Image source: Bocci — 28 Series Pendant
© Bocci and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
28 Series Pendant
Hand-blown glass sphere whose recessed inclusions capture and diffuse light; every piece is unique.
165 × 165 × 165 mm
2009
Canada
Approx. $850 (reference price; varies by region and retailer)
Official product information
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Description
Overview
The 28 Series by Omer Arbel for Bocci is made with a glassblowing technique in which the glassblower varies air pressure and flow to shape recessed inclusions inside each sphere, which gather and scatter the light. The representative configuration here is 28.1, one hand-blown glass pendant fixed to a canopy; lamps and power supplies are included.
Construction
- Pendant: blown glass, a slightly distorted sphere with an interior landscape of satellite shapes and an opaque milk-glass diffuser around the lamp
- Suspension: braided metal coaxial cable site-adjustable, 3000 mm as standard and 30.5 m at most
- Canopy: steel, shallow or deep, finished in brushed nickel, black or white
- Glass colours: 70 colours, shown here in Clear
- Handmade by Bocci, so no two pendants are identical
Specifications
- Pendant ±Ø157–171 mm (nominal ±Ø165 mm); 28.1 canopy Ø116 mm; weight 1.3 kg
- Light source: 1 W LED at 2700K giving 100 lm (also 2500K and 3000K) or 20 W Xenon at 2600K giving 196 lm, on a 12 V supply
- Dimmable with ELV control; power supply built in; rated IP30
- Approvals: UL, cUL, CB, CE, UKCA, RCM
Story
Designing a system, not a form
Omer Arbel Office dates the 28 project to 2009 and describes it as part of its quest for specificity in manufacturing. Instead of designing a form, the studio designed a system that produces form: a method with loose parameters built into it, so that each iteration of the fabrication procedure gives a different shape. As a result, every 28 made is formally different from any other 28 in existence.
Inclusions of light
Bocci presents the technique as a departure from traditional glassblowing. The glassblower controls air pressure and flow to form recessed inclusions, and where those inclusions fall decides how the light is gathered and scattered; some colours combine transparency with opacity. The series has been used at monumental scale: for the Victoria and Albert Museum, 280 mouth-blown 28 spheres cascaded more than 30 metres from the vaulted ceiling on copper tube suspension.
