Open Box pendant luminaire

red dot: best of the best
red dot award: product design 2007

Between space and illusion
We perceive most of what we see within learned patterns stemming from early childhood. Cognition also serves to render our raw sensory data into an understanding of space, something by which we orientate ourselves in daily life. The aim to redefine “space” thus always also implies the necessity to deal with the most elementary of our perception, as has been the case in the design of the unusual Open Box pendant luminaire: it is open and transparent like space itself and thus challenges the onlooker who cannot detect any conventionally closed housing in which the light sources have been enclosed and the louvre and cover have been integrated. For direct and indirect light dispersion it uses two different “housings” that are visually separated from one another, yet are consistently connected by one luminaire body or frame made of extruded aluminium. The common look of a luminaire as a “light-emitting block in the room” is thus overcome. The lower part of the luminaire is equipped with an efficient louvre for direct and glare-free lighting whilst simultaneously illuminating the inside of the luminaire housing in a highly effective manner. The upper part of the luminaire emits a soft and indirect light onto the ceiling. The used T5 lamps are driven by electronic dimmers, which allow for individual illumination control and thus offer personally adjustable lighting effects. The Open Box luminaire combines an innovative, purist form with the advantages of conventional pendant luminaires – its design succeeds with a redefinition of both light and space.