What if you could design your own lighting fixture in the time that it takes to unscrew a light bulb? That’s the premise behind Daniel Becker’s Spark system, a series of energy-efficient LED bulbs that can be linked together to form beautiful light sculptures.
On Sunday, the world’s largest solar powered footbridge was opened to the public in Brisbane’s Central Business District. About 36,500 people are expected to use the new Kurilpa Bridge each week to walk or bike across the Brisbane River between the CBD and the arts precinct at South Bank. The bridge, which has been described as looking like knitting needles, is not only one of the longest footbridges, but also features a sophisticated LED lighting scheme that is powered by the sun and can produce a number of different lighting effects.
This past year, people walking through the pedestrian tunnel in Sandnes Sentrum, Norway, were faced with the unique opportunity to watch their shadows transform into a beautiful luminous art show. Constructed as part of the city’s European Capitol of Culture 2008 event, the Strømer, is an interactive LED display wall that weaves a wonderful mixture of art, energy-efficiency and play into the fabric of daily existence.
Last year we highlighted HansaCanyon bathroom fixtures, sleekly designed faucets whose “canyons” are lined with LEDs that change color according to the temperature of the water (blue=cold, pink=warm and red=hot). It’s a pretty neat functional feature, and a safety measure as well- the colors can help prevent you from scalding yourself while washing your hands or stepping into a really cold bath. And now, the German-made Hansa Canyon is available in the U.S.! Until now, despite the Hansa hype, many American buyers were left to settle for alternatives like Equa’s Light Delight or ThinkGeek’s budget LED faucet. But now, just check out the Hansa U.S. website’s Where To Buy” page for further details.
Belgium-based design shop Materialise has developed their signature style by combining digital manufacturing processes with organic forms inspired by nature. This juxtaposition yields beautiful designs such as Creepers LED lighting, concocted by UK designer Lionel Theodore Dean. Drawing inspiration from the growth patterns of ‘creeper’ vines, Creepers incorporates low-energy LED lights within plastic flower-shaped appendages that hang delicately from the ceiling to create a sort of organic chandelier. When refracted through the translucency of the polyamide petals, the LEDs produce lovely patterns and variances of light.
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
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