benjamin hubert crafts beacon pendant + desk lights for glass is tomorrow

benjamin hubert crafts beacon pendant + desk lights for glass is tomorrow
all images courtesy of benjamin hubert ltd.

designboom participated in the glass is tomorrow workshop in denizli, turkey hosted at şişecam group — one of the world’s top three home glassware manufacturers. already in its fifth edition, glass is tomorrow aims at bringing forth the craftsmanship and techniques employed in glass blowing, pushing the boundaries of the process and the material; along with exploration of formal and aesthetic possibilities of the medium within today’s context of design. the initiative invites contemporary designers to engage in this ancient tradition so that they may gain new perspectives on the methodologies surrounding glass blowing, and through their research and experimentation conceive a piece of their own at the factory. the results of this workshop were first debuted during the 2014 istanbul design biennial in november. benjamin hubert presented the ‘beacon’ lighting collection to the greater european market during maison&objet 2015 in paris.

up close view of the two glass components

benjamin hubert was among the designers in this fifth workshop. the british designer realized a piece that considers how traditional glass working procedures can be adapted for contemporary use in lighting, and how the light itself can be used as an integral element to the design. his resulting ‘beacon’ pendant and table lamps celebrate purity of form.  each piece is comprised of two simple and elegant blown glass components – all of which house the same internal component, but differ in their external form.

the internal and external vessels are rendered in different colors

the common interior component is hand-blown and then cold-worked using a traditional technique known as battuto, in which the surface of the glass is hand-cut on a girding machine to create a pattern of variable shapes and depth. light is then projected through the internal component, creating decorative caustics caused by the shadow and highlights of the motifs on the external blown glass part.

top view of the lamp with wiring detail

the external piece of both the pendant and desk lamp is sand-blasted on the interior to better capture the caustic effect and to diffuse the light. there are four different battuto patterns in the ‘beacon’ collection, each creating a different type of light and shadow.

the tapered form of the ‘beacon’ desk light

color variations

‘beacon’ table lamp

top view which shows how the internal component sits within the external vessel

detail of the two components which make up the ‘beacon’ lights

detail of one of the four battuto patterns that adorn the ‘beacon’ lights

‘beacon’ desk lamps

‘beacon’ pendant lamps

the external component of the lamps are sandblasted rendering a caustic effect, while also diffusing the light

detail of the internal glass texture which projects the pattern onto the external vessel

filing the battuto pattern onto the ‘beacon’ lamp

glass blowing process to shape the external form of ‘beacon’

promotes a high level of craft and design in contemporary glass making

lighting and tableware are at the essence of the modern turkish and global cultural identity and are re-invented and re-created through the collaborative work of both the designers and glass artists and makers. the 5th glass is tomorrow workshop has been held at şişecam group‘s handmade glass factory in denizli, turkey, from 18 to 24 october 2014.

during the one-week glass is tomorrow workshop, traditional glassmaking was challenged by invited international independent designers and glassmakers who included: autoban / seyhan özdemir and sefer cağlar (TR), nigel coates (UK), luca corvatta of studio benjamin hubert (UK), tomas kral (CH), tamer nakisci (TR), adrien rovero (CH), studio rygalik / gosia and tomek rygalik, and nude design team: sinem hallı and sevgi kes (TR).

organized by: promateria / lise coirier, founder and curator and winglam kwok, co-curator, and şişecam/ emre bozbeyli, design manager, supported by the culture programme of the european union

media partners: designboom, TL mag

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a brief history of ‘şişecam group‘

the turkish glass roots go back to the byzantine period in anatolia where beads, bracelets and colorful glass products were produced based on ancient glass techniques such as casting, press and core molding as well as glass windows and glass oil lamps using the plain glass for creating decorative and lighting effects. later on, glass craftsmen were traveling from france to turkey during the reign of the ottoman empire’s reform-minded sultan selim III. with the foundation of the republic, the turkish glass industry was given new opportunities. the first national glass factory was founded on the slopes of the bosphorus at paşabahçe, not far from the site of other glass studios in 1935 by the directives of ataturk and the approval of a parliamentary commission.

one of the most established enterprises in turkey, sisecam group is a global actor in business fields including all main areas of glass, i.e. flat glass, glassware, glass packaging and fiberglass, as well as soda and chrome compounds. sisecam, 2nd largest glassware, 3rd largest flat glass and 4th largest glass packaging manufacturer in europe in terms of production capacity, has manufacturing activities in turkey, germany, italy, bulgaria, romania, slovakia, hungary, bosnia-herzegovina, the russian federation, georgia, ukraine, egypt and india. an international group with an experience of 79 years, more than 20.000 employees, manufacturing activities in 13 countries and sales in 150 countries, sisecam aims at becoming one of the three largest global manufacturers in line with its vision for 2020.

this first factory, founded as the ‘türkiye sisecam cam fabrikalari A. S.’ will see its 80th anniversary in 2015. the glass tableware division manufactures soda-ash and crystal glass both hand mode and automatic production. the company gathered many glass craftsmen from all parts of the country and developed into an important glass making center for the history of turkish glass. ever since 1935, it has been performing the investment and production via the deployment of state-of-the-art technology in the glass industry as well as research and development activities to meet the entirety of essential requirements for glass products in the country.

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