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- Keechdesign News (24)
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Highwire
Posted by: David Keech on 17th Nov 2008 in Opinion
For me the most striking objects at 100% Design Tokyo this year were products by Japanese manufacturer Balmuda. Exquisitely engineered, proudly Japanese and displaying both technical and physical beauty in a way that reminded me more of wonderful exhibits in the Science Museum than the often "over-styled" pieces found at design shows.
On their trade stand, Balmuda showed their beautifully machined aluminium components alongside the finished products. I was reminded of my old boss Norman Foster, who was so intrigued by the industrial components within commercial products that he once had us put together an entire exhibition of all the Foster products from Thonet chairs to Alessi trays displayed in component form, right down to the last washer.
Highwire is an LED powered task lamp, and from a stable of intriguing products, most of which are only available in Japan, although some, including Highwire can be found in North America. Here is the Highwire story as Balmuda see it:
"Highwire is a LED desk lamp which for the first time emits enough light for practical use. Generally a desktop work area needs around 300-700 lux of light in order to be able to work comfortably. Highwire produces more than 1,000 Lux.
However, Highwire is not only the brightest LED desk lamp but also has an incredibly long life span. It keeps 70% of its original light output even after 50,000 hours. The color emitted by Highwire matches the color of a computer display therefore, the display is not distorted. The light coming from Highwire does not include infrared rays and so emits less heat.
Furthermore, Highwire is equipped with a slow start and stop mechanism in which the light gradually brightens when turned on and dims when turned off.
When BALMUDA design decided to create the desk lamp we researched the characteristics of every type of light source currently available. We became certain that LED is the best light source around. LED does not emit harmful substances like fluorescent lighting, and LED also does not flicker. In addition, LED has a very long life as compared to incandescent lights that run out within several thousand hours of use. So we concluded that LED is unmatched as the best light source for the future because of the great energy savings and the long life span of the product.
Incandescent lights including Halogen lamps have not changed since their invention by Edison and basically their long history may be approaching the end. Candlelight was transformed into incandescent lighting, and orange light will gradually be turned into pure white light. We created Highwire to embody the future that we imagined. When we first drew the sketch that would become the original design we imagined darkness to be illumined by pure white light. Light that is clean and beautiful. Like a lighthouse shining its beacon upon us."
Poetic, you may think, but surely all great design has its own poetry, and if you are lucky enough to see Highwire in the flesh you'll know what they mean.
You can find more information about Balmuda products at there US site here, and there more extensive range of Japanese products, including the superb Airline lamp, at their Japanese site here.]
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Posted by: David Keech on 17th Nov 2008 in Opinion
For me the most striking objects at 100% Design Tokyo this year were products by Japanese manufacturer Balmuda. Exquisitely engineered, proudly Japanese and displaying both technical and physical beauty in a way that reminded me more of wonderful exhibits in the Science Museum than the often "over-styled" pieces found at design shows.
On their trade stand, Balmuda showed their beautifully machined aluminium components alongside the finished products. I was reminded of my old boss Norman Foster, who was so intrigued by the industrial components within commercial products that he once had us put together an entire exhibition of all the Foster products from Thonet chairs to Alessi trays displayed in component form, right down to the last washer.
Highwire is an LED powered task lamp, and from a stable of intriguing products, most of which are only available in Japan, although some, including Highwire can be found in North America. Here is the Highwire story as Balmuda see it:
"Highwire is a LED desk lamp which for the first time emits enough light for practical use. Generally a desktop work area needs around 300-700 lux of light in order to be able to work comfortably. Highwire produces more than 1,000 Lux.
However, Highwire is not only the brightest LED desk lamp but also has an incredibly long life span. It keeps 70% of its original light output even after 50,000 hours. The color emitted by Highwire matches the color of a computer display therefore, the display is not distorted. The light coming from Highwire does not include infrared rays and so emits less heat.
Furthermore, Highwire is equipped with a slow start and stop mechanism in which the light gradually brightens when turned on and dims when turned off.
When BALMUDA design decided to create the desk lamp we researched the characteristics of every type of light source currently available. We became certain that LED is the best light source around. LED does not emit harmful substances like fluorescent lighting, and LED also does not flicker. In addition, LED has a very long life as compared to incandescent lights that run out within several thousand hours of use. So we concluded that LED is unmatched as the best light source for the future because of the great energy savings and the long life span of the product.
Incandescent lights including Halogen lamps have not changed since their invention by Edison and basically their long history may be approaching the end. Candlelight was transformed into incandescent lighting, and orange light will gradually be turned into pure white light. We created Highwire to embody the future that we imagined. When we first drew the sketch that would become the original design we imagined darkness to be illumined by pure white light. Light that is clean and beautiful. Like a lighthouse shining its beacon upon us."
Poetic, you may think, but surely all great design has its own poetry, and if you are lucky enough to see Highwire in the flesh you'll know what they mean.
You can find more information about Balmuda products at there US site here, and there more extensive range of Japanese products, including the superb Airline lamp, at their Japanese site here.]
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