Dezeen Magazine

Industrial Facility's w152 lamps charge electronic devices

Stockholm 2015: London design studio Industrial Facility has collaborated with Swedish lighting company Wästberg to create lamps that provide power from multiple USB outlets.

Industrial Facility's aluminium w152 lamps feature three USB ports integrated into their bases, which can detect power requirements and provide the fastest recommended charge for each device.

Industrial Facility's w152 lamps for Wästberg

"For a long time, lamps have been an electrical experience – the light being evidence of electrical current passed through a filament," said Industrial Facility founders Sam Hecht and Kim Colin. "But now modern lighting has become unrecognisable, no longer the subject of electricity, but of electronics."

The directional and ambient versions of the light both rotate through 360 degrees and feature a six-watt "warm white" LED bulb.

Industrial Facility's w152 lamps for Wästberg

The ambient light features a spherical head with a black cap and the directional light has a rectangular head, set slightly higher than perpendicular to its stand.

Each USB port provides up to three amps of power – enough to charge the latest generation of laptop computers, and charges each device at its fastest rate regardless of how many are plugged in.

Industrial Facility's w152 lamps for Wästberg

"Printed circuit boards, micro-chips, diodes and interfaces are now the staple ingredients, giving us greater control, conserving energy and providing longer lifespans," added the designers. "This transformation is a chance to establish new possibilities for the meeting point between light and electronics."

However, the designers were keen to emphasise that this was a project born out of contemporary living requirements rather than contemporary technology.

"This is not a story about gadgetry, regardless of the technical achievements," they said, "but rather an affirmation about how we live. Wherever light is supplied, power is often also required to charge our burgeoning electronic devices."

The lamp also features a programmable micro switch, which enables users to click the light on and off, and hold the switch to adjust brightness.

It is available with an anodised finish in black or natural aluminium. The USB base can be free-standing, wall-mounted, or integrated into desks, cabinets and tables.

The lights will launch at this year's Stockholm Furniture Fair, which opens on Tuesday.