BOWSTRING LIGHTDINING CHANDELIER

materials : wood . aluminum . wire . low-voltage lamps

JDS : design . fabrication administration . assembly . installation

The dining room cabinets push ambient light into the space from a long boxy void above. The dining chandelier figuratively brings that ambient light down to the task at hand. The fixture’s delicate frame gives form to the skin, and the translucent skin gives form to the light.

The simplicity of the electrical design designates dual function for the wires. The same wires that carry the featherweight fixture carry electricity to it as well.

Some five years prior to this commission, I was deeply moved by a Martin Puryear exhibit that greatly impacted the conception of this piece. Most notably, the fixture combines two primary characteristics of Puryear’s body of work: a wooden form which at first appears solid + a translucent skin which reveals an internal structure.

While employed full-time at Max Levy’s office, I worked on the design development and construction drawings for this house. Almost a year later after having begun my own full-time design practice, Max and the client very graciously asked that I’d design a chandelier to go over the dining table.