Final Project: detechnologized desk lamp

I wanted to take the concept of detechnologization one step further, beyond the simple mechanics and construction of the lamp to a more systemic and conceptual level.

The final lamp seeks to detechnologize and despecial the technological object. The new lamp requires no wiring, no springs, no knowledge of metallurgy or welding, industrial processes, or anything beyond the skills and tools of the Copper Age. Relying only on knowledge of wood and copper craft traditions, the aim was to allow a return to an object-based rather than technology-based understanding of everyday items.

An object can be crafted with an intelligent understanding of materials, without specialized notions of technology, and despite highly primitive construction, the intelligence of its materials allows it to function within a technological context.

The lamp has two major innovations: the live jointing created by the specific manner of cuts in the wood which take advantage of the natural spring tension of the material in order to maintain tight joints in the face of material wear, and in the copper surfacing which is simultaneously a part of the object's construction and conductive function.

The lamp can be placed on any surface with 3 volts of DC current running through it, and it will automatically turn on. The copper will form a complete circuit. The principle idea in this case is to change the paradigm in which we interact with technology which must be turned on or off, activated or monitored. Rather, these objects are on when they are placed in the context in which they are meant to be used, and off when they are taken out of that context. Here, the lamp turns on when placed on any surface (a desk) which has 3 volts of DC current running through it, and off when it is removed. The switch is its location.

The lamp is furthermore completely disassemblable in 10 seconds, and collapses into 4 compact lengths of wood. The lamp is completely portable.

This removal of specialized knowledge and most specialized components allows for a return to an intuitive understanding of the objects which function around us, and a direct visual connection to how our technology works, not hidden beneath bundles of wires and layers of material. We can return to a tactile, immediate understanding of our technological environment.

updated desk lamp

working on getting the lamp to have true stops and a self-limiting range of motion that would allow it to stand properly at all times--the rubber bands are also replaced here with hair ties, which work better as a result of the friction and limit it places on the elasticity of the band, allowing for a maximum length and reduction from that maximum.

Also starting to look at the wood itself as a live joint with spring tension inherently within the material: the joint for the base is made this way, with two pressure relieving slots cut in.

The base is also hinged into the lamp in two places: from the primary vertical member, and the lower diagonal member, allowing for counterweighting to happen both when the lamp's center of gravity is more forward and backward. The hinge allows the relative position of the base to the lamp head to change.