Above is a spatial sculpture Created by and artist by the name of Carlo Bernardini.  He is a practicing artist in Italy who transforms and defines space  in large rooms and environment.  He uses high output illumination in combination with side glow fiber optics, in a very linear arrangements to create the illusion of a flat surfaces.  This approach is impressive in scale, while maintaining a visual elegance.  Feel free to take a look at his website where you can find more images and videos.  Carlo Bernardini

Above is a light fixture called kurage 3 designed by schemata architecture. Schemata is a design firm who, seem to be pushing the envelope as designers.  The website they have hosted does not have working images, but the work they do can be found all over the internet.  When designing kurage 3,  schemata was driven by the ability to control the amount of light emitted through the curve of the fiber optics, and how the brightness could thus be controlled through these elegant curves.

Schemata Architecture Website:  http://www.sschemata.com/en/index.php

More Images here

Medusa, a lamp design by award winning furniture designer Mikko Paakkasen.  This is one of his award winning designs, which was inspired by the jellyfish.  It is designed with a micro processor, and motor which moves the strands of fiber optics with the beauty of a swimming jellyfish.  It is interesting the way Mikko introduced a kinetic element to the design in a manner which does not detract from the design, but enhances it.  I could not find a video of it in action, but here is a link to his website;

http://www.paakkanen.fi/info.html

Above is the work of Astrid Krogh, who deals with edge lighting more so that the others I we have seen.  Krogh  has delved into the beauty of lighting most projects, and they are quite simple yet beautiful.  The top image is an installation done with perforated plywood, and Fiber Optics, where the ends of the fiber optics stick through the perforations in the wood to give a pixilated effect which was inspired by glowing algae in the ocean.  The bottom image is a modular system which can create a very beautiful facade or wall treatment.  I am not 100% sure that this is LED’s w/ Fiber Optics or not,  I looks a lot like white neon tubes,  but it does show potential for a modular system.  Her website is;

http://www.astridkrogh.com/index.html

• Davidson, Charlie. Charlie-davidson.com. 28 April 2011 <www.charlie-davidson.com>.

Mr. Davidson has explored many different furniture design projects.  Among his many interests he has been most attached to designing  seats, tables, and luminaries.  In his designs he explores forms that promote texture and materials that highlight weight and color.   Within the luminaries that Mr. Davidson has designed there is a reoccurring theme of an explosion.   Four projects that explore the theme of explosion through layers of light, shadow, and color are IRIS2, RUFF, Monster, & Black Light.  Each design utilizes a technique where the outer shell of the luminaries is opaque and the light emanates from within.  He selective creates varying patterns of opaqueness for which the light to pass around.  On the reverse side of the opaque shell’s are vibrant colors that light reflects, again passed the dark opaque shell, to the viewer.  His technique allows him to create varying experiences depending on the combination of transparency and color the luminaries encompass.

• Stattmann, Petra Schmidt & Nicola. Unfolded. Basel: Birkhauser Verlag AG, 2009.

Unfolded is collections of artist that have used paper for various design projects.  The authors intention is reintroduce a common material back into the world of  design, and re explore its properties that make it unique.

• Indexhibit. Kimiis.28 April 2011 <www.kimiis.ca>.

Kimiis is a design firm of architects, engineers and designers.  There firm is multidisciplinary but focus on digital fabrication.   Bright idea, one of their installation, was on display at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.  The installation was multimedia experience where the digital fabricated screen separated the user from the crowd to achieve a unique experience.  Aside from the multimedia aspect of the installation, the digital fabricated wood ribs evoke a compelling array of light and shadow that becomes more pronounce from the artificial colored light.

• Wang, Hongbiao. Hongbiao Wang | Won Ju lim’s work. 28 April 2011 <hongbiao-roxanne.blogspot.com/2008/03/architectural-forms.html>.

Won Ju Lim is sculpture in Los Angeles.  Her luminarie installation are interesting because they not only incorporate architectural forms, but they rely on the use of colored acrilic material to bounce and reflect light throughout the geometric forms.  The effect produces intriguing gradient of reflected and bounce color lite from underneath.

• Art, San Francisco Museum of. Take your Time: Olafur Eliasson. Ed. Madeleine Grynsztein. San Francisco / New York & London: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art / Thames & Hudson, 2007.

I have not yet received all of my sources, but this is more or less where I am at regarding the bibliography.

Annotated Bibliography:

Structure in Nature is a Strategy for Design, Peter Pearce.

Published in 1980 by MIT Press, this book demonstrates and explains a number of naturally occurring structural patterns. Through images and narratives the author demonstrates the advantages of such patterns such as material efficiency, modularity, adaptability, and their ability to function across scales. There is also some discussion of how these patterns have been adapted to architecture work which is particularly of interest to me.

The Self-Made Tapestry: Pattern Formation in Nature, Phillip Ball.

Heavy on both technical information and photographs this book explains a wide range of patterns found in the natural world by examining their forms in relation to the physical forces which lead to their creation. This text was first published in 2001 by Oxford University Press. I have not yet received this book, but I am also hoping that there might be some discussion of coral formation since I plan to base my final project on these patterns. Even if there is not I think the book will help me draw parallels in my studio project between the forces which shape natural patterns and the forces which are contributing to the organically based form of my design.

Polyhedron Models, Magnus Wenninger.

Published by Cambridge Press in 1974 Wenninger’s book is the first practical guide to making polyhedral forms. The definition of polyhedral is a bit confusing to me, but I understand these forms to be 3 dimensional largely symmetrical structures which are composed of flat surfaces. I am interested in these forms as I find them quite beautiful and complex yet they are derived from what see to be fairly simple operations and repetitions. Polyhedron forms also can be found in natural structures, and I may end up using a polyhedron form in either my studio project or the final project for this class – though this seems less likely now than a week ago.

Continua: Architectural Screens and Walls, Erwin Hauer.

I was very impressed with the images Nancy showed in class related to Erwin Hauer. While my understanding is that his patterns are largely based on his own design and the materials he works with, I certainly see his forms having a relationship with many of the natural patterns I have observed in my other resources and in my own observation. The elegant of his work is a great reminder of the power of clarity and the ability to isolate and edit an idea.

Manufacturing Material Effects: Rethinking Design and Making in Architecture, Kolarevic, Branko, and Kevin R. Klinger.

This book examines a number of architectural projects which utilize cutting edge technologies and materials to explore new spatial experiences and tectonics. I think I need to learn more about these technologies and how they have been used, or could be used, in order to start grounding my studio project. I am pretty much dedicated to making my final light and shadow project by hand but in order to relate it back to studio I need to start utilizing some of these digital fabrication tools or at least understanding them.

Listed in the order that I’ve come across them:

Swirnoff, L. (2003). Dimensional color. New York: W.W. Norton.

The book provides a comprehensive overview of the role of color in the environment around us, and how different color effects can be achieved.  I have been very interested in the phenomena of bounced color in some of my previous studies, and I have been experimenting with the ways in which this might be incorporated into my final luminaire project.

Lobell, J., & Kahn, L. I. (2008). Between silence and light: spirit in the architecture of Louis I. Kahn. Boston: Shambhala.

Louis Kahn’s words and work are an excellent source of inspiration, especially with regards to light.

Weibel, P., & Jansen, G. (2006). Light art from artificial light: Light as a medium in 20th and 21st century art = Lichtkunst aus Kunstlicht : Licht als Medium der Kunst im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert. Ostfildern, Deutschland: Hatje Cantz.

This volume has a great number of inspiring art pieces created with artificial lighting.  One that particularly caught my eye was Jorge Pardo’s Ohne Titel (Lamp), found on page 608.  It’s a very dynamic and sculptural luminaire that is almost explosive in nature, but very balanced in its use of color and form.  I particularly enjoy the cool blue exterior, and the mechanical warmth of the interior in its yellow glow and the metal erector-set style frame.

Eliasson, O., Bal, M., & Grynsztejn, M. (2007). Take your time: Olafur Eliasson. San Francisco, Calif: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Eliasson’s installations and explorations of atmospheric and light phenomena are inspiring in their self-sufficiency.  He does not rely on exaggerated gestures of any sort, and I think that as I am exploring concepts for a luminaire, that his minimalism will provide a great framework to begin with.  By being very intentional with each iteration, I can come to better understand exactly how to create the desired phenomena and marry that into a luminaire.

http://www.architonic.com/pmpro/bruno-rainaldi/8104430/2/2/1

http://mocoloco.com/fresh2/2011/03/16/mummy-lamp-by-bruno-rainaldi.php

Bruno Rainaldi’s work seems to embody just the right amount of minimalism and intrigue that I think I will be pursuing.  Mummy Lamp is a series of overlapping metallic ribbons that are not quite perfectly aligned, which allows for a certain amount of bounced color to escape onto the white exterior of the pendant.  I appreciate the manner in which Rainaldi incorporated bounced light into his luminaire, and given my past explorations this quarter I think that it could be something I would like to incorporate into my design.

I have started a Diigo list with references for my Final Flatpack Lamp. The list includes Bookmark links and some Notes that reference book resources that I have at my desk. Please visit my list here, if you’re interested.