The design of solar

EuroScan, my monthly column for the Innovation&Design section of BusinessWeek Online, is published today. It discusses a beautiful lamp that runs on solar energy -- and how it was designed. Here it is:

I recently moved into a top-floor apartment and have been looking for solar lamps that I could use on the roof deck, which is bathed in sunlight all day—a never-ending source of free energy. I wanted a lamp that would store power during the day and release it at night, when I may be having dinner with friends or reading a book in the evening's breeze. Yes, I know solar lamps don't come cheap, but at least there's no need to run wiring, and maintenance requirements are low.

What I found was initially pretty disappointing — uninteresting and tacky plastic or metal objects made to be tucked away in garden corners and along walkways, installed on posts or pedestals, or mounted on wall fixtures, making their presence felt only when they lit up.

Moreover, most of the available options featured only a small area of solar cells, and hence a relatively modest battery duration. When I found ones with bigger solar-cell surfaces, they looked like upside-down shovels. While there are now several LED lamps by world-class designers—such as Yves Behar's Leaf and Richard Sapper's Halley — solar lighting seemed stuck in the realm of engineering.

Then I discovered Damian O'Sullivan's prototype for a "Solar Lampion" and I'm wondering how fast he can get it into production. I want one. It's the first example I know of great design applied to solar lamps. The pictures below show how it looks. The design is visibly inspired by natural organic structures such as pine cones, but it is somehow reminiscent also of Chinese paper lampions—which he has explored in a great many successive sketches that he made available to me.

The most innovative characteristic of the design is that instead of combining a lamp with a solar cell, he has created a lamp made of solar cells. This not only provides a large surface for capturing the sun's energy but gives the lamp its distinctive look.

The lamp's 30 off-the-shelf, 25-sq. cm solar cells are mounted on injection-molded plastic crowns stacked on top of each other. Each crown holds six cells inclined towards the sun, and is rotated 30 degrees from the layer above, creating the faceted cylindrical form that ensures the lampion will catch the sun's rays no matter which direction they are coming from. Each cell is then coupled with a white LED tucked under the frame along the cell's top edge. The rechargeable battery, which stores the energy, is hidden inside this frame, which is otherwise empty. And a simple handle allows it to be carried easily or hung from a tree branch.

A 38-year-old Franco-Irish designer living in the Netherlands, O'Sullivan has created bags and tie racks for French luxury brand Hermès, tech gadgets for Dutch manufacturer Philips, and shoes for Spanish brand Camper, among others. He said during a phone interview last week that in its current stage, the Lampion can collect enough energy on a sunny day to give light for 24 hours.

Not only is it a beautiful object, it's the first lamp design that makes the solar cells an integral part of the form. It also suggests that solar lighting—that "alternative" technology typically housed in ungainly forms—is starting to be considered a dignified field for cutting-edge designers.

Comments

[Robert Stengard-Olliges]

Hi, Here's a similar but non-solar light. Found at http://www.demakersvan.com/

http://www.demakersvan.com/uploads/projecten/Wind2.jpg

light wind
_
An outside lamp drawn from our home surroundings. The gently
sweeping Dutch windmills were actually perfect generators of their
own. With that in mind, we made this lamp. With every breeze it
stores energy, enough to enjoy every summerevening untill
forever. Contemporary vs traditional, art vs functionality.
Shaped by its function the big prop spans over one meter on each
side. It is a self supporting light source that marks the landscape.

[BrunoG]

I really like it Robert. Do you have a picture that shows how it looks by day? B-

[Charles]

Thanks for stopping by our blog, Mercury Rising, Bruno. It's an honor to make contact with the author of that very good article. As a BW subscriber, this is exactly what I want to see when I open up the magazine (but all too rarely do see).

[BrunoG]

Thank you Charles, and thanks for the very kind post on your blog about me (http://phoenixwoman.wordpress.com/2007/04/13/meet-bruno-giussani-a-happy-man/). As you have noticed, the HappySwiss blog is a tool to gather some opinions for a book that's being written by my friend Eric Weiner. It's supposed to be published before the end of the year. B-

[Sean]

put me down for half a dozen of the solar lamps too. maybe if we syndicate it we can build up a big enough order to justify a production run!

[n ramkumar]

sir,
explain me about the Solar Lampion
iam studying final year mechanical engineering i am interested to learn
n ramkumar
india

[Malini]

We are seriously looking to collaborate on manufacture of this solar lamp in our country. We would be very glad if Damien o sullivan would get in touch with us directly s

[mr solar]

This is an awesome design - did it ever get into production and is there somewhere I can buy it online?

[BG]

I believe it's not in production yet. I met Damian a couple of months ago and he told me that he was negotiating with a manufacturer. BG