Cover Panellists and moderator at 397 Guillemard, Sol Luminaire's latest space
Panellists and moderator at 397 Guillemard, Sol Luminaire's latest space
1 / 1
Celebrating the opening of 397 Guillemard Road, Sol Luminaire invited three designers to discuss how lighting animates interior spaces, in a lively panel moderated by Tatler Homes Singapore
Sol Luminaire has steadily transformed into a design destination along Guillemard Road, with its flagship showroom at unit 395 and the experimental The Lab2.1 concept at 399. Earlier this month, the brand completed its trilogy by opening 397—the once-elusive middle unit—finally bridging its dual identities with a space that negotiates between immersive materiality and spatial clarity.
To mark the opening, Sol Luminaire partnered with Tatler Homes Singapore to host a panel discussion that explored how lighting animates interiors—not just technically, but emotionally and experientially. Moderated by yours truly, Tatler Homes Singapore editor Asih Jenie, the conversation brought together spatial designers Rei Ye of Typeface, Leong Hon Kit and Si Jian Xin of Wynk Collaborative, and Sol Luminaire’s own Edmund Ho, who offered insight from the ground up.
“We wanted this to be a conversation, not a showcase,” I said at the beginning of the discussion. “The point wasn’t to teach lighting—it was to experience how it moves through space, how it changes our perception of form and mood.”
In case you missed it: Rooms by Sol Luminaire: The new Balestier destination for statement designer lighting and high-end home fittings
Above Full house at 397 Guillemard, Sol Luminaire's latest space
Full house at 397 Guillemard, Sol Luminaire's latest space
1 / 1
Above Si Jian Xin, co-founder of Wynk Collaborative
Above Rei Ye, co-founder of Typeface
Si Jian Xin, co-founder of Wynk Collaborative
1 / 2
Material and Mood
Instead of a checklist of technical principles, what emerged from the panel was a meandering, occasionally irreverent exchange shaped as much by observation as by anecdote.
We started from the space we were in, the 397. Tasked with connecting Sol Luminaire’s two existing units at 395 and 399, Ye approached the middle unit not as a filler but as a fulcrum. The mirrored V-shaped structure, now the showroom’s most prominent gesture, was her way of mediating flow between the structured and the experimental, offering both spatial clarity and a sense of poetic suspension. "We wanted it to feel continuous," she had said earlier. "Not like three showrooms, but one journey." That architectural gesture set the stage, both literally and figuratively, for the conversation that followed.
“Two rooms can use the same material,” said Si, “but lighting tells you what [that material] is.” Leong elaborated on this, shifting into the retail realm. “Lighting is what turns the functional into the atmospheric,” he said. “It builds the brand persona of a space, even if you don’t realise it.”
Above Leong Hon Kit, co-founder of Wynk Collaborative
Above Edmund Ho
Leong Hon Kit, co-founder of Wynk Collaborative
1 / 2
Above Moderator Asih Jenie, editor of Tatler Homes Singapore
Moderator Asih Jenie, editor of Tatler Homes Singapore
1 / 1
Retail Character
A wave of amused gasps moved through the room when Leong recounted a coffee shop chain client who insisted on 6000K lighting.
“Every time we propose 3000K, they said, ‘No—let’s try 4000K, then: maybe 5000K.’ Now it’s 6000. But it works—it has now become their brand.”
That example opened up a lively exchange about how clients often conflate brightness with colour temperature. “Many people think warm equals dim and cool equals bright, but that’s not always true,” Leong added.
Anita Caroline and Mark Mah
1 / 8
“It really depends on the material palette and how the light is layered,” Ho shared. “You can have warm light that’s too intense, or cool light that’s really gentle.” He added that clients often change their minds once they see the differences in a physical showroom setting.
Ye drew attention to the mirrored V-shaped structure anchoring the showroom. Its purpose, she explained, was to create zones without dividing them, offering distinct experiences without harsh segmentation. “When light bounces off different materials—like the mirrored cladding here—it creates a whole new persona. You don’t just see the light, you feel it,” she said. “That’s what we wanted to generate with this space.”
Above New outdoor lighting product from Sol Luminaire displayed at 37
Above The passage between 397 and 399 units at Sol Luminaire has been artfully articulated with bricks old and new by Typeface
New outdoor lighting product from Sol Luminaire displayed at 37
1 / 2
Tracy Tan and Michael Widya
1 / 7
Lighting Futures
Before the conversation wrapped, the panel looked ahead to what the future of lighting might hold. Si mused about intuitive lighting systems powered by AI. “Imagine walking into a room and the system already knows what scene you want, based on your mood or time of day,” he mused.
Ye envisioned a more poetic future, where lighting responds like an instrument, tuned to the moment and the person. Ho, pragmatic as ever, still championed smart controls. “We’re moving away from just on/off switches to lighting scenes—settings for hosting, working, relaxing. It makes lighting personal, not just functional.”
Some guests even raised the possibility of materials that glow on their own, hinting at bioluminescent or reactive lighting systems that might one day eliminate the need for fixtures entirely. Whether technological or emotional, predictive or poetic, lighting’s next chapter is still all about forging about deeper connection with space and our feelings.
Above A guest taking picture at Sol Luminaire showroom at 395 Guillemard Road
Above The Boba lighting collection at The Lab2.1
A guest taking picture at Sol Luminaire showroom at 395 Guillemard Road
1 / 2
Gerald Hu, Owen Liew, Christine Sipin, Hace Chua and Stephanie Lo
1 / 9
Parting Thoughts
As the evening unfolded under layered tones of reflected light and quiet shadows, it was clear the panel didn’t intend to arrive at definitive answers. Instead, each panellist offered a palette of perspectives—sometimes conflicting, often complementary.
In the glow of Sol Luminaire’s newest showroom, lighting revealed itself not only as a tool, but as a mood, a signal, a memory. Or as one guest put it on the way out: “You don’t realise how much light does until someone makes you look.”
NOW READ
Uncovering the marvels of Spanish craftsmanship at Sol Luminaire’s A-Emotional Light showcase
Meet Aeon, Sol Luminaire’s minimalist lighting made to measure for Singapore homes
New arrivals at Sol Luminaire: Danish designer lamps and luxury lighting for your home
Credits
Photography: Max Chan
Jakarta-born, Bandung-raised and Singapore-based, Asih Jenie trained in Visual Communication Design at Bandung Institute of Technology and Architecture at Parahyangan Catholic University. She brings both rigour and heart to design journalism, infused with a distinct Southeast Asian voice.
As a child, she doodled on the edges of her schoolbooks and never outgrew her fascination with all things well-made and well-told. Her 15-year career spans editorial roles and bylines in Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Australia, across spatial design titles such as Dwell Asia, Cubes, Design Anthology, Habitus Living, and Home & Decor.
After a brief stint in public relations, she returned to publishing in 2023 to lead Tatler Homes Singapore, where she continues to tell stories about how we shape the spaces that shape us.
