”Concrete Light” is a lighting fixture created by Californian designers Zhoxin Fan and Qianqian Xu, and is the first prototype of their “Concrete Light City” series. The aim of the work is to bring some warmth to cold, raw materials, inspired by the cold concrete forests of our cities and the warm natural light that comes from the sun shining during the day.
The existence of concrete itself brings a feeling of cold, but light always brings warmth to people, both mentally and physically. The contrast between cold and warm is the key to this design. After numerous material tests, the designers settled on optical fiber – a thin, translucent, flexible fiber with a glass core through which light can be transmitted with minimal loss of intensity. The advantage of this material is that the light transmission function inside the optical fiber is not impaired when surrounded by concrete.
To make the concrete even more special, the designers added sand from San Diego to the mix—within a 30-mile radius of the coastline, beaches can have sand in three different colors: white, yellow, and black. That’s why the concrete finish is available in three natural shades.
“When we light concrete lamps on the beach after sunset, the light patterns on the surface are both subtle and intense, wrapped in the beach and ocean, bringing a deep power to the eyes and mind through light,” say the designers.
designboom received this project from our DIY section, where we invite readers to submit their own work for publication. Click here to see more reader-created projects.
It’s happening! Florim and Matteo Thun, in collaboration with Sensorirre, explore the architectural potential of one of the oldest materials: clay, through a sophisticated tactile language.
Post time: May-12-2025