the concept of the "roto-lamp" project focuses on re-use and sustainability by taking a product/material at the end of its use and giving it a second life. at the centre of the design is a pair of salvaged rear stabilising rotors blades from a helicopter. the blades are made form a very high grade aluminium over a composite honeycomb structure, making them very strong and lightweight, but also difficult to recycle.
when found; the rotor blades had visible signs of damage, anodised and coated in black paint. after a number of designs the decision was made to use them for a lighting project, to serve as a reflector/ lampshade. the idea was to backlight and arrange the blades in an upright orientation to fully display and celebrate their beauty and craftmanship.
the first job was to strip the paint and anodising, then polish the the aluminium to a mirror finish and waxed to keep their sheen. a pair of "shoes" were made out of milled aluminium to hold the blades, each having a cylindrical connector rod set on a ball bearing within the base; this allowed the blades to be rotated with ease. a strip light was used as the light source, housed within an aluminium tube which was sandblasted to give a contrasting and dull appearance paired with the blades. for the base, iroko was chosen [at the time of its making iroko was a sustainable alternative to teak] for its rich, dark colouring and weight. the base was was then shaped to reflect the turn radius of the rotor blades.
the finished design is an interactive and atmospheric lighting piece, with a strong message of how we can give objects and materials another chance. the dented and damaged state of the salvaged rotor blades gives the light an interesting dappled, "water like" effect, that can be dimmed or redirected by rotating the blades.
[please click on images for full screen view]
