fattelo! presents noctambula, an open-source milk carton lamp

fattelo! presents noctambula, an open-source milk carton lamp
all images courtesy of federico trucchia

fattelo! is an italian design studio focused on re-purposing household waste materials for unexpected uses. the ‘noctambula’ lamp is no different. created by fattelo! designers federico trucchia and mireia gordi vila, the LED light is switch-operated, battery-powered built with only a few standard components and one milk carton. no wiring, no soldering, and no big price tag. like their debut 01lamp, the design will be released under a creative commons license and freely available on fattelo!’s site. 

compact dimensions and battery-power supply makes ‘noctambula’ adaptable to many purposes

looking at the lamp, you’re actually looking at the circuit that allows it work. the circuit has been created in a way so that the object is both the container, and the contained. it is both built and connected through its own shape. the project was born from the studio’s curiosity to explore the technical and design possibilities of tetrapak, the industry standard for milk and juice containers. the material is conductive, reflective, and conductive. plus, its world-wide distribution means that it’s easily found and very inexpensive.

the back of the lamp reveal its origins 

all components necessary to build ‘noctambula’ are simple and can be easily found in most hardware stores. you’ll need three LEDs, two AA batteries, five push pins, one small magnet, a bit of tracing paper, and a paper clip — that’s all! cleverly using each layer of the material, users must remove bits of aluminum with a knife. once cut away, the remaining card and plastic will keep your circuit together. then push in the pins, connect the LEDs, put the batteries in their case and slide in a paperclip, presto. 

all necessary components

for the non-do-it-yourselfers out there, the studio has finished lights available through their website or designated distributors across europe. fattelo! encourages users to build one from a scratch, to customize it, scale it, and shape it as they please; then when confident, use the bits of knowledge learned to start other projects. ‘noctambula’ was presented during milan design week 2015. 

the laminated tetrapack body is also circuit that makes it work

the miniature lamp is powered with three LED lights 

the diffuser can be made out of common tracing paper

‘noctambula’ 

designed to enlighten without dazzle; perfect for the bedside 

cut tetrapack form — the material is commonly used in milk and juice containers 

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designboom has received this project through its ‘DIY submissions’ feature, which welcomes readers to submit their own work for publication. see more designboom readers submissions here.