London designer Anthony Dickens has created a snaking, modular lighting system made of bamboo and paper (+ movie).
Named Tekiō, the product was launched at Clerkenwell Design Week with an installation in the windows of the main venue, the Farmiloe Building.
The paper is wrapped over thin bamboo ribs then creased to create concertina tubes.
These are connected together over a frame with the light source inside to create circles, figures-of-eight, straight lines, chain-linked loops or corkscrew spirals.
Dickens was inspired by traditional Japanese 'chochin' paper lanterns, which have been in use since the 16th century and can still be seen hanging outside homes and shops in Japan.
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Installation photographs are by Jim Stephensonand the movie is by Alice Masters.
Here's some more information from Anthony Dickens:
Inspired by traditional Japanese ‘Chochin’ paper lanterns, which date back to the 10th century, and Dickens’ travels to the Far East in 2010, Tekio derives its name from the Japanese word for ‘adaptation’.Transforming a traditional item into a new design-led entity, a signature of Dicken’s design, Tekio is flexible enough to adapt to any interior and its ability to transform spaces is only limited by the imagination.
Tekio’s innovation is flexibility. Inside each paper tube is a frame with connecting hinges that can be locked anywhere from straight to ninety degrees. The frames are then connected in series to create any desired shape. The paper sections are supported by the frame, but can easily be separated to access the choice of LED or CFL bulbs.
Customers have the freedom to construct the light as they wish, from a semicircular wall light to a large looped installation. Tekio offers the opportunity for complete creativity allowing the owner to adopt the role of designer of the finished product.
The first prototype of Tekio was shown during London Design Festival 2011. Now at Clerkenwell Design Week 2012, visitors will be able to see the light in a range of undulating, amorphic constructions, filling the atmospheric Farmiloe Building’s windows, which will glow on approach.
Anthony Dickens says:
“Tekio is different. It can be a standalone pendant, a wall light and even developed into a floor lamp, but you can do so much more than that. You can trace the outline of a table, seating area, bar, room, or simply have a straight or wiggly line of light passing between two walls. It is more than just a light, it becomes a tool to divide space and highlight certain areas or create an unbroken line of light employed to guide people through an unfamiliar space. The possibilities are endless."
"I believe Tekio dramatically increases the creative possibilities for architects and lighting designers when compared to what is currently available. I see Tekio in its current form as just the start in a whole series of options, choices and alternatives that can one day be added to the system and increase its flexibility and diversity.”