I am planning to create a brutalist desk lamp for my final project. This will involve a concrete casting and at least two adjustable hinges. I want the body of the desk lamp to resemble a brutalist concrete building with no windows. This is a quick sketch of my idea:
An alternative to this aesthetic would be a space age desk lamp. This would be an attempt to imitate early spacecraft designs, such as the Surveyor 1 moon lander. This would use a tripod made of several tubes for structure. Since this design type is meant to be lightweight, this idea has great contrast with the brutalist idea since that lamp would be very heavy. Here is a sketch of this idea, along with a picture of the moon lander I was inspired by [1]:
A second alternative aesthetic would be to build a desk lamp that imitates nature in some way. I could build a lamp that looks like a piece of driftwood, a living tree, or a flower of some kind. I would want the lamp to last a long time so I would need to pick durable materials that resemble the more fragile ones found in nature. This aesthetic contrasts with the other two, as they are very much manmade and unnatural. Also, here is a sketch of this idea:
I think I will stick with my original plan, but I do like the space age aesthetic. Let me know what you think in the comments!
References:
[1] Wikipedia, NASA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_1#/media/File:Surveyor_NASA_lunar_lander.jpg
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4 Comments. Leave new
Hey there,
This seems like an amazing idea for a lamp. I like the merging of these rather different aesthetics and I think it will yield an amazing final product. I also am making a brutalist lamp and laying concrete so I look forward to compare our design strategies. What type of cement will you use and are you going to put any treatment in the mix to ensure the lifespan is maximized ?
I have not considered cement types and was planning to just get some at home depot and follow the instructions for mixing but I will have to look into this. Good luck on your lamp as well!
Hi Alex,
It sounds like you have a good idea of what you will be working on. I found your contrasting aesthetics fitting and you had an interesting perspective on them. I was wondering if you have a good idea of what materials you will use for the project.
I am thinking of using aluminum tubes and concrete for the main structure of the lamp, but I still need to find a way to connect the tubes with hinges of some kind.