Output details

GUAU Lamp

The GUAU lamp is a research output developed by El Ultimo Grito, Hurtado's partnership, for a Spanish industrial client, Arturo Alvarez. The specification for this project involved developing a lamp which could be used in domestic or contract settings, for example in hotels, and which could be used to light whole spaces or confined areas, such as for reading. This meant designing a simple structure which can be turned around itself 360˚ combined with a 90˚in and out movement that gives a simple way to control the amount of light required. This was both an engineering and aesthetic challenge.

The GUAU lamp manages to have both an industrial and domestic appearance. This reflects the client’s current market while addressing their desire to shift into bulk contract business. Success in this project involved design theory and practice, materials science and manufacturing, and theoretical work on the use of light in a wide range of business and leisure contexts.

The GUAU’s flat appearance is due to its use of light-emitting diodes. While LEDs are now in common use, this was one of their earliest applications. At the time, LEDs where used just to replace other light bulbs, but lamps were not being designed taking on board this technical innovation. GUAU manages to exploit the new possibilities of this technology, and by doing so it questions the typology of the lamps and the way in which industry and the market adapts to such cultural changes.

The lamp was the 2010 winner of the prestigious German Red Dot award for industrial design. Its development is an example of Hurtado’s commitment to practice-based design theory.