Proof that a material doesn’t necessarily provide constraints to a design process, Dasein’s lighting designs are unconventional, to say the least. They feel like they should be made of metal tubing, be plastered with chrome, and find themselves somewhere in a billionaire’s space-mansion, but Dasein’s lighting products combine that futuristic appeal with warm lights and familiar materials, like pinewood ply, leather, and fixture details that give it, for the lack of a better term, neo-rustic appeal… maybe a billionaire’s holiday home in the Bahamas.
The way DASEIN looks at form and its relationship with materials is complex, almost comparable to Gerrit Rietveld and how he had a way of uplifting materials with his non-traditional ahead-of-time approach to form. DASEIN’s series of award-winning lamps and home-decor are arguably just as modern, complementing homes by and giving them their conversation-starter.
DASEIN’s products are all manufactured with a keen eye for perfection, executed by highly skilled professionals. All products strive to make as much use of eco-friendly materials as possible, and require little to no maintenance. It’s difficult to tell if the design informs the manufacturing process, or vice-versa, but Dasein’s products, the Monday Lamp, for instance, boast of an unusual appeal that feels less like lighting and more like an abstract artpiece. The lamp, which comes with an off-center design, can be height adjusted using winged screws. It comes with a hollow wooden body, and switches things up by using a dome-shaped reflector piece that sits in front of the numb instead of behind it, giving the lamp a diffused halo, rather than a focused beam. The absence of buttons indicates at the product’s commitment to looking like an abstract art installation instead of a ‘product with functional details’. The Surplace builds on the aesthetic set by Monday, but creates a lamp that visually feels like it’s floating in midair. This precarious balance helps uplift a room, almost literally as most furniture tends to surrender to the laws of gravity, while the Surplace chooses not to!
DASEIN’s products almost deliberately choose to look distinctly unique. It’s almost impossible to tell where each lamp or table’s inspiration comes from, although Kristof mentions the Surplace and Monday lamp-modules are inspired by bicycle lights. This reinterpretation of retro with unusual geometry is what helps DASEIN’s products blur the line between design/decor and expressive art.
Designer: Kristof De Bock
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Trecento Lamp
Trecento is the period between the Gothic and the Renaissance times. Gothic art wanted to be as realistic as possible; in the renaissance there were those extra accents. Additional folds were carved into the clothing, muscles slightly larger.
Dasein Products love “form follows function”, but with a “personal touch”. A potential conflict is therefore just around the corner. They constantly weigh up whether certain considerations are justified. In the design process of this lamp more than usual.
That is why they have chosen the name Trecento. It is partly a time reference and a reference to the product, the design process and/or a feeling than they have of it. The lamp is made of wood with a S14 light inside, the hanging supports are cow leather.
Surface Lamp
The Surplace lamp is an ode to the lamp on the bikes that are well known and hated by the 40+ generation. The dynamo made your legs feel like exploding while standing still.
Surplace is also a term that is used in track cycling. Mostly in duals where one dares the colleagues’ nerves. You can see how the name covers the design well.
The Flying Surplace is the hanging variant of the Surplace.
Monday Lamp
The initial idea was to get rid of the standard standing or hanging position of a lamp. They were looking for a new starting point and let the form of the product start from there. This lamp is tensed between ceiling and floor but is still easy to move.
1982 Lamp
1982 was named after the year that Spielberg released the movie E.T and the world got to know the cute alien.
Meanwhile Lamp
The Meanwhile is a robust, self-standing 2-heading lamp. This object is completely made of plywood that is glued under high pressure.
Planck Table
Planck time (or quantum time) is the smallest time unit, basically used in science. And so it is an obvious title for this coffee table due it’s construction and size.
Planck is a movable table on wheels made of glued planks. The surfaces are sandpapered and treated with a matt and very strong varnish. There are 2 levels -since the inside of the table is hollow – which is very practical for placing magazines or plaids.
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