Pista: the origin story
Have you heard about Pista yet? We simply can’t wait to tell you more about this new addition to our Modular family. So we sat down with our product designer Vincent Chanterie to have a little chat about the origins of Pista.
Hi Vincent! Can you take us back to the very beginning?
“Certainly. The idea of Pista was born about two years ago, when the first 48V lighting systems started making an appearance in building management. We also recognized the need for a low voltage system, but at this point we didn’t quite know where it would lead us.”
So it led you to a track system…
“Indeed. We knew right from the start that we wanted to produce a new magnetic track system, because of its extreme flexibility. In residential areas, small businesses and rented office spaces, there’s an ever-growing demand for flexible lighting solutions. A track system is the perfect solution. We knew this was what we wanted to create, adding our unique ‘Modular’ DNA of course.”
What do you mean?
“We literally made it a modular system. We wanted it to stand out from similar track systems thanks to its many options and applications. With Pista you get to design more versatile and playful configurations, over and over again. And of course, we also made it look and feel the way people expect a Modular product to be. The overall finish is very sophisticated and high-end, which is enhanced even more by the miniaturised design of the whole track system.”
What do you mean by ‘miniaturised’?
“We literally shrunk everything down. When you look at Pista, its thin and sleek design will immediately catch your eye. We also produced miniature versions of two of our existing designs, so they can be integrated in the Pista system. We scaled down our Médard by 50% without compromising too much the lumen output (750lm of the 930lm of the original). In addition, our Marbul was converted to a much smaller Marbulito, to which we gave a new glass lens in order to produce a nifty circular light beam.”
What are the new-to-market features?
“There are a few. For example, the twin brackets that we’ve have specifically developed for Pista. Whereas the usual track systems only allow you to combine the tracks end-to-end, we’ve made it possible to put the tracks right next to each other. Because of this feature, you can create new configurations, alternating general and accent lighting in parallel as you wish.” And then of course, there is Night Light…
Can you tell us more about Night Light?
“Sure. We came up with the idea by chance. We saw a completely black diffuser at a fair a while back and decided to integrate it into our design for Pista. It took some time to get everyone in our team excited about it, but the result is really something. When the light is off, Night Light looks like a minimalistic black accent mounted on the wall or ceiling. But when the lights go on, you have a surprising effect: the black accent transforms itself into a linear light. We’re looking forward to seeing how designers will integrate this surprising feature into their own projects.”
‘Pista’ is the Italian word for race track. Where does the name come from?
We’ve had about 15 names going around, before we finally decided on ‘Pista’. With the possibility to create a double track and the different lengths we’re offering, we believed the race track to be a nice metaphor for our Pista family.”
Pista’s been two years in the making, but what will its future hold?
“We could have launched Pista a year ago, but we decided to take some more time so we were able to present a full package. Pista isn’t just a product family, but a concept and format. Over the following years we want to develop more fixtures and accessories that will extend the range of possibilities until Pista will be able to cover practically every lighting need. We’ve already got some exciting ideas, so hopefully we’ll be able to expand the Pista family very soon.
Alright, back to the drawing boards then.