INTERIORS

This is the Most Stylish, Planet-Saving Light You’ll Ever Get

by Katherine Arteche
01 Nov 2019

Louis Poulsen partnered up with artist Olafur Eliasson to design a geometrical lighting system that debuted at Milan Design Week.

We were taught that light travels in a straight line, unless refracted, then that light will deviate to shine in another direction. We know this because Dutch astronomer Willebrord Snell developed an eponymous law upon discovering that light can be manipulated through certain mediums.

However, Louis Poulsen exhibited a different kind of light manipulation at this year’s Milan Design Week that didn’t involve the use of physics, but instead, that of mathematics.

The OE Quasi Light was intentionally designed to be unconventional, with more than just being a statement piece to illuminate a dark room. Crafted from aluminum and polycarbonate, the structure is an integration of two complex shapes inspired by the field of geometry.

What the layman would simply call multi-faceted, the exterior frame is actually the shape of an icosahedron, a 20-sided polygon with 12 vertices, or high points. It encompasses the bulb, which is a reflective structure in the shape of a dodecahedron, i.e. a shape with 12 sides and 20 vertices. 

The concept of paying homage to geometry stemmed from Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson who has a personal interest in the mathematical subject. Needless to say, this implementation wasn’t conjured overnight.

Eliasson has long materialized geometrical concepts which are evident in his existing artworks. The artist has used his medium to further educate in the field of the arts, as well as address important issues such as climate change and sustainability. 

The OE Quasi Light thus embodies this with its ingenious operation. LED lights are lined within the aluminum frame, where instead of emitting light directly outwards, it is reflected off the dodecahedron’s polymeric surface, emitting an even glow from all sides. Additionally, its structure is made from materials that are easily recyclable and reusable.

Says Søren Mygind Eskildsen, CEO of Louis Poulsen, “Our challenge is always the same – to craft a light that does not just illuminate a room. A good light is functional and beautiful, but most importantly, interacts with and shapes the environment.”