The symbiosis between SIMON and ProtoPixel has already led them to collaborate in numerous experiential projects that have allowed them to show society the future of digital lighting and how technology, creativity, light, and control are the common thread.
Description of project by SIMON
Simon, a firm specialised in technical lighting solutions, lighting control, connectivity and electronic materials for residential and contract projects (retail, hospitality, workplaces) has made a strategic investment in ProtoPixel, a digital platform that enables the creation, deployment and control of any lighting experience, from small installations to large architectural projects.
With a strong focus on dynamic lighting, connectivity and user experience, ProtoPixel’s technology allows Simon to complement and add value to its products and solutions. By becoming a ProtoPixel shareholder, Simon not only completes its offering but also achieves a greater project specialisation and reinforces its place as a specialist n experiential lighting and lighting control.
“Years ago, Simon started digitalising its products to improve the user experience through interfaces. With ProtoPixel technology, we’re taking a step forward in the new world of digital lighting and digital interfaces. These new solutions will allow us to carry out projects where users can create and adapt spaces to their needs, always in a simple and unique way.”
Inma Ruiz, Chief Marketing Officer at Simon.
Simon’s majority holding will allow ProtoPixel to accelerate its growth, diversification and internationalisation, to strengthen its platform, and, among other goals, create the first marketplace for lighting experiences and a solution for the digitalisation of lighting products. The impact of ProtoPixel and the capabilities of its digital lighting platform can be seen in icons like Barcelona’s Torre Glòries, whose illuminated façade is controlled by software. It is also remotely monitored through ProtoPixel’s cloud services, and the application’s ease of use has allowed the property to capitalise on the lighting of its façade and allow it to be used for endless events and special occasions, from the opening of the Mobile World Congress to a Seat car launch.
“ProtoPixel was born from our calling to democratise lighting and allow its benefits to impact people’s everyday life. We’re convinced that light has a fundamental role in the customisation and adaptation of spaces, which allow us to feel, connect and express ourselves better. This new era alongside Simon will help us make this vision a reality and maximise our impact at an international level.”
Sebastián Mealla, CEO of ProtoPixel.
The founding partners of ProtoPixel will continue to lead the project and maintain some of the company’s shares. The company was founded in 2015 with headquarters in Barcelona (in the Poblenou district) and loations in Berlin and Munich, Germany.
The symbiosis of Simon and ProtoPixel has already led them to collaborate on various experiential projects, which have allowed them to show the public a glimpse of the future of digital lighting and how technology, creativity, light and control are the connecting thread between them. Among their collaborations, international architect Stephanie Chaltiel’s recent installation for CasaDecor 2021 stands out, as well as Guillermo Santoma’s artistic installation at Matadero Madrid, which can still be visited this July, and the last two editions of the Llum Bcn festival, where they collaborated together on lighting designer Michela Mezzavilla’s installations and Mario Pasqualotto’s presentation in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion.
Projects from Simon and ProtoPixel collaborations
- D.Lights, a conversation between light, technology an design at Casa Decor 2021
The project designed by international architect Stephanie Chaltiel, of MuDD Architects, and ProtoPixel as technological partner in lighting control and interactive design, was presented by Simon at the 56th edition of CasaDecor.
D.Lights is a skin made of recycled thread using a 3D knitting technique, which is home to a narrative where light, technology and sound converse, forming a choreography that creates a space within a space.
Drones fly over this thread skin, which is formed by 2 arches, giving way to a choreography linked with the lighting elements integrated inside.
The changing colours of the light integrated in the fabric, which are synchronised with the sounds of nature, submerge the visitor in a forest.
- Pista de baile (Dance floor), a light creation at the Matadero de Madrid cultural centre promoted by Simon 2020-2021
The installation “Pista de baile” (Dance floor) is part of the “Ciudad Bailar - Exagerar” (Dance City - Exaggerate) and can be seen until the end of July. The artist Guillermo Santomà has transformed the Intermediae into a completely new space. The result is a self-supporting structure that seems covered by sand, as if it were a negative of the original architecture it is part of. The object-space, conceived by the international artist, will acquire movement, life, or even its own conscience when inhabited.
This piece of ‘non-architecture’ can also be defined as landscape or sculpture; a joint research project between Guillermo Santomà and Simon into the possibilities of continuously transforming spaces through light.
Simon has chosen ProtoPixel as a digital lighting technology collaborator, which has provided light control and the technical advice required to develop the installation’s creative possibilities on a lighting, interactive and experiential level. Thus, the piece becomes a platform that is constantly changing and adapting to the different contents within the programme.
- “Big Bang Building Light” by artist Mario Pasqualotto at the 2020 Llum Bcn Festival
Out of all of Simon’s various contributions during last year’s Llum Bcn Festival, the installation hosted in the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, “Big Bang Building Light” by artist Mario Pasqualotto stands out. Simon provided the lighting for the project and worked with ProtoPixel on lighting control and the design of the lighting experience.
- “Pulse 897” by artist Michela Mezzavilla, 2019 Llum Bcn Festival
Michaela Mezzavilla’s lighting performance Pulse 897 was projected on the façade of the old Simon factory in Poblenou. Inspired by Stanley Kubrick's films, the windowsills were turned into a large matrix of dynamic light. Through the repetition of the lighting elements that evoked Simon’s famous 897 push-button switch, the façade became an iconic symbol of the interaction between people, light and sound, with close collaboration with ProtoPixel.
In recent years, the ProtoPixel platform has been used by major brands and retailers such as Absolut, Amazon, Audi, Desigual, HP, Mapfre, Telefónica, and others; by non-household entertainment companies such as Sónar, Primavera Sound, Llum Bcn and CosmoCaixa; and by companies in the hotel and restaurant sector, such as Hesperia, Nobu, W Hotels and Soho House.
