Alexander Lervik

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NUMBER 6 2012 | PRICE 39 KRONOR INCLUDING VAT | 69 EURO | 69 DKK | 79N

BIG LIGHTING SPECIAL 69 LAMPS DESIGN NL THEN AND NOW Alexander Lervik and Johan Carpner discuss Trendy tips from the expert

CEILING LAMP value 13,300

Where is the lighting industry right now, how has it developed, and what can we expect from the future? Disajn asks designers Alexander Lervik and Johan Carpner, who are themselves at the center of development and who know their history.

DISAIN

— Yes, now it is often a kind of identity marker, a bit like a work of art.

The future-optimistic 1960s was also a time when designers experimented a lot with how form, construction, and function could interact in the best way.

— A lot happened during the Second World War that accelerated development. The 50s and 60s were immensely revolutionary purely in terms of lighting technology. Designers became increasingly aware of how light could be controlled and how one can work with reflections, for example, says Lervik.

Today we face a similar technological shift. The incandescent light bulb now belongs to history, and the new LED technology (Light Emitting Diode) is improving at such high speed that designers can barely keep up.

— Soon the nature of LED technology will become so versatile that it will be possible to integrate lighting into objects that we haven't associated with lighting at all. And that will have consequences for both form and function and our attitude toward lighting, says Lervik and explains that LED consists of light-emitting diodes that are more versatile than the filament because the light does not generate any heat.

In addition, LED-based lighting requires significantly less power than the incandescent bulb and contains neither lead nor mercury.

Alexander Lervik was early to venture into the new technology. Eleven years ago he made his breakthrough with his door handle Brighthandle (2001). It is a door handle that glows red when occupied and green when the coast is clear, an excellent example of how new technology contributes yet another function.

— That was about five or six years before LED began to genuinely interest the lighting industry, says Lervik.

Carpner nods and notes that Lervik has been more convinced of the success of LED technology than he himself.

— But I have always designed products with a hidden light source so that it can be replaced, given that we knew the incandescent bulb would disappear, says Carpner, who is known for creating lamps with graphic silhouettes as a source of inspiration.

One of the disadvantages of LED technology is that the lighting consists of small points of light that produce a less uniform, more scattered light. Another has been that it produces a rather cold light. But changes are happening here, according to Lervik. Already there is LED lighting that resembles the color temperature of incandescent light.

In 2010 Johan Carpner launched the charming lamp Luchsia, which was awarded several times.

— In ten years, all lamps will be replaced by LEDs of various kinds, I am convinced of that. Then we will be more or less forced to replace our lamps at home, he says.

And here the Nordic countries are at the forefront, thanks to our dark seasons.

We Swedes use a great deal of lighting to create an atmosphere in the home, says Lervik, who believes that we have a tendency to overlit our homes.

Instead of using few lamps with strong light, he recommends more lamps with varied light intensity. In this way, better drama is created in the home, he believes:

— This is where we will see the biggest difference, I think, that is, choosing to have around ten varying points of light in a room instead of what is considered standard today, like a ceiling lamp and a floor lamp and so on.

It is evident that LED is an area that engages, and it becomes a recurring topic of conversation. The two designers do not shy away from peering into the future.

— I think that quite soon we will have materials that emit light on their own, where a lamp can be printed out or cast in a single piece, says Lervik.

— Textiles that emit light or luminous paint that can be used to paint with are probably also something we will see going forward. Perhaps we will see reading armchairs equipped with built-in lighting, glowing pots in windows, or illuminated picture frames on walls. Thanks to LED, it becomes possible to create significantly slenderer fixtures. The ideas we designers have longed to realize, but which haven't been feasible before, will now be able to become reality, says Johan Carpner.

But development is not just about what can be carried out purely technically. One factor that can slow formal progress is our traditional attitude toward lamps, Carpner notes:

— Today a lamp has to look like a lamp in one way or another. If I didn't have to relate to a tradition of how lamps should look, my design would be different.

— But that will change over time. It's a matter of habit, Lervik adds.

Unlike before, technological progress has led to designers not being as dependent on engineering. Now cords, transformers, or drivers do not put a spoke in the wheels the same way as before.

The door handle Brighthandle (2001) was the product that put Alexander Lervik's name on the map eleven years ago. Photo Helene PE.

A play on the very idea of a lamp. The shade of Alexander Lervik's Darkness (2007) glows, while darkness reigns in the center of the lamp. Photo Pål Allan.

The lamp Jeahna (2012) is Alexander Lervik's and Johan Carpner's latest collaboration. A smaller version premieres at Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair 2013.

In the lamp Starry (2010), Johan Carpner chose to emphasize the expression and possibilities of copper craftsmanship.

Mybrain (2007) is a replica of Lervik's own brain that he designed himself, produced in 3D printing. Photo Pål Allan.

Alexander Lervik Age: 40 years. Education: Design department at Beckmans, Stockholm, and as a cabinetmaker's apprentice. Most satisfied with: My lamp Mybrain (2007). Bizarre lamp that required an entirely new manufacturing technique. And an exact replica of my own brain! Does: Designs furniture, lighting, light art, jewelry, bicycles, and designs small houses and hotel interiors. Collaborations: Moroso, Johanson Design, Zero, Belid, Skandiform, Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair, Design House Stockholm, Gallery Pascale, among others. Awards: Form +1 Award (2009), Best of the Best at the furniture fair 100% Design Rotterdam (2009), Utmärkt Svensk Form (2001), and honorable mention in Svenska Ljuspriset (2009 and 2011).

Johan Carpner Age: 41 years. Education: Konstfack, Stockholm. Most satisfied with: Starry, a lamp produced with a combination of modern laser cutting and traditional blacksmithing. The surface of the copper shade changes over the years and acquires a beautiful patina. The light creates a living feeling and gives lighting effects to the entire room. Does: Task lighting and more experimental lamps. Graphic design, wallpaper, textile patterns, and rugs. Collaborations: Zero, Kasthall, Svenskt Tenn, Krebs, Duro, among others. Awards: Lamp of the Year (2010) and Formex Formidabel (2010), both with the same lamp, Luchsia.

FAVORITES

Alexander Lervik and Johan Carpner choose their lamp favorites through the ages. Both those that went down in history decades ago and contemporary lamps that have already secured their place in the design world's cultural canon.

Alexander Lervik's favorites 1. GATTO (1962) ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI AND PIER GIACOMO CASTIGLIONI, FLOS. — Gatto is a lamp manufactured with a fantastic technique that, together with the form, creates a unique fixture with exciting lighting shifts.

2. BLOCK LAMP (1996) HARRI KOSKINEN, DESIGN HOUSE STOCKHOLM. — Block Lamp is a very interesting design object. It is quite simply a classic, already.

3. THE RANDOM LIGHT (2002) BERTJAN POT AND MARCEL WANDERS, MOOOI. — Interesting and beautiful pattern that gives a fascinating and exciting shadow projection of the lamp's form.

4. TARAXACUM (1988) ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI, FLOS. — Beautiful classic where the shape and expression of incandescent light constitute the lamp's appearance. Personally, I think the incandescent bulb is one of the greatest design objects; it is immensely beautiful.

5. MEDUSA (2007) MIKKO PAAKKANEN, SAAS INSTRUMENTS. — A good example of what can be achieved with LED and fiber technology. The shape of the lamp can be altered in the way you want it. I think it is beautiful and theatrical.

Johan Carpner's favorites

1. GUN LAMP (2005) PHILIPPE STARCK, FLOS. — It is wonderful. But who the heck comes up with designing a lamp of this kind? Well, Philippe Starck. He has a unique position in the design world and can be compared to the architect Antoni Gaudí — who was allowed to invent just about anything.

2. FOTO (2007) MATTIAS STÅHLBOM AND THOMAS BERNSTRAND, ZERO. — Exciting to make a lamp out of a shape that everyone knows. In that way, the shape is made even clearer, but with sensitivity. Photo Pål Allan.

3. ARCO (1962) ACHILLE CASTIGLIONI, FLOS. — Beautiful design and fantastically clever construction that required much more thoughtfulness than one might think. It was also thanks to Achille Castiglioni that manufacturer Flos gained its good reputation.

4. TAHITI (1981) ETTORE SOTTSASS, THE MEMPHIS GROUP. — It may not be so good-looking, but it is interesting as a phenomenon. There is something brave in daring to stand out and risking that it might not turn out so well. In any case, the result was a highly unusual lamp; history will tell whether what Ettore Sottsass did was good or bad.

5. THE CHANDELIER — The chandelier says a lot about the historical view of lamps; I think it is interesting as an exclusive phenomenon. A chandelier is so lavish in its expression, in a way that is impossible to surpass with glass.

LIGHTING SPECIAL

— But here designers must be careful. A classic survives for a reason, and here well-engineered technology plays a major role, Lervik emphasizes.

The Italian designer Achille Castiglioni's floor lamp Arco (1962) represents that type of design, they believe. It is often called the world's most famous floor lamp, renowned for its clever construction. Arco consists of a long arched arm extending over the table or the back of the sofa, where the arm is mounted on a marble base.

— Castiglioni was very dependent on technology and construction when he wanted to create a lamp that didn't need to be suspended from the ceiling. But he solved it thanks to technical knowledge of the materials' durability. In addition, many calculations were required so that the spherical lamp would not become too hot and so that it would be packable, says Carpner.

The enormous lamp Jeahna, which premiered at Stockholm Furniture Fair in February 2012 in Stockholm, is the result of Lervik's and Carpner's latest collaboration, a lamp whose construction required a fair amount of research work to be feasible. Here they enlisted the help of the internationally renowned tent manufacturer Hilleberg and their wilderness tents.

— We wanted to make a lamp that can withstand hanging outdoors, that can cope with wind and weather, and then we concluded that tent technology was the best starting point, says Lervik.

The ellipse-shaped lamp is four meters wide and two meters high and consists of a large tent canvas supported by arched tent poles on the outside of the canvas. Going forward, it will also be manufactured in a smaller format.

The purpose was to challenge the possibilities of textiles and create a lamp with large volume. The larger you make a lamp in textile, the flimsier it tends to become. But here the tent poles help create a taut shape, says Johan Carpner.

The lamp Jeahna is both unconventional and artistic, with LED-based lighting, and aligns completely with Alexander Lervik's and Johan Carpner's thoughts on the future of the lamp: The luminous sculpture. [d]

Alexander Lervik and Johan Carpner believe that the lamp will develop into a luminous sculpture.

English translation of the original article. Text read from the scanned original; small transcription errors may occur.