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Tree Pod Pendant Light by Roberto and Fabiana |
Home > Winners > Design #56364 >Interview |
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FS: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
SL: The Tree Pod pendant light has been inspired by the mighty Baobab tree, symbol of life and prosperity growing in 32 countries across the African continent and at the hearth of many stories and traditions.
FS: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
SL: The Tree Pod is the materialization of the company philosophy that envisions humans and nature living alongside in a technological world. Light is the vital force that brings human-made structures to life, the slight imperfections inherent in any material harvested from nature just empower and transform it in a unique way. The pods from the Tree Of Life are the symbols of its magic and we want to bring a piece of this "Life"into the houses in the form of nature and light.
FS: What are your future plans for this award winning design?
SL: We want take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen the company visibility and reputation.
FS: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
SL: The project started in May 2015 in Kenya, with a three month research period. After other three months of experiments with materials and structural shapes we finally reach the production of our first prototype in July 2016.
FS: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
SL: We have always been fascinated by light design and The Tree Pod is a result of our sole inspiration though the energy to setup a production line has been driven by the excitement for the invitation to exhibit our works in the Afrika Handmade Gallery 2016 held at the Alliance Francaise in Nairobi.
FS: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
SL: We are a "Design and Build" company and though this definition come from the building industry, we literally do this. We design and produce our own objects. In the future we will need to collaborate with other companies for some specific technical aspect like the electrical engineering of the lamps.
FS: What made you design this particular type of work?
SL: We look at nature as a source of inspiration for our designs and as a source of raw materials ready to be upcycled and reshaped to fit unexpected new purposes. We decided to bridge the gap between two apparently opposite worlds: what if nature can give us the perfect sustainable solution to the environmental issues at the base of mass produced contemporary design?
FS: Where there any other designs and/or designers that helped the influence the design of your work?
SL: From shelters to food, Nature has always given us everything we need to sustain our lives. In some rural tribes outside of the western civilized society people are still nowadays relying on natural prime materials for the production of rudimental tools and objects of daily use. We are mesmerized by their craft skills and by the beauty of vernacular native design.
FS: Who is the target customer for his design?
SL: Target customers are young professionals interested in sustainable design and natural materials. The Tree Pod is suitable for apartments, offices, hotels and restaurants.
FS: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
SL: Everything in nature is a result of millions of years of evolution, which shaped its forms in a perfect balance of functional and aesthetic values. The shell of the lampshade is harvested directly from the Baobab tree and upcycled with minimal handmade interventions, this reduce enormously the impact of our product on the environment. We combine the primitive shapes of the Baobab pods with hand crafted wood pieces and a minimal amount of industrialized components.
FS: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
SL: For our first exhibition at the Africa Handmade Gallery 2016 the 30 lampshade we installed were intended to resemble the fruits/pods hanging from a Baobab Tree.
FS: Which design tools did you use when you were working on this project?
SL: Hands, pencils and paper for the concept sketches and working drawings. Simple handmade techniques and materials are at the core of our production line.
FS: What is the most unique aspect of your design?
SL: The slight imperfections inherent in any material directly harvested from nature just empower and transform it in a unique way.
FS: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
SL: The prototype has been designed and produced by us. For the production line the Baobab pods are harvested, cleaned and cut to shape by our local community workers. The cleaned raw shells are then further refined and assembled in our workshop where we're also training young talented locals. Some of the components of the lamps are outsourced to local companies.
FS: What is the role of technology in this particular design?
SL: Technology is playing a marginal role in this particular design, the only industrialized components are the electrical fittings. The Pod is still evolving to integrate more hi-tech and sophisticated components.
FS: Is your design influenced by data or analytical research in any way? What kind of research did you conduct for making this design?
SL: We made several tests to understand the strength and structural limitation of the material and we conducted some researches to find the most suitable natural technique to preserve and enhance it.
FS: What are some of the challenges you faced during the design/realization of your concept?
SL: One of the most challenging stages of the design process was to understand how to seamlessly integrate a totally natural and randomly shaped object with mass produced standard electrical fittings.
FS: How did you decide to submit your design to an international design competition?
SL: We wanted to test if our ideas were suitable for a larger audience.
FS: What did you learn or how did you improve yourself during the designing of this work?
SL: We learn the importance of sharing knowledge and establish a good network in different professional areas.
FS: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?
SL: no
FS: Thank you for providing us with this opportunity to interview you.
A' Design Award and Competitions grants rights to press members and bloggers to use parts of this interview. This interview is provided as it is; DesignPRWire and A' Design Award and Competitions cannot be held responsible for the answers given by participating designers.
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