by Nathalie Heinke

Postmodernism, Minimalism, high-tech: The 1980s saw the birth of serien.lighting. Manfred Wolf and Jean-Marc da Costa first met each other at the Offenbach Design Academy, and a few years later the friends became business partners: In 1985, they set up their firm and brought their first product designs to market. “serien - leuchten/mobiliar” was the simple name they gave their young company and initially the name defined their product range. Though they originally produced both furniture and luminaires their affinity for luminaires finally asserted itself. As early as 1986 they renamed the company “serien Raumleuchten”: they wanted to exclusively produce luminaires as product lines and the company name was to indicate this.

Costa & Wolf created their first collection of luminaires while still studying. In the months after graduating they produced the models Status, Reflex, Basis, Lift and Quadrat by hand in Rodgau. At the time Wolf’s father had a mid-sized firm there that made metal goods for the Offenbach leather industry, and the young entrepreneurs were allowed to use his machines. They soon took over the production facility and the brick building has since become the entrepreneurial power house of serien.lighting. 

From the outset da Costa & Wolf had great success with their collection of unusual designs created using sophisticated production methods: The 28-year-old designers presented their creations to the German Association of Creative Interior Decorators, and a few months later all their luminaires were firmly established in over thirty of the most important German furniture stores. Even today these early designs are still central to the company’s success story. Having kicked off with five models they now have an extensive range totaling 50 models – desk, ceiling, wall and standing luminaires. And each year they add new designs. Serien luminaires have long since established themselves on the international market. The collection is not only available in Europe but also Asia and America.

The enduring success of da Costa and Wolf has a lot to do with their creative approach: serien luminaires are clearly structured in composition, sparse in detail, transparent in terms of function, meticulous in workmanship and choice of material and demanding in light emission. And though the luminaires always serve their aim – of illumination – they are also always more than that: namely, distinct and highly individual in style. The secret of their entrepreneurial success rests not least of all on the equal partnership between the two designers. For all they have in common their designs are the result of discussion - Manfred Wolf and Jean-Marc da Costa have retained their creative independence but without adhering to it doggedly.

In their early years the designs by da Costa & Wolf were often inspired by innovative or rarely-used light sources. Indeed, the light source was not the final but the first consideration – in other words, the shape of the luminaires always evolved from the light source involved. The designers focused on basic shapes, which for all the clarity of composition they related to one another in a cautiously playful manner and pursued a primarily architectural-additive design.

Today the search for formal classifying systems and consistent composition in the design of a luminaire continues to characterize Jean-Marc da Costa’s creative approach. The delicate suspension luminaire Lift (1982) is his creation and is still produced today. Small in size, visually transparent in composition and fitted with a height-adjustable telescope tube, the design is once again derived from the light source – a compact fluorescent tube is set into a narrow, strongly linear body of the rigid suspension lamp. Individual design elements such as screws, power supply and connections remain visible, are central to the design and interact to express the luminaire’s aesthetic character. Da Costa’s conception of design is also reflected in the standing lamp Basis created in 1985: The design testifies to an uncluttered architectural formal language reduced to the essentials, and once again the light source – in his case halogen is to be seen as the creative point of departure.

A creative vocabulary shaped by the structures is also a characteristic of Manfred Wolf’s designs. However, his work is more strongly shaped by a playful, lighthearted approach to a design language inspired by technical devices. One example of this is his Ventilator originally designed 1982 and still being produced today. For all the light, delicate elegance it comes across like a high-tech device – its working parts constitute the aesthetic aspect: The motor is exposed and visibly centered, the narrow blades of thin band steel recall the delicate wings of an insect. This ingenious solution was enabled thanks to plastic foil stretched over the delicate steel frame.

Essentially, the two designers have remained true to their liking for the constructional and simple basic forms. In their search for an appropriate outer form for a certain type of luminaire, a certain light source or a clearly-defined lighting task da Costa & Wolf have repeatedly come up with highly regarded innovations. For example, in its two telescopic suspension luminaires Take Five, designed 1992 by Ginbande, and Zoom, created 2001 by Floyd Paxton, the company has crafted unusual solutions not based on previous formal models and which constitute new types of luminaires. The styling of Zoom for example is modeled on the design language of a classic luminaire type, the chandelier. For all that the luminaire is much more versatile than its traditional model: Zoom consists of a circular concertina grille of spring steel backed by translucent foil, a design that allows easy and infinite adjustment of the diameter.

In 1999, Uwe Fischer practically devised a new type of luminaire in the standing lamp Jones. Simple in style, Jones unites several luminaire types: The standing lamp can be used as a ceiling washlight but also a reading lamp. Moreover, if required Jones can emit atmospheric and colored light. It all works thanks to a highly sophisticated but simple to use mechanism based on the pull switch found in fluorescent luminaires. Designed by Jean-Marc da Costa in 1999, the SML is also a multi-purpose lamp: Austere, almost ascetic in style, the design proves to be a systematically conceived modular system, whose components are kept to a minimum size. The halogen lamp program has a uniform style and adapts to numerous applications. Alongside various types of luminaires and sizes the SML line can also be fitted with different light sources and glasses. Meanwhile, further additions have been made to the successful program: the SML T5 product line is likewise characterized by reduced styling but features energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps.

Minimalist in design yet highly versatile the SML line is an excellent example of the designers’ sophisticated design philosophy. Da Costa & Wolf have learned to play brilliantly and nonchalantly with the medium, light. In 2005, serien.lighting celebrated its 20th anniversary.

Headquartered in Rodgau nr. Frankfurt, serien.lighting has a payroll of more than thirty. In addition to creating its own luminaires, serien.lighting also realizes the creations of well-known designers such as Uwe Fischer or Yaacov Kaufman. And since the foundation of the company, da Costa & Wolf have been developing special luminaires say for the Altana AG administration building or the Cologne synagogue. Numerous serien luminaires have received national and international awards.