Yongwook Seong · CLIENT: Yongwook Seong
Coral Blanche is a floor lamp inspired by coral bleaching. The main structure takes the form of a bleached sea fan coral, chosen for its structural integrity and its appearance. Ten frosted LED bulbs are attached to the structure and represent eggs laid by coral fish. The body is made of biodegradable starch blends. The lamp can be placed in a living room to light the floor or a wall. Coral Blanche measures 1771 millimeters in width and 1547 millimeters in height. The design draws attention to coral bleaching, a global issue linked to rising ocean temperatures.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Coral Blanche is a lighting design project intended to explore Coral Bleaching in design language. Coral Bleaching is associated with a whitening phenomenon. Ironically, the whitening process is the transient beauty due to corals' effort to survive. When algae displacement is prolonged, corals' starvation continues on. These bleached corals then soon become decayed, eventually resulting in destruction of coral reefs.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 1771 mm (Width) x 1547 mm (Height)
- Tags
- Coral Bleaching, Coral Lighting, Coral Blanche
- Production Technology
- The main body is constructed with biodegradable blends, and frost LED bulbs are used for lighting.
- Design Challenge
- The initial challenge came from selecting the right coral shape as a main structure in association with light bulbs. As a result, a sea fan coral was chosen for its structural integrity and aesthetic beauty. And the second challenge was a material choice. Biodegradability was the key for the material used. Corn-based PLA (polyactic acid) was initially considered, but it was rejected due to its non-biodegradability (compostable in a controlled condition). Biodegradable (preferably starch) blends were then selected.
- Project Duration
- The project began in May 2020 and finished in June 2020 in Banff, Canada.
- Operation Flow
- Coral Blanche is a floor lamp, ideally placed in a living room for floor lighting or wall lighting. Its main structure is designed to be a bleached sea fan coral and ten LED bulbs are affixed to the structure. The light bulbs represent eggs laid by coral fishes. These eggs light up their lives while being exposed to potential threats as their cradles are rapidly perished.
- Research
- Coral Blanche is a design study to explore Coral Bleaching. Coral Bleaching is a global crisis as most coral reef habitats could experience extinction by 2100. It examines the transient beauty of Coral Bleaching and its dire consequence, extensive marine life degradation.
- Inspiration
- The project was inspired by Coral Bleaching. Coral Bleaching is a global issue that a macro scale of coral reefs experience a whitening phenomenon devastated by the rise of ocean temperature. The Coral Bleaching process is initiated by polyps displacing algae in the coral tissues, subsequently leading to coral's starvation and death.
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