What it does
The light allows users to quickly and conveniently attach and array single-use plastic bottles around a small light. It encourages users to collect and salvage bottles from their immediate surroundings and turn them into something unique and beautiful.
Your inspiration
Single-use plastic bottles are an example of expendable products in almost every part of the world. They act as a global symbol of waste and pollution but they also act as a symbol of recycling and reuse. The aim for this project was not just to create a sustainable light, but to create a versatile system that users can use to reclaim common resources to create something unique.
How it works
The project is essentially a two-part enclosure for a standard E11 LED light bulb. The top part of the enclosure rests on the ballast with an opening for a cord that supports the weight of both the light and the maximum number of bottles one can attach. The bottom of the enclosure screws together with the top and alights to create a rough sphere with sixteen openings on extrusions from the center. Each of the openings is fitted with a thread that is designed by averaging common bottle cap threads from Dasani, Aquafina and Poland Springs water bottles. When turned on, the light illuminates the enclosure which is translucent to block overly-bright direct lighting, and the bottles surrounding it.
Design process
The concept originated as a napkin sketch which I drew after an event at my school provided bottled water and I saw the trash and recycling bins indiscriminately filled with plastic bottles. After visualizing how I wanted to arrange the bottles and roughly in what quantity, I collected and cleaned as many as I could and started studying them for connection points. I measured and modeled the bottle cap threads of first a single bottle type, then many. Next, I 3d printed my own bottle caps to test the tolerance of the different threads. Once the bottles were fitting well enough, I arrayed the thread pieces digitally, centering on the bulb. After 3d printing the two-piece enclosure, I wired an extra-long cord to the ballast and fitted the ballast to the top half of the enclosure.
How it is different
The project stands out among lighting in general in its combination of designed elements and ability to integrate found elements. Among other designs explicitly about reuse, the project takes great inspiration from Tejo Remy’s Milk Bottle Lamp and Ingo Maurer’s Campari Light. From these designs, the departure is in cost and lightness – using plastic instead of glass bottles allows for easier installation and less expensive hardware. Additionally, both examples are products which include the reused item, whereas the bottle thread lamp encourages users to find their own.
Future plans
The hope is to find a producer who can sustainably manufacture this piece and make it available to a wide market of users for a low cost. The long term goal is to see infinite variations, landscapes and personalities reflected in the choices and arrangements of bottles which create the lamps.
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