About Dislaschal Lighting
A short interview with the people behind the Graz studio — how layered residential light became the only work we take.
Q1 · Founding
Why open a lighting-only studio in Graz instead of a general interior practice?
Mira Dislas: I trained in interior architecture and kept watching beautiful rooms fail after dusk because light was an afterthought. Graz has enough general studios; it needed someone who would only talk about layers, Kelvin, and dimming.
Levin Schal: We met on a Lend loft fit-out where the pendant budget was huge and the ambient plan was empty. That project convinced us to split off as Dislaschal Lighting in 2019.
Q2 · Method
What does the nested Ambient → Task → Accent idea mean in practice?
Mira: Ambient is the room’s weather. Task is where hands work. Accent is the punctuation. If you reverse that order you buy beautiful objects that never settle into a usable evening.
Levin: Clients in Jakomini often arrive asking for “more lamps.” We redirect them to which layer is missing. One good ambient wash can retire three competing floor lamps.
Q3 · Place
How does Graz’s building stock shape your recommendations?
Levin: Gründerzeit flats near Herrengasse punish deep recessed cans. Concrete Lend shells drink warm light. Rented Jakomini apartments block cable runs. Each stock type pushes different fixture families — we do not force one catalogue on every street.
Mira: Winter daylight collapses early here. That single climate fact is why ambient planning sits at the centre of our briefs.
Q4 · Team
Who is in the studio on a typical week?
Mira: The two of us handle design and client visits. We contract a trusted electrician network for installs and bring in a junior draftsperson for larger Full Stack sets.
Levin: We stay deliberately small. Residential light needs quiet site time, not a crowded studio roster competing for attention.
Q5 · Values
What do you refuse even when the fee looks attractive?
Mira: We will not specify non-dimmable showpiece pendants as the only light in a living room. We also decline projects that want medical or wellness treatment claims dressed up as lighting advice.
Levin: And we do not mark up fixtures. Transparency on EUR hardware keeps trust intact when electricians and suppliers join the table.