here's one I made earlier :: cutting corners - confessions of a design geek

This article was published 13 years

The London Design Festival starts in just over three weeks (eeek!), so it’s time to start talking about some of the amazing design that we can expect to find there. First up, I spoke to Berlin-based Swedish designer and architect Björn Andersson to find out how he designed and made his amazing “Cutting Corners” lights, which he will be exhibiting at Tent London.

Bjorn says, “The starting point for the design process was when I noticed reoccurring triangular shapes and interesting shadows when I was playing with some folded sheets of paper. I also noticed that the triangles created very interesting corners and edges when looking at the models from the inside.”

“Inserting mini LED:s into these small paper models got me excited about developing this into a series of lights.”

“I worked on a few options and ended up simplifying the concept and clarifying the idea: simply cutting a corner off a box and letting the cut surface light up both on the chipped cube and on the left over triangle.”

“At the same time, I was experimenting with the quality of light using an old piece of industrial equipment from a chemistry lab. It had an opening perfect for experimenting with different levels of transparency and different types of acrylic, plexi glass and ricepaper. I discovered that candle light filtered through rice paper was the quality of light I wanted to replicate. I also wanted the beautiful effect of the indirect light falling on the wall behind.”

“In a series of mini paper models, the two ideas finally came together. I put the leftover triangles from the chipped cube on a stand.”

“I continued studying effect of different materials on the light using paper models – some white and matt and some shiny.”

“In collaboration with a metal artist (Gobi) in Kreuzberg, Berlin, I started developing full size prototypes in stainless steel.”

“The prototypes were hand-welded and created with the highest precision.”

“Finally after deciding which plexi-glass thickness and tone best replicated the light I was aiming for a series of triangles were cut out and mitre joined to the objects.”

“The pendant had a beautiful surface and I really wanted to keep the material exposed. Just treated with a brush. The inside, we powder-coated white to get the right effect with the light. We also decided to powder coat the box with the chipped corner – it gives it a certain quality of abstraction which I like very much.”

This image shows three of the finished prototypes stacked on top of each other.

Bjorn says, “We were very happy with the even and smooth light in the finished prototypes.”

“The Triangle lamp is made from the leftover corner cut from the light box – it glows with a mysterious light that creates a unique mood and is perfect on a coffee table or in any office.”

“The second version of the light box comes in brushed exposed stainless steel.”

“The Folded Lamp is a direct interpretation of the initial folding games at the beginning of the design process. It works perfectly as a pendant.”

“One of my favourites.. or two of my favourites… are The Twins. These floor lamps come in two versions. One with the light facing the observer and one turned away generating a indirect and smooth mood light. They brighten up a dark corner of a room. With different heights the composition of the two lamps works perfectly as a pair.”