Light As Sculpture
Product Design
2025
University
Prof. Priscilla Lui
Lumina emerged from exploring acrylic's light-transmitting properties and modular assembly systems. A floor lamp that celebrates the material's natural ability to channel light upward, creating illuminated halos at each tube's edge. The varying heights of acrylic tubes and flexibility of arranging different modules of the wooden base transform functional lighting into sculptural presence.
Designed for commercial spaces such as lounges, exhibitions, and halls, Lumina offers ambient illumination while inviting viewers to observe light as a material phenomenon, where transparency and edge-glow create ethereal visual poetry. (Images are generated by Gemini)
Week one: I studied forms and structures. Starting with sketches, then made quick prototypes to test concepts.
I narrowed down to exploring two directions: flat-pack assembly and handheld lighting.
Initially, I was focusing on handheld designs, but something interesting happened here: light transmits upward, illuminating the acrylic tube edges. This became my design focus.
I wanted a base that could puzzle together, allowing different configurations. Through study, I realised that precise spacing between units and rounded edges are crucial for interlocking.
A small-scale prototype was built using acrylic tubes and a 3D printed base to test the concept at hand.
I tested different diameters of tubes and arrangements of the base: (1) with 80mm tubes in a snake-like arrangement, and (2) with 40mm tubes in a circular layout. Finally, I chose the middle ground: 60mm diameter tubes in a snake arrangement, enabling the puzzle-based system.
The prototype was later tested to compare the effects with and without diffusing paper. The paper helped soften the output and distribute light more evenly across the tube's ring.
Lumina transforms light into something you want to reach out and touch.
Rings of warm light appear to float mid-air within slender acrylic tubes, suspended in stillness yet radiating quiet energy. The effect is meditative, each glowing halo casting soft reflections that multiply across the surface, turning a simple lamp into a living sculptural moment.
