Before the now ubiquitous LED was the illumination de rigueur for cutting-edge A & D, there was Le Deun Luminaires: “A company specializing in electronic lighting design with low-energy consumption… since 1997 light emitting diodes have been the main light source for all our products and installations.” That timeline gives the Paris-based company a good 13 year head start on the technology, which means they’ve worked out the technological kinks and can focus on pure ambiance. And when it comes to lighting, ambiance is perhaps three-fourths of the battle.

π Micro. Designed and Manufactured by Le Deun Luminaires.

So exactly what kind of ambiance does the ring of ambient light created by Le Deun’s Pi series project? Tres Francais, is all I can say. The Pi series (better known via the methaphoric significance of the mathematical symbol–π) actually consists of six different lights, each boasting that magical numerical correlation that computes as 3.14159265…In no particular order, these are πMega, πMicro, π602, π314, π888, and π1888. All the lamps in the Pi series are variations on the theme of a literal circle of light, which, for me, evokes all things French, from the great tradition of mathematical philosophers and writers (Descartes to Pascal, Jean Petitot to Raymond Queneau), to Antonio Franconi and the modern French circus, to the world’s greatest bicycle race.

π Collection. Designed and Manufactured by Le Deun Luminaires.

π 602. Designed and Manufactured by Le Deun Luminaires.

π 602 and π Micro. Designed and Manufactured by Le Deun Luminaires.

π 888 and π 1888. Designed and Manufactured by Le Deun Luminaires.

Of all these correspondences, perhaps that of a bicycle rim is the most resonant, because several of the π series look as if, at any second, they could roll off the table, out of the house, and across the French countryside (Micro, Mega, and 602). Of course, the series’ pendant lamps (314, 888, 1888) remain poised in an entirely different manner, one that recalls the airy heights of trapeze artists or perhaps the skyward pinnacles of a plate spinner, the tools of his trade illuminated with an outer rictus of light that makes the feat that much more hypnotic.

But then, each of the six incarnations of π is equally entrancing. So whichever of these epoxy-painted aluminum, LED-ringed lamps tickles your fancy, you’re sure to find it transports you straight to Gay Paree.

Via Abitare.