Fengsheng Cai Receives the Silver A' Design Award for Objects Come Alive Ambience Lighting Systems in Lighting Products and Fixtures Design

The Work

Project

Objects Come Alive Ambience Lighting Systems

Function

Ambience Lighting Systems

Category

Lighting Products and Fixtures Design

Discipline

Industrial Design

Industry

Furniture & Home and Electronics & Appliances

Colors

Maroon, Lavender, Peru, Saddle Brown and Sienna

Images

5

Client

Musashino Art University

The Recognition

Laureate

Fengsheng Cai

Country

China

Recognition

Silver A' Design Award

Edition

2022 - 2023

Design ID

#146602

Credits

Team

Creative Director [Fengsheng Cai]

Image Credits

Fengsheng Cai, 2022.

Design Details

Unique Properties

The luminaires are designed with a research focus on Biophilic design and kinesthetic empathy. The movement of the luminaires mimics the growth habits, movement patterns and rhythms of the plants, making the luminaires more relatable. Viewing the direction of the product relieves anxiety, tension, fatigue and other emotions. The luminaires change according to the environment (temperature, wind), making them more accessible for everyday use while creating a sense of atmosphere.

Inspiration

Inspired by poetry, the beauty of movement is created by the plants described in the haiku as they change in response to their environment. In such an interactive way, the luminaire is considered alive, giving a sense of companionship. The luminaires mimic the forms (wheat grown with the sunlight, dandelions fluttering in the wind), the way they move and their rhythm. The move immerses people in nature, eases their mood, and increases creativity and well-being.

Research

This research began to address how to bring products closer to people, to feel the interaction with them naturally and to have a positive psychological effect on humans. In this research, we found that "signs of life and intelligence" were often found in artefacts of autonomous movement. Still, there had been little attempt or study into the psychological effects of "Bio-likeness" in artefacts on people. We then analysed and systematised the abstract concept of "Bio-likeness' into products that give companionship to evoke hidden feelings. From this, we found that the images produced by the movement of natural objects have a positive psychological impact on humans.

Challenge

The challenge regarding its overall structure and programming. 1. to design robust, quiet and compact hardware and to use programming techniques to enable the luminaire to adapt to the changing environment at any given moment and perform rhythmic movements like a plant. 2. to make the product exist like a living creature that can read environmental changes and simultaneously become a new interface to inform people of impending dangers such as earthquakes.

Realization and Technology

Firstly, we have recreated the miniature silent motor and electronic components for the mechanical design to form a compact and stable light structure. And we combined this with programmable materials, thus ensuring the overall sensitivity and fluidity of the movement. Secondly, we analysed the rhythm of the activity of natural plants. We programmed the luminaire to move at a rhythm like the plants. We also use self-developed sensors to capture changes in the environment constantly.

Operation and Interaction

The work combines programmable and natural materials to simulate as realistically as possible the effects of plants, such as the swaying of the sheaves of wheat and the softness of the dandelions and lamps depending on the environment (temperature, wind) or the behaviour of the person (body temperature when touched, blowing). The interactions are 1. the light of the wheat ears increases and decreases with the ambient temperature, and 2. the light of the dandelion contracts and expands with the breeze in the room.

Project Duration and Location

The project started in 2021, and after multiple prototypes and refinements, it was completed in 2022. The first version was exhibited at the international luxury exhibition at the Shanghai exhibition centre in 2021. All development was done in Tokyo.

Specifications

Floor Lamp of Wheat (rising H250mm X W780mm X D405mm, falling H475mm X W600mm X D405mm); Table Lamp of Dandelion (shrinking H545mm X W350mm X D350mm, swelling H545mm X W350mm X D350mm), each component has been designed to be sophisticated, stylish, and modern without much visual burden.

Keywords

Lighting, Lighting System, Interior Design, Biophilic Design, Bio-likeness, Alive, Movement, kinesthetic Empathy