Entry Title: "
Constellation Pendant Light"
Company:
Integration Studio/Wambamboo
,
Australia
Category: Professional, Product
Designer(s): Kent Gration
Entry Description:
1. The product uses CNC manufactured components from
a single layer (5mm thick) moso bamboo lamelle. Repeated straight components are combined to create a visually
refined yet complex pendant light with a 5% waste ratio.
Components are produced locally (Brisbane, Australia) and shipped flat-packed or assembled (if a consumer requests this option) within Australia. Overseas purchases will require sourcing of site specific CNC manufacturers to reduce the embodied energy of freight. Components are then packaged un-assembled into a 70cm x 8cm diameter recycled/recyclable carton board tube, where the consumer assembles the delivered piece (slot-together construction).
2. The Constellation Pendant Light is a flat-pack/slot-together lighting product intended for commercial and residential lighting applications. The light is available in a variety of heights and sizes to suit most ceiling heights and vertical clearances.
3. The design of the Constellation Pendant Light incorporates repeated straight components which combine to create a visually refined yet complex pendant light. Waste generated during CNC production (low-impact production method) is the cut kerf (5%), further improving upon the environmentally-aware ethos of using moso bamboo - a rapidly renewable material. By assessing the necessary amount of material required for a products intended function, the light is designed to allow for
a maximum amount of light array with minimum diffusion,
whilst still creating a decorative fitting.
The product uses FSC certified Moso bamboo, a rapidly renewable material with a 5-6 year harvest cycle, with the major plant system left intact after harvesting for future growth (100+ years). Although the embodied energy of freighting bamboo materials from Hangzhou, China to Brisbane, Australia is higher than using endemic Australian materials (which arent comparable in terms of growth cycle and after-harvest practices), Integration Studio is researching local commerically-produced endemic bamboo (within an 800km radius) which will be available in the next 4-5 years to address this issue. If the pieces were purchased and produced locally according to market demand in China/SE Asia the embodied energy would be lessened dramatically.
The Constellation Pendant Light along with all other pieces in the Wambamboo range are designed for small-run designer/maker production. A considered approach to material sourcing/availability, production processes and price ratio is taken into account, whilst pieces are only produced when an order is confirmed to address the issue of over-production and over-utilsation of resources within the furniture and lighting industry.
|
