Designed by Pritzker Prize laureates SANAA, the Dior store is located on Tokyo's Omotesando avenue. "The boutique embodies a lofty, contemporary atmosphere, while still maintaining the feminine and glamorous aesthetic that reflects the traditional elegance of the house of Dior," said a statement from the brand. The desire to give great prominence to the Dior collections, as in a museum setting, led to the decision to use a system of luminaires, hidden from view, recessed in a sloping groove in the ceiling. Equipped with very low-voltage halogen lamps, these luminaires provide direct light for the clothes and objects on display, making them the absolute protagonists of the space, highlighted by very high illuminance values. A new concept of a building conceived as a manifesto is experimented with: the façade is marked by colour variations both during the day and at night, the interior is characterised by the use of black and white lacquer, metal and black stone for the floors. The relationship between project lighting and architecture is fundamental. The lighting, which is always integrated into the architecture, indicates the various uses and products by changing the colour of the fluorescent tubes in the different ranges of Kelvin degrees available (6000 for the façade, 4200 in the common areas) and by using the light of the halogen spots (3050 K) on the goods on display to ensure maximum colour rendering. Light is an extremely important factor not only for aesthetic and functional reasons but also as a real marketing tool, maximising its communicative potential. The lighting of shop windows plays a fundamental role, as it is the most direct and immediate relationship with the public. Light dialogues and interacts with the perception and behaviour of customers, who are guided, attracted and seduced by the objects on display. Retail lighting design is another project area that involves the Via Presolana studio for lighting shop windows and showrooms, such as the unique Viktor & Rolf Showroom project.
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
Dior Architecture
Photo Courtesy:
Giovanna Olgiati
Year:
2003
Designed by Pritzker Prize laureates SANAA, the Dior store is located on Tokyo's Omotesando avenue. "The boutique embodies a lofty, contemporary atmosphere, while still maintaining the feminine and glamorous aesthetic that reflects the traditional elegance of the house of Dior," said a statement from the brand. The desire to give great prominence to the Dior collections, as in a museum setting, led to the decision to use a system of luminaires, hidden from view, recessed in a sloping groove in the ceiling. Equipped with very low-voltage halogen lamps, these luminaires provide direct light for the clothes and objects on display, making them the absolute protagonists of the space, highlighted by very high illuminance values. A new concept of a building conceived as a manifesto is experimented with: the façade is marked by colour variations both during the day and at night, the interior is characterised by the use of black and white lacquer, metal and black stone for the floors. The relationship between project lighting and architecture is fundamental. The lighting, which is always integrated into the architecture, indicates the various uses and products by changing the colour of the fluorescent tubes in the different ranges of Kelvin degrees available (6000 for the façade, 4200 in the common areas) and by using the light of the halogen spots (3050 K) on the goods on display to ensure maximum colour rendering. Light is an extremely important factor not only for aesthetic and functional reasons but also as a real marketing tool, maximising its communicative potential. The lighting of shop windows plays a fundamental role, as it is the most direct and immediate relationship with the public. Light dialogues and interacts with the perception and behaviour of customers, who are guided, attracted and seduced by the objects on display. Retail lighting design is another project area that involves the Via Presolana studio for lighting shop windows and showrooms, such as the unique Viktor & Rolf Showroom project.
Project:
Lighting Design Piero Castiglioni
Collaborations:
Dior Architecture
Photo Courtesy:
Giovanna Olgiati
Year:
2003
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
Other Projects
This section presents a representative selection of lighting design projects by Piero Castiglioni, developed across architectural, museum, urban, cultural, retail, hospitality, and infrastructural contexts, both in Italy and internationally. The gallery documents a range of interventions differing in scale, function, and context, united by an approach to light as a tool for interpreting space—capable of engaging with architecture, artworks, landscape, and contemporary use.
The featured projects span museums, foundations, and temporary exhibitions, as well as historic buildings, places of worship, public spaces, and urban complexes, extending to corporate headquarters, private residences, yachts, and lighting masterplans. In each project, light is conceived as a design material—carefully controlled and calibrated in relation to the specific characteristics of the site, functional requirements, and the perceptual quality of the experience.
Taken together, these works outline a vision of lighting design as an integrated process, where technical rigor, cultural sensitivity, and contextual awareness contribute to shaping identity, orientation, and spatial value. The gallery thus becomes a design map, illustrating how light can assume different roles—subtle or expressive—while consistently maintaining coherence, precision, and design awareness.
