Dezeen Magazine

Veronika Gombert's Umleiter lamp hangs offset from its ceiling rose

German industrial designer Veronika Gombert has created a suspension light for illuminating parts of the room that aren't directly below the electricity point.

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

Veronika Gombert designed the Umleiter lamp to avoid unsightly cabling across the ceiling when trying to install a pendant light in a new location.

Instead, the wiring can run through a 1,500-millimetre metal tube from the electricity point to a conical lamp shade.

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

"I made the first version of the Umleiter lamp in 2011 for an apartment where I had exactly that problem of electricity outlets being not where the furniture and interaction in the house required them to be, so I tried to solve it in the best way," Gombert told Dezeen.

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

"I saw the same problem in a lot of households, so you end up with cable running over the ceiling or fixed with hook."

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

With one end resting on the ceiling, the tube is held in position with a steel wire that can be adjusted to alter its angle.

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

The Umleiter lamp can be moved through 360 degrees, in three dimensions and positioned anywhere within a one-metre radius of the power supply point. The height of the hand-spun shade can also be adjusted.

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

"I liked the idea of staying flexible, so it works when you move your table or fold out a table for more people," said the designer. "I also liked the idea of not directly designing a lamp as an object but more as a tool and going back to what a lamp is actually meant to be – giving light in the place where it's needed."

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

"It is something very banal and simple that I made. But it does solve a banal and common problem, so I'm curious to see how people will respond to it."

Umleiter lamp by Veronika Gombert

The lamp is available in three versions: made from red-painted aluminium, black-painted aluminium or mirror-polished brass.