Tulpenblatt: In the gleaming haze

illuminating the entrance: lights at doors and gates

an exterior pendant lamp

Tulpenblatt

In the gleaming haze

Tulpenblatt

(In the gleaming haze)

DOCUMENTATION

Architectural lighting plays a crucial role in enhancing the ambiance and aesthetic appeal of outdoor spaces. This project presents a hanging lamp designed specifically for exterior applications, drawing inspiration from the captivating beauty of arched entrances. The objective of this innovative lighting fixture is to illuminate doorways by skillfully highlighting the architectural aspects of the entrance, creating a visually striking and welcoming atmosphere.

The hanging lamp embraces the graceful curves and symmetrical arches often found in architectural designs. The primary feature of this lighting fixture lies in its ability to accentuate the architectural details of a doorway. Through strategic positioning the lamp casts a gentle, focused glow that traces the contours of the entrance, bringing attention to the artistic elements and enhancing their prominence.

By highlighting the arches, curves, and other intricate features of the entrance besides the elements of the door this hanging lamp creates a captivating visual experience for both residents and visitors.

Research: Preliminary and Group

Field Trips: EWO and Euroluce (Milan Design Week 2023)

Design Process

Research: Preliminary and Group Considerations

The preliminary research started on our Night Time Safari in which we wandered around Bolzano to observe the entrances, pathways and doorways and their respective illumination styles. We then analyzed which entrances were well/effectively illuminated and which ones were not illuminating the doorways efficiently.

From the night tour I decided to focus on arched entrances, since there seems to be a pattern in the illumination or lack there of in this type of entrance doorways. The initial step for the developing of a lamp adequate for arches was choosing the type of light I wanted to work with which in this case was: Reflectors.

As inspiration/references to the design process my research focused specifically in Hotel Laurin’s entrance illumination, since it is a good example of how to direct light in an efficient way using reflectors (Fig 1). During the design process as well i took some inspiration from other lamps already out in the market (Fig 2-3).

The preliminary research was made individually.

Fig.3 Pellis by Pauline Esparon

Fig.2 Moby Dick by Matteo Ugolini for Karman

Fig.1 Park Hotel Laurin entrance (reflectors installation)

Elements of architecture: Doors and Gates

Regarding the group research “ The Architectural Aspects of Doors”, we dived into the history of doors and gates, their elements, typologies and standard measurements that offer us a wide vision of what the architectural elements of doors are and what kind of illumination suits them better.

To start historically a “door” in architecture is a barrier of wood, stone, metal, glass, paper, leaves, hides, or acombination of materials, installed to swing, fold, slide, or roll in order to close an opening to a room or building. The first recorded history of doors was found in Egyptian tomb paintings 4000 years ago. No one knows who invented the door, only that it was first invented somewhere in central Egypt. Regarding Gates they date back to early Mesopotamia.

Doors and Gates originated from the need for an entrance/exit from structures humans created for shelter and protection. The movable barrier (at first perhaps a fabric mat or animal skin, later, door leaves) which closed the gap enabled the door to be both an opening and a wall; it served as protection from the weather, dust, animals, or other people. Gates specifically were developed to protect cities, they evolved as defensive wall systems to open and close rapidly in case of attack. Over time, the designs of doors and gates have incorporated technological advancements and a plethora of security measures.

“Archaeologists uncovered what they believe is Europe’s oldest gateway during an excavation of the old town hall in the city of Zurich. It dates back to the pre-Alpine times”

In respect to doors and their implications, we can mention their typology, their different elements and their technical aspects when building them. Depending on the space we have, there are several door solutions for the different rooms of the house. It depends on the aesthetic and design that we want or on our budget, we can choose from several types of doors. They can be divided by the materials, use or sizes. Also depending on the typology their elements may vary as well, however there are several elements that rìare fundamentala for doors and can be found in each one of them (e.g. trim, subframe, frame, handle, door slab, among others.)

The technical aspects encompass all the standard characteristics and ways in which doors can be built and made part of a space. One of the key aspects is the size. The DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung) is the institution that establishes the standard sizes for doors in Europe. Besides the measurements, there are some factors to take into account when designing doors (e.g. The individual planning remit, outdoor conditions prevailing at the location (climate, elevation etc.) thermal insulation, Comfort criteria in the interior, etc).

Based on all the information gathered, I was personally able to consider some factors such as the standard measurements of doors and gates, to be able to have the perfect ratio needed for a pendant lamp in relation to the floor and ceiling height.

Taj Mahal, Temple Door, 1632

Wooden Door, Egypt. (not-dated)

field trips 12

As part of the research for the development of our lamps we went on two trips that helped us clear doubts about lamp production, materials and understand what kind of products and designs already exist in the market.

ewo, F-System S.

ewo creates high-quality lighting systems for public spaces.

At the main facility of this family-run business, headquartered in South Tyrol, products are developed which bring light to a variety of different settings: streets, squares and buildings; walking trails, urban gathering points and airports.

EUROLUCE: MILAN DESIGN WEEK

Euroluce the International Lighting Exhibition, is the biennal trade fair that, between technology and poetry, architecture and design, is a source of inspiration par excellence, with the design dimension at its heart. The City of Lights was the concept and the common thread running through the exhibition.

design process

The first ever idea for the shape of the lamp was to make it cylindrical to be placed close to the arch. On the inside it would have a reflective surface surrounding the light source to spread more the light throughout the space.

17

first mock-up

The first mock-up was based on the first idea from the previous page. It was made out of cardboard and alluminium, however we quickly realized it was not the most appropiate way of illuminating the elements of the door based on the restricting space the cylinder created around the light source.

Taking into accound the not-so-functional aspects of the first idea, these sketches show the slow evolution of the design for the lamp, where you can clearly see the design taking on a different direction.

19second mock-up

The second mock-up was made out of cardboard and copper wire. The design was confronted with the inability of reflecting the light in two opposing directions, as a result a hole was cut in the middle as an alternative design solution.

Taking into accound the not-so-functional aspects of the second design these sketches show how just certain aspects of the general design start to change and evolve.

The third mock-up was made out of thicker cardboard, copper wire and plastic. This design is where the shape and the typology of my lamp was settled. A pendant lamp with a big reflective piece placed on the bottom so light is reflected both ways in a more practical way.

21

third mock-up

From the third mock-up I discovered that:

1- It was needed to figure the accurate distance and scale my object would have.

2- How to make the union of the upper part and the lower piece stable enough to not wobble from side to side and for the lower piece not to turn on its axis. On this set of sketches the aim was to address that problematic and find a solution.

This cardboard mock-up was presented during the midterm presentation. At this point the main characteristics of the design were done. The official parts and shapes were defined and presented as a pre-final proposal.

23fourth mock-up

During the mid-term presentation the final idea and the development of it was presented. Also the possible issues the lamp could have when producing it where addressed as well as certain details in the design that could be improved. From here on we entered the production phase of the lamp.

Render presented at the mid-term presentatuion. The idea at this point was not to paint the lamp and just let the original material stand out.

After the mid-term presentation, there were some slight changes made to the design, especifically in the way the upper part was gonna be joined with the bottom piece.

In this respect, I analyzed and considered two specific options to join both pieces of the lamp (taking into account the fact it is an exterior lamp, so the structure will be affronted with storms or strong winds for which the structure has to be stable enough to not swing extremely in all directions.)

The first option considered using a small screw with a 360° turning head attached to a metal rod that was going to join one piece to the other. The second option considered using steel wire to attach the upper and bottom pieces from 4 strategically positioned contact points to create more stability and give a better structure to the pendant lamp when faced with external factors (e.g. wind).

The dimensions of the lamp were as well modified, making it bigger as it is intended to illuminate a relatively big arched entrance.

Steel Sheets: for both upper and bottom piece this material was used. For the arched piece a sheet of 0.5 mm was used whilst for the boxes a 1.5 mm piece was used.

Steel Wire: after most consideration this material was the most flexible option with which to work. It is very resistant. It was used for holding the arched piece and the ceiling boxes together.

Cable Grippers: To mantain the steel wire in place. They are attached to the bottom steel box.

3D models 29

CABLES GOING INTO THE CEILING

CABLES

MAMUT

SOCKET

LIGHT SOURCE

3D PRINTED PIECE (HOLDS THE LED BULB IN PLACE)

During this phase the main tasks were: getting the materials with which it was possible to work at the university’s metal workshop. It was decided that the easiest material to work with was steel to create all the pieces necessary for the production of the lamp.

For the bottom piece (arch shape) steel of 0.5 mm was used whereas for the upper part (electrical box, covering and the tube in which the cableing goes) a steel sheet of 1.5 mm was used.

For the inner system for securing the light source (led reflector bulb) in place and make it easier for the user to replace, a 3D printed piece was created and used to solve that key factor. Also for the steel wire cables that attach the bottom piece to the upper piece, 4 special screws were acquired to hold the cables in place and mantain the tension, The screws have a special system that allows the user to adjust the lenght of the steel wire to the lenght that fits most for their taste.

For the final details, all the parts were spray painted and varnished for a matte elegant finish.

Bottom piece (steel sheeet 0,5 mm) was laser cut and then bent at the metal workshop.

Upper piece (steel sheet 1,5 mm) the disks were laser cut and then welded onto bent steel to make the boxes.

Four cable grippers were added to the bottom box, the steel wire’s tension and stability is regulated by them.

3D printed piece, its function is to hold the light source in place making it easier to change the light source.

The light source (LED reflector) inside the second 3D printed piece attempt. The electrical connections were done successfully.

The 3D printed piece fits perfectly inside the tube that contains the light source and electrical connections.

The upper pieces and bottom piece were joined by the steel wire. The structure of the lamp was finalized.

The upper part had to be painted. The primer was being applied to the metal after cleaning it with a chemical solution and was let to dry before applying the final color.

Bottom piece after it was applied the first layer of the final color (RAL 7035 Light Grey).

In architecture:

The product is mounted in a real scale arched entrance, in which we can see how the light is enough to illuminate the elements of the door besides reflecting light to the arc of the entrance.

The final photos of the finished prototype and the architectural representation of the product.

Overall the project achieved its objectives. With the realization of the final prototype all the phases of the design process came to an end.

Since the research phase the project developed slowly as it went through a lot of changes and evealuations, however it accomplished the goal of creating a lamp that highlights the beauty of an arched structure but at the same time illuminates the entrance and door elements effectively, whilst also directing the light delicately to avoid creating as much light pollution as possible.

All that was intended with the design and materials was proven true as it could be seen in the final pictures. We can conclude then tha even if the process of designing and realization was not the easiest it wrapped up satisfactorily.

Even though the project was concluded successfully, there were some aspects that in future projects could be improved. Focusing on the project at hand, personally the drawing representations could be improved and made more clear to show exactly what are the main key aspects of the design object. In the realization phase for example, it would have been ideal for the main material to be aluminium (since its lighter) instead of steel.

In terms of organization it would have been ideal to start a bit earlier so that the process could run a bit more smoothly in the workshops, nonetheless they are just aspects that can be takenn into account for the future works.

Medium. (n.d.). Medium. https://medium.com/@sburiek/the-history-ofdoors-a-travel-through-time-a058b5

Talking about Interior Design. (2013, April 3). DOORS: Myths and Legends. https://talking-interior-design.blogspot.com/2013/04/doors-myths-and-legends. html?m=1

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Door | architecture. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/door

A World History of Architecture. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.it/books?hl=es&lr=&id=IFMohetegAcC&oi=fnd&pg=PP12&dq=evolution+of+houses+since+the+ancient+times+&ots=afKdlgdyVd&sig=PRfNR_yc1aH3VV9vJ4zP3gspUtc&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=doors&f=false

On the Threshold of the House of Eternity: Door Leaves and Tomb Doors – MKTP. (n.d.). https://thebanproject.com/en/on-the-threshold-of-the-house-of-eternity-door-leaves-and-tomb-doors/

Parts of a Door: Learn About the Anatomy of a Door. (2022, December 5). https://www.marvin.com/BLOG/PARTS-OF-A-DOORW

Moby Dick - Karman. (n.d.). Karman. https://karmanitalia.it/en/collections/ moby-dick/

Pauline Esparon. (n.d.). Pauline Esparon. http://www.paulinesparon.com/ pellis

Park hotel a Bolzano: dal 1910 il migliore | Parkhotel Laurin. (n.d.). Parkhotel Laurin. https://www.laurin.it/it/park-hotel-bolzano/1-0.html

Free University of Bozen-Bolzano

Faculty of Design and Art

Bachelor of Design and Art: Major in Design

SS/23

Product Design by: Gabriela Cruz

Project Supervisors:

Klaus Hackl

(Project Light at Doors and Gates Illuminating the entrance)

Ignacio Merino

(Materials and Production)

Giacomo Festi

(Theory Lights at Doors and Gates)

Project Title: Tulpenblatt

Tulpenblatt

In the gleaming haze

an exterior pendant lamp