12 | TEXT: ERICH ZAINZINGER contributing technology editor
re(inventing) light Light is one of the basic elements most
Our man-made light sources in the form of
life forms need to be able to exist. Flora
light bulbs or tubes look rather technical,
and fauna could not exist without light.
giving off concentrated light around the
Humans do need light as well to be and to
light source and the light is fading in the
stay healthy, physically and mentally.
distance.
Besides our dependance on light for the
To create magical effects with light,
physical life, light plays also a strong
architects, artists and designers have
role in humans emotional world. Light
developed since Thomas Edison has
has a very strong emotional effect on us,
given to the world the first light bulb,
everyone, small or grown up.
ever sophisticated techniques to create emotions and atmospheres with light.
We feel safe wherever there is light. We use different colored light to amplify
Although these techniques have evolved
the emotional power of light, to create
over time certain light effects like bending
an atmosphere of love with red light, a
light, folding light like a sheet, wrapping
relaxing, calming atmosphere with green
light around everyday objects like sofas
or using blue light to chill out.
has been on the wish list of designers for a long time as these properties would give
Artists use lighting effects for their stage
a complete new dimension to the magical
shows to create emotional connections
power of light.
to the audience and their performance. Recent trends even go into the direction of
So it is no wonder that an innovative
light elements integrated in stage outfits,
company, Italian based Grado Zero Espace
clothing that makes use of the emotional
set out to reinvent light with their product
power of light.
reLIGHT.
As design evolves into something recognized
shared a deep interest in nature’s design.
as a strategic approach to problem solving,
Frank Lloyd Wright described buildings as
as opposed to solely the visible aesthetic of a
organisms, Louis Kahn asked the brick what
finished product, so too does the associated
it wanted to be (as if it were alive) while Mies
vocabulary. Indeed as production of consumer
Van Der Rohe kept avidly upto-date with
products has reduced, partly due to the recent
biology and technology. Biomimicry may not
downturn, references to design in politics has
have been branded nor common knowledge
increased and the service design sector has
then,
been bursting with new consultancy options and ideas (material libraries, environmental guidance and trend analysis). Contrary to the belief that words such as ‘sustainability’ and ‘biomimicry’ have contemporary roots though - they have actually been actively used in theory and practice by inventors, architects and scientists long before the term ’consumer product’ was rendered an established terminology. This digging into the past has reared sustainability as the most visible and referenced term. While the term ‘sustainability’ is used more often, it lacks a defined measurement of value. ‘Biomimicry’, however, equates specifically to ideas that mimic nature. Architects should live as little in cities as a painter. Send them to the hills and let them study there what nature understands.’*1 Through their explorative work in the fields of sustainability and design inspired by nature, the writer John Ruskin (1819 - 1900) and designer Vikter Papanek (1927 - 1999) have enjoyed a recent resurgence. Digging deeper than surface references though, it is surprising to find that some significant architects of the past century
TEXT: ALEXANDER HORNE contributing design editor
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but now, as with the increase of awareness in
fields (biology, engineering) and represents a
design, it is apparent everyday.
trend by designers expanding their knowledge to aid the design process. Taking a step
From
the
awe-inducing
sculptures
of
back from the end product and focusing on
Theo Jansen to international exhibitions -
what happens before; Dutch designer Hella
biomimicry is a significant bone in design.
Jongerius was recently involved in the design
It involves the cross-fertilization of different
of a high-tech textile for Mahram in