Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼 by Takanori Urata is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2023 A' Design Award 银奖 in 照明产品与灯具设计 Competition Category.

银照明· 2023

Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼

by Takanori Urata

Client: Takanori Urata Design

A' Design Award 银奖 Winner in 照明 Category

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Verified Award Winner

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The Design

About Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼

从东京消耗的酒瓶中回收的软木塞被收集起来并重新塑造成酒体。发出的光打在软木塞柔软的表面上，当场发出温暖的光芒。尺寸紧凑，即使在发生灾难时也可以携带。柔和的光芒让你在任何地方都充满希望。可充电，照明时间长达 13 小时。这种照明旨在通过回收通常被丢弃的开瓶器作为宝贵的资源，为可持续发展的社会做出贡献。截至目前，从东京约 750 家餐厅收集的一些软木塞正在使用中。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 银奖

Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼是 A' Design Award 银奖得主，这是授予顶级、华美而令人印象深刻的设计的极为崇高的认可。银奖得主是极其卓越、极具创造力的作品，展现出其设计师杰出的专业技能、才华与敏锐。预计Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼将成为一件出色的典范之作，兼具非凡的专业性与深刻的创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 银奖的设计是一项备受瞩目、令人钦佩的发明，造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。Lead 再生软木 Led 灯笼是一件令人羡慕的创作，它唤起渴望，带来积极的情感，并激发惊叹与赞叹。

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)