It’s a wash basin, it’s a lamp, holy crap it’s both. This series, from designers Masahiro Minami (Renca and Suirin) and Michio Akita (Keishou Circle and Square), is being produced in collaboration by Souhougama – the company who owns the patent on the ceramic light transmitting technology.
These luminous basins are of course lit with LED. I mean, how could anything this cool nowadays NOT be lit with LED?
(Hopefully that came out as sarcastically as I meant it…)
From the Masahiro Minami website on Renca and Suirin:
RENCA
A translucent ceramic washbowl was born by a translucnet ceramic.
The appearance which shows up with light makes you feel it’s godliness of lotus bloom floating on water.
The shape made the best of different thickness for shadow of light has a deep appearance.
The design with a tense and the shadow reflected by a deep sculpture make you feel as if it is a ceramic jewel.
…
SUIRIN
A translucent ceramic washbowl was born by a translucnet ceramic.
A motif of this design is a spiral of light.
A feature of this design is a line drawn with a single stroke of the brush following an outline of the square and dropping into center.
There is no design that inside of the washbowl is three-dimentional and elaborate design until now.
This stuff is awesome — from the Souhougama website:
What is SHIGARAKI translucent ceramic?
(china and porcelain of translucency : patent application 2009-256638)Translucent ceramics was born in Shigaraki, Shiga prefecture where a producing district of ceramics and one of the Japanese six ancient kilns exist. Originally, ceramics don’t allow light to pass through, however, this clay has a special quality which allows light to pass through even if it is thick. SOUHOUGAMA has developed translucent ceramic washbowls for the first time in the world with the translucent ceramics of a patented technology.
There are 3 features for the ceramic of Shigaraki broadly.
・three times the translucency
Even the thick ceramic transmit light. A thickness of section is 7~8mm.
・good formability
We can mold it with a potter’s wheel, forming by hand and by casting.
It also doesn’t change in large when it’s burnt, so it’s possible to use glaze.
・It’s possible to knead.
The coefficient of thermal expansion and coefficient of contraction are close to a usual china clay when it’s burnt, so it’s possible to knead with a opaque china clay.→It’s possible to express a pattern like stripes and marbles.
We are developing new products to use this clay in Souhougama.
…and we here at JimOnLight.com look forward to seeing what new products come out in the works at Souhougama!
