Gold Lighting Products and Fixtures Design · 2021
Obj01 Lamp
by Manu Bano
- A' Design Award 2021 Gold Winner in Lighting Products and Fixtures Design
- Awarded April 15, 2021
- CLIENT: Manu BaÑÓ
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 59,877
- Verification code C40970CD2A · Verify this award
About Obj01 Lamp
Obj01 is a table lamp made from a single sheet of raw metal, which can be steel, stainless steel or brass. The sheet is cut by laser and assembled by hand with a rubber hammer, without welded joints. Simple geometric shapes form the lamp: a rectangle, a circle and a cylinder that holds the LED light source. The circle, once cut out, becomes the shade. The metal surface is polished by hand and sealed with wax. An integrated touch dimmer uses the conductive body, so touching any side switches the light and sets the brightness. The lamp measures 38 x 22 x 7 cm.
Positioned within the contemporary discourse surrounding the intersection of functional object and sculptural form, this lighting design by MANU BAÑÓ demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of how elemental geometric relationships can transform utilitarian necessity into contemplative presence. The work engages with a rich lineage of designer-makers who have explored the poetic potential of industrial materials and processes, where the vocabulary of machined metal, precise tolerances, and geometric purity serves expressive rather than merely functional ends. The compositional intelligence evident in the relationship between the rectangular panel and the circular void suggests awareness of classical proportional systems while the pivoting bowl element introduces temporal and interactive dimensions that extend the object beyond static appreciation. Technical accomplishment manifests in the seamless integration of mechanical function with visual refinement, where the adjustable illumination angle transforms the user into active participant in shaping both light quality and formal composition. The warm amber glow emanating from within the brushed metal bowl creates an almost alchemical transformation of industrial material into intimate luminous presence, suggesting how thoughtful design intervention can imbue manufactured objects with qualities of contemplative warmth. Thematic resonances extend toward considerations of celestial phenomena, the circular aperture and hemispheric form evoking solar or lunar associations while the tilted angle suggests orbital mechanics or eclipse states. One might observe how this work invites reflection on the relationship between human agency and designed environments, the hand's presence in the composition emphasizing that objects achieve their fullest meaning through use and interaction rather than passive display alone.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- OBJ-01 is an understandable simple gesture. At a glance, it reveals its material, its manufacturing process, its function and its use. A plate of raw metal cut by laser and assembled by hand with a rubber hammer. Its size responds to the modulation and format of the material in its commercial standards. Pure geometric figures build the lighting fixture; a rectangle, a circle and a cylinder at the back which contains the LED light spot. The circle, when cut out, adopts the function of a screen.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- Dimensions: 38 x 22 x 7 cm
Materials: Steel, Stainless steel or Brass + LED light + custom electronics. - Production Technology
- OBJ-01 is made out of sheet of raw metal, that can be steel, stainless steel or brass, cut by laser and assembled by hand with a rubber hammer and no welding joinery. Its size responds to the modulation and format of the material in its commercial standards. It is polished by hand and sealed with wax.
- Design Challenge
- As a product designed and produced during 2020, the biggest challenge was to do everything from home. I am used to working with my hands and visiting many workshops. In this case I had to work with processes and materials I already knew because experimenting became impossible. Eventually I bought some machines to be able to bring the production to my home and to be able to control the quality by myself.
- Project Duration
- I designed the first OBJ-01 prototype during the pandemic in Mexico City in 2020 and I have been producing new pieces since then.
- Operation Flow
- OBJ-01 has an integrated custom touch dimmer. As metal is conductive, this system takes advantage of its properties, so when you touch the lamp in any side it turns on/off. The user can also control the LED brightness by tapping the lamp several times. This makes makes for me the object to look more sculptural as you don't need a black metal box with a dimmer close to the lamp to be able to turn it on, it's just the lamp over your sideboard.
- Research
- On this occasion, there was practically no research, the design process was an exercise of intuition. I decided to reuse the cardboard from online purchases I made during the pandemic and use it as material for mockups. I started working with this cardboard and a knife cutter making different cuts and folds to the cardboard to transform a 2D sheet into a 3D object with different uses. My intention from the beginning was to achieve a small object that I could send flat packed all over the world, so starting the process from a flat sheet was important.
- Inspiration
- In my day to day life I visit many workshops. In this occasion, as I could not go out to be inspired due to the pandemic, the challenge was to face a blank sheet of paper. I started with complex designs that I gradually discarded due to the impossibility of going to the production workshops. I ended up stripping away the complexity of the design and keeping the essentials. I decided to work just with one material and one industrial process which I was familiar with; metal and laser cutting.