I like to ask questions through the work I am doing. Questions of space, form, structure, light and geometry seem to persist as lines of inquiry. Being an architect and educator gives me a chance to explore these things with a diverse set of collaborators equally obsessed with making things. I am an Associate Professor at CCA as well as Building Technology coordinator. I write and lecture on issues of representation and digital technology. I am principal and cofounder of Visible Research Office, a multidisciplinary firm based in San Francisco. Through VRO I research new fabrication techniques and innovative materials and their application in the construction process testing out the research at varying scales.
Topo Lamp uses a conical Mobius strip as a starting point to explore the shaping of light through the interaction of form and materiality. The desk lamp is made of three parts: wood veneer to shape and mold light, a stainless-steel armature for structure, and an LED fixture to supply the light. The circular shape and volumetric sweep of the wood veneer takes turns alternately concealing and revealing the light source as one moves around the fixture. A stainless-steel armature helps give structural support in the form of legs, a frame to attach the veneer, and hollow tubes to conceal electrical cords. The wood emits a gentle glow where it wraps the LED fixture and directs light down the face of the veneer as it curves around to meet itself.
Stephen Barr’s 1964 book “Experiments in Topology” is the starting point for the Topo Lamp series. Paper models derived from the topological surface described in the book have been reinterpreted as light modulation devices as they trace the volumetric relationships between a Klein bottle, a projective plane, and a conical Mobius strip. Topological surfaces have been domesticated for home use as a series of light fixtures: a hanging pendant light, a desk lamp, and floor lamp. Two flat wood veneer disks take on three-dimensional form when combined to make the projective plane floor lamp. Alternating colors allow a clear reading of this elusive form which conceals and reveals the light as one moves around the fixture.
