Interval - Book Display Lamp

The lamp was conceived as the inverse of the principles behind the structure of the library itself. Where in the library the random order of the exo-frame was used to 'bind' the cubic form of the main structure, in the lamp this idea was reversed - the random order of the framework became internalised and the whole was 'bound' on the outside by an invisible rectilinear form. In keeping with the principle of hierarchy within the design of the library, the only elements to break this rule were the few short curved pieces, behaving in a similar way as the bender 'broke through' and disturbed the pure cube of the library.

My initial ambition was to use 4 light bulbs and 12 layers of 960x240mm MDF (making use of almost an entire 1200x2400mm sheet) but after consulting with Des and Shane in the workshop and discovering the limitations of the router to make the fine and precise shapes I was after, and the cost of cutting out so much on the laser cutter, I decided to scale back quite a bit.

What I ended up with was still 12 layers thick, but the outer dimensions of each layer was based on what the laser cutter could handle (a 600x400mm sheet), meaning I could fit two shapes to each sheet. This cutting back in the amount of material used also meant I had enough left over to make the overhanging 'ceiling' to hang the whole thing off. The number of light bulbs used was also cut back to two.

I had hoped in the beginning that it would in fact be a reading lamp (further tightening the link with the library), but as I wasn't entirely sure what quality of light would come out of the thing, and suspected that the effect it would create would be distracting to a reader, I decided it would be for the display of a featured book within the library. The lamp would be located close to a wall to enhance this shadow effect. The underside 'cutouts' would be retained however, in order for the majority of downward shining light to be unobstructed by the framework and freely light a book placed underneath it.

The overhanging 'ceiling' structure was only made in order to hang the lamp from a display board within the gallery space at uni. In reality the lamp would be hung from a more permanent horizontal surface such as a low ceiling or bulkhead or within a large bookshelf or open display cabinet.