lighting provided by Isola pendant lamps, iN60 pendant lamps and iN60 recessed lamps. The sales offices are smaller than those described previously, and some of them are lit by a combination of iN60 pendant lamps with direct and indirect emission, while others are lit by a circular sound absorbing panel featuring two different sizes of light source with direct and indirect emission, using Underscore and Laser Blade XS lamps respectively. Finally, the central parts of the meeting rooms are lit by Laser Blade XS on tracks, while the perimeter lighting is provided by Laser Blade XS with adjustable optics on tracks and Underscore High Power for uniform wall washing.

In the basement, The Light Experience – the place where you can touch iGuzzini light with your hand, even more absorbing and immersive here – is divided into two different moments: on one side, the area dedicated to the various lighting effects through a show with music and sounds; on the other, a space dedicated to applied light, where you can experience the individual effects in various application contexts (Retail, Culture, Hospitality&Living, Urban). Another ‘star studded’ corridor leads from The Light Experience to the Lounge, which is lit by the Laser Blade High Contrast main light on Low Voltage tracks, which is combined with accent light from the Palco and Palco Framer spotlights in various formats on LV tracks.

The whole Light Gate lighting system is controlled by devices, making it easy to program and adjust through the DALI Bluetooth interface (Smart Light Control). Thanks to the BLE protocol and beacon technology, the system can also provide information and services (Smart Services) to visitors, who will receive push text, audio and video notifications, instructions on the path and data about use of the spaces, directly on their smartphones. A demonstration of the infinite potential of light in a unique space that strengthens the historical link between the company and the city of Milan, the financial and cultural centre of choice for design and architecture worldwide.