BASF + dirk winkel design bio-polyamide fiberglass LED table lamp for wästberg

BASF + dirk winkel design bio-polyamide LED table lamp for wästberg
all images courtesy wästberg

swedish lighting manufacturer wästberg presented the ‘winkel w127’ at the 2014 stockholm furniture fair, an adjustable table lamp designed by dirk winkel in collaboration with the designfabrik® at BASF. the ‘winkel w127’ features a dimmer and timer; its warm-white led light source with reflector and diffuser lenses, in combination with a shade and micro gas springs, provides individually adjustable illumination. the lighting piece is manufactured using a specially developed solid fiberglass reinforced bio-polyamide material by BASF that exhibits dimensional stability and is highly chemical-resistant.

‘when I started thinking about the design, I had the desire to challenge the perception and the common preconceptions of a material that is normally known to people just as plastics,’ explains winkel. ‘I knew that I would like to go further than what’s the norm not only in terms of function and the look, but about the feel and tactility of the material as well. soon it was clear that one of the greatest things I was missing in typical designs made of plastic was a significant impression of substance, of materiality,’ he adds.

‘technically, there was an equal desire to go for a high performance material that delivers the mechanical strength and rigidity for this product to last a long life while offering the possibility of doing large, solid cross-sections which are normally next to impossible in our chosen process of injection molding,’ says winkel. ‘in this lamp, we are using a plastic that is based on over 60% biologically sourced material, which is castor oil, taken from the castor plant which does not compete with worldwide food production due to different agricultural requirements.’

the ‘winkel w127’ is equipped with a seamless dimmer that is operated by an IR-switch

micro gas springs are employed in the joints, similar to those widely used in the automotive and electronics industries, with the ability to withstand 50,000 compression cycles without any loss in performance.

the light technology is based on a highly energy-efficient multichip LED solution, consisting of a cluster of diodes instead of several separate diodes. by using a multichip LED, multi-shadows are avoided and an even light distribution and pattern is achieved.