One scarcely notices the white, powder-soft pipes running along the conduits of the exposed ceiling as they enter the gallery space. With a click, light flows as water, proving what appeared to be opaque - translucent. High intensity LED’s shining along Lumas’ inner lengths transform it into glowing ribbons. Visitors follow the bands of light as they writhe and twist through space, emanating lucent ambiance from above. They turn down a corridor leading to the exhibit, over which Lumas’ subtle nature ends showering the room with pools of bright light.

Lumas’ adaptability begins with the versatile nature of clear PVC. Each length of pipe can be cut, heat-bent at 225° F, and finished to virtually any desired shape. The shapes are sandblasted into translucency and are ready to be arranged on-site.

Lumas is available either with threaded end-pieces for multiple reconfigurations or can be solvent cemented in permanent arrangements. Each connection piece is hung by a glass-bead blasted stainless steel tie, which concurrently runs power to the dimmable 12-LED MR-11 lamps shining within Lumas. Scalability is made practically limitless by the modular system of piping and connections.

Beyond the beauty, Lumas is sustainable. Clear PVC plumbing is found where visual monitoring of processes is critical, such as food and pharmaceutical plants, laboratories, hospitals, chemical installations, and research centers. When such facilities are renovated or demolished, the clear PVC pipes are saved from the landfill and recycled into a new purpose.

According to studies contracted by the Environmental Protection Agency, material waste from the construction, renovation, or demolition of buildings accounts for over 1/3 of the trash consigned to landfills per year. To combat this huge source of pollution we designers must think as creatively about potential beauties in discarded materials as we do in new technological solutions.

Lumas’ ultimate flexibility can suit any one’s mood or lifestyle by lacing rooms with soothing tones or washing walls with bright contrasts and sharp shadows. Lumas is modeled and crafted to perfectly suit one’s personal sensibility and individual space.

© 2010 ore design and technology