Unfolding light

Illumination comes in many forms, and few are as attractive as this unfolding lamp. Clever use of common materials makes this a lighting element that really stands out from the crowd.

The Lumio, brainchild of designer Max Gunawan, is a portable lamp. It’s about the size of a book, that can unfold from its closed, book shape into a range of accordion-like shapes.

Its design consists of a laser-cut wood cover that’s combined with durable and water-resistant Tyvek for the ‘pages’.

Concealed within the folded textile pages are high-performance LEDs with an output of 500 lumen. Also enclosed in the design is a set of neodymium magnets. These allow the unfolding light to be ‘set’ in a particular shape, or to be affixed to metal objects.

The lamp turns on when the cover is opened, running on large internal lithium-ion batteries for up to 8 hours. The tyvek is naturally translucent, and works particularly well with the warm glow that these LEDs produce, which measures about 2700 K.

For the book cover, FSC-certified plywood with a natural veneer is used. Finishes are available in dark walnut, warm cherry and blonde maple woods.

This combination of smart finishes and clever technology is explained by the designer’s background. He spent over 10 years in architecture before launching Lumio as a brand in 2013. With the unfolding lamp, he presents a piece of architectural lighting design, scaled to the level of interior furnishing.

Images via the designer on his website. Watch his recent TEDx video here.