Product news: Berlin-based product designer Dirk Winkel created this slim black desk lamp to show that plastic can be as solid and tactile as metal or wood.

"One of the greatest things I was missing in typical designs made of plastic was a significant impression of substance, of materiality," said Dirk Winkel. "Therefore the next step could only be a design that celebrated the actual material as it is, straightforward, solid and honest."

Created for Swedish lighting brand Wästberg, the Winkel w127 is made from a fibreglass-reinforced bioplastic containing 60% castor oil from the castor plant, making it recyclable and more environmentally sound than crude oil-based plastics.

The lamp also has a multichip LED, which distributes light more evenly than separate LEDs, and comes with either a flat base or a clamp base.

It was launched at Orgatec in Cologne last month, where Danish studio KiBiSi showed an adjustable desk that's a cross between a car jack and an ironing board, and Dutch architects UNStudio launched clusters of triangular tessellating sofas. See all our stories about products launched at Orgatec.

Other lamps designed for Wästberg include architect David Chipperfield's brass and rubber task light and designer Inga Sempé's bowl-shaped LED pendant lamps.

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Here's some more information from the designer:

Designer's statement

When I started thinking about the design, I had the desire to challenge the perception and the common preconceptions of a material that is normally known to people just as ‘plastics’. I knew that I would like to go further than what’s the norm not only in terms of function and the look, but about the feel and tactility of the material as well. Soon it was clear that one of the greatest things I was missing in typical designs made of plastic was a significant impression of substance, of materiality. Therefore, the next step could only be a design that celebrated the actual material as it is, straightforward, solid and honest, with a concept of hiding nothing, but showing its innermost values to the outside. No second skin, no paint coat, the true, bold material in its pure form.

Technically, there was an equal desire to go for a high performance material that delivers the mechanical strength and rigidity for this product to last a long life while offering the possibility of doing large, solid cross-sections which are normally next to impossible in our chosen process of injection molding. The material that was finally fulfilling all these needs in an excellent way is a new development, giving us the desired tactility, the needed technical characteristics and the freedom of design.

Last but not least, making products out of plastic also involves being conscious of the responsibility for our environment. And the chosen material does not stop here: in this lamp, we are using a plastic that is based on over 60% biologically sourced material, which is castor oil, taken from the castor plant which does not compete with worldwide food production due to different agricultural requirements. Therefore the design makes a step ahead by setting the course for producing independently of mineral oil based plastics.

Technical description

Winkel w127 is manufactured of solid fiberglass reinforced biopolyamide. The material is recyclable. The mechanical solution is based on micro gas springs, widely used in the automotive and electronics industries. The gas springs have a lifespan of more than 50,000 compressions and give exceptionally good movement patterns. The shade is adjustable for universal direction of the light. The light technology is based on a highly energy-efficient multichip LED solution. This consists of a cluster of diodes instead of several separate diodes. By using multichip LED, so called multi-shadows are avoided and a very even light pattern is achieved. The diode is cooled efficiently with an advanced cooling construction. The fixture is equipped with both a reflector and a diffuser lens, to give optimal light distribution and light quality. In addition, there is a glare protection system to minimize both direct and indirect glare. Winkel w127 is equipped with a seamless dimmer that is operated by an IR-switch; a built-in timer automatically turns the lamp off after five hours. Winkel w127 is avaiable with base, clamp or pin.

Technical information
Material: fiberglass reinforced biopolyamide
Light source: 1–9 W LED
Light output: lm/W 84
Colour temperature: 3,000 K
CRI: > 90
LED life-span: 50,000 h