Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern by Takanori Urata

Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern by Takanori Urata is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award Kala in Hoʻolālā Kukui a me Lako Kukui Competition Category.

KalaKukui· 2023

Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern

by Takanori Urata

Client: Takanori Urata Design

A' Design Award Kala Winner in Kukui Category

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Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #148100

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern

E hōʻiliʻili ʻia nā pahu i hana hou ʻia mai nā hue waina i hoʻopau ʻia ma Tokyo a hoʻoheheʻe hou ʻia i loko o ke kino. ʻO ke kukui i hoʻokuʻu ʻia ma ka ʻili palupalu o ka cork e hoʻopuka i kahi ʻālohilohi mahana ma kahi. ʻO ka nui paʻakikī hiki ke lawe ʻia i nā manawa o kahi pōʻino. ʻO ke kukui mālie e alakaʻi iā ʻoe i kahi manaʻolana ma kēlā me kēia wahi. Hiki ke hoʻouka hou a hiki i 13 mau hola o ke kukui. Ua hoʻolālā ʻia kēia kukui no ke kōkua ʻana i kahi kaiāulu hoʻomau ma o ka hana hou ʻana i nā corkscrews, i hoʻolei pinepine ʻia, ma ke ʻano he kumu waiwai. I kēia manawa, ke hoʻohana ʻia nei kekahi o nā corks i hōʻiliʻili ʻia mai kahi o 750 mau hale ʻaina ma Tokyo.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Kala

Ua lanakila ka hoʻolālā Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern i ka A' Design Award Kala, he ʻike hoʻohanohano nui loa i hāʻawi ʻia i nā hoʻolālā kiʻekiʻe loa, nani a kupaianaha. He mau hana ʻālohilohi loa a hana noʻeau nui nā lanakila Kala e hōʻike ana i ka loea, ka makakoho a me ka ʻoi aku o ka noʻonoʻo o kā lākou poʻe hoʻolālā. Manaʻo ʻia ʻo ka hoʻolālā Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern he hana kupaianaha, kūlana ʻoi aku, ʻoihana kiʻekiʻe a hou loa. ʻO kēia hoʻolālā i lanakila i ka A' Design Award Kala he mea hoʻokumu kūpono loa, mahalo ʻia e hāʻawi i ka pōmaikaʻi a hoʻoneʻe i nā palena o ka hana noʻeau, ka ʻepekema, ka hoʻolālā a me ka ʻenehana. He mea i ʻeleu ʻia e nā mea he nui ka hoʻolālā Lead ʻo Ke Kukui Alakaʻi ʻia ʻo Recycled Cork Led Lantern e hoʻāla i ka makemake, lawe mai i nā manaʻo maikaʻi a hoʻāla i ka kamahaʻo a me ka mahalo.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: It is a portable light which is leading to hope. The body is made of a recycled wine cork which is consumed in Tokyo. The light is lit on the surface of the soft cork gives off a warm glow to the place. Rechargeable and compact enough to carry even in times of a disaster. It can be lit about 13 hours.
Dimensions & Packaging: Size
Diameter 55mm
Height 105mm
Weight 133g

Specifications
Machined aluminum
Recycled cork
LED light
Built-in battery lithium-ion battery
USB-C port
Tags: Lighting fixtures, portable lighting, LED lighting, compact lighting, gentle light, soothing light, recycled cork, sustainable, sustainability, circular society
Production Technology: Today in Tokyo, a lot of bottle of wine are enjoyed drinking. It is said that about 150 million bottles of wine are consumed in Tokyo each year. It means that Tokyo consumes roughly one-third of Japan's total wine consumption. The activity is called Tokyo Cork Project collects and recycles corks stoppers of wine which are consumed in large quantities along with wine, as a treasure house of recycled resources. In addition to its gentle texture, cork has excellent elasticity and heat retention properties, is nearly impervious to water, and is slightly breathable.
Because of these exceptional characteristics, it is attracting attention as a natural material with great potential. The precisely machined cork body and a upper part is produced by machining recyclable aluminum. LED is installed on the back of the alumimium upper to emit light indirectly on the cork surface, thus utilizing the gentle texture of the cork material and transforming it into a small lantern. The name of the product, Lead, is a combination of the word guide and LED, the light source, in the hope that it will be a light that leads to hope in any situation.
Design Challenge: Keeping the size as compact as possible was very difficult.

Considerable effort was put into the internal design in order to meet the required applications, such as light intensity and lighting time (battery size). In addition, the recycled cork used for the body is a very soft material, so it was very difficult to precisely carve it out. Fortunately, however, we were able to find a factory with advanced processing technology, which enabled us to create the ideal shape.
Research: I used to think of cork as a common and uninteresting material.
This time, however, I discovered that cork can be a very attractive material by using recycled cork compressed more densely than natural cork wood, precisely shaving and processing it, and shining light on it. We are convinced that we can still make new discoveries by changing our viewpoints on materials.
Inspiration: The exhibition was held in Tokyo in the fall of 2022, which is called NEW NORMAL, NEW STANDARD and it presented designs for comfortable preparedness exhibition. In the exhibition, six designers proposed ways to incorporate comfortable preparedness design into our daily lives, so that we can be prepared comfortably and without unnecessary stress, so that we can spend our daily lives peacefully and safely with our loved ones and family. I designed a lantern that is portable and emits a soothing light even in an emergency. The main material I used was cork. Moreover, I chose recycled cork made from cork stoppers of wine bottles consumed at restaurants in Tokyo. Not only the light emitted from the soft and gentle material peculiar to cork, but also we are able to play a part in a recycling-oriented society.
Project Duration: The exhibition, held in Tokyo in the fall of 2022

NEW NORMAL, NEW STANDARD

Design for Comfortable Preparation" exhibition held in Tokyo in the fall of 2022.
Operation Flow: The lighting is activated by pressing the switch in the center of the top surface of the main unit.

In addition, a hook is attached to the top surface.
It is also possible to hang it on something for outdoor use.

The USB-C connector can be used for charging.
The small lamp next to the port lights up red when charging is in progress, and glows blue when charging is complete.
Image Credits: Main image is Image #1：Takanori urata (2022)
Optional Image #1：Takanori urata (2022)
Optional Image #2：Takanori urata (2022)
Optional Image #3：Takanori urata (2022)
Optional Image #4：Takanori urata (2022)