These stunning LED lamps inflate like balloons

stunning led lamps inflate like balloons blow 1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Generally speaking, most light fixtures are built out of sturdy, stable material to support a the lightbulbs inside of them — but now that LED lighting is on the rise, heavy materials like wood, metal, and glass aren’t always necessary anymore. Case in point: these amazing inflatable lamps from German designer Theo Möller.

Making their debut at Milan design week earlier this month, Möller’s Blow Lamps rely on air pressure supplied by your lungs to stay rigid. They’re constructed out of an LED strip housed inside a thin polyethylene envelope with a valve at one end. When the air inside the envelope reaches sufficient pressure, the valve is forced closed, leaving a tube stiff enough to support the weight of the LED strip inside

Once the lamps are fully inflated, all that’s left to do is plug them in and hang them. A reflective aluminum coating on the inside serves to reflect and diffuse the light from the LEDs, while small magnets hidden in the interior chamber allow the lights to easily be affixed to ceiling beams, walls, or floor stands. They can also be hung from strings to give the appearance of floating. After installation, the lamps can be deflated by inserting a straw into the valve to let the air out, making it a breeze to pack them away when it comes time to move.

Unfortunately the lamps are still in the prototype stage and aren’t quite available for purchase yet, but Möller has expressed interest in mass producing them in the near future. Given that they’re made from extremely simple materials, the lamps would be easy to manufacture on a large scale, which would help keep them affordable. Additionally, since when fully deflated the lamps take up a tiny amount of space, shipping would also be simple and inexpensive.

For the time being, however, Moller is continuing to explore to lamp shapes and designs, so you’ll just have to stick with your boring traditional lamps for now. Find out more here.

[images via Dezeen]

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