Class
Objects & Spaces
Tools
Digital Fabrication
Year
2026
Raddish Lamp
Raphalume transforms food waste into light. Radish leaves were dried, bonded into translucent panels and set around a hidden LED, so they glow and reveal their structure.
Research & References
Research & References
Using Nir Meiri Studio’s Veggie Lights as inspiration and a reference point, the research explored how organic waste can become a light-transmitting material. Where their shades keep the leaf’s open, organic shape, this project moved toward an enclosed, geometric form, raising questions about adhesion, rigidity and how light passes through layered panels.
Using Nir Meiri Studio’s Veggie Lights as inspiration and a reference point, the research explored how organic waste can become a light-transmitting material. Where their shades keep the leaf’s open, organic shape, this project moved toward an enclosed, geometric form, raising questions about adhesion, rigidity and how light passes through layered panels.
Research & References
Using Nir Meiri Studio’s Veggie Lights as inspiration and a reference point, the research explored how organic waste can become a light-transmitting material. Where their shades keep the leaf’s open, organic shape, this project moved toward an enclosed, geometric form, raising questions about adhesion, rigidity and how light passes through layered panels.
Exploration
Exploration
The process began with sourcing leaves from a local grocer, choosing heads with large, intact outer leaves that would give the most usable surface. The leaves were separated, laid flat on parchment and dried slowly. Testing drying times showed how much moisture could be removed before the leaves turned brittle, while keeping the color and translucency that would carry light.
The process began with sourcing leaves from a local grocer, choosing heads with large, intact outer leaves that would give the most usable surface. The leaves were separated, laid flat on parchment and dried slowly. Testing drying times showed how much moisture could be removed before the leaves turned brittle, while keeping the color and translucency that would carry light.
Exploration
The process began with sourcing leaves from a local grocer, choosing heads with large, intact outer leaves that would give the most usable surface. The leaves were separated, laid flat on parchment and dried slowly. Testing drying times showed how much moisture could be removed before the leaves turned brittle, while keeping the color and translucency that would carry light.
Development
Development
Once dried, the leaves needed a way to hold together as flat, rigid panels. Several adhesion methods were tested, layering leaves onto clear backing sheets and bonding them with different adhesives. Each sample was judged on how well it held its shape, how visible the seams were, and how evenly light passed through the layers.
Once dried, the leaves needed a way to hold together as flat, rigid panels. Several adhesion methods were tested, layering leaves onto clear backing sheets and bonding them with different adhesives. Each sample was judged on how well it held its shape, how visible the seams were, and how evenly light passed through the layers.
Development
Once dried, the leaves needed a way to hold together as flat, rigid panels. Several adhesion methods were tested, layering leaves onto clear backing sheets and bonding them with different adhesives. Each sample was judged on how well it held its shape, how visible the seams were, and how evenly light passed through the layers.
Lamp Frame
Lamp Frame
An interior plywood frame was built to support the leaf panels and hide the lighting. Corner uprights hold the panels in place, while a central post carries the light source, with wiring threaded through a hole in the base. Early versions were taped together to test proportions and spacing before final assembly.
An interior plywood frame was built to support the leaf panels and hide the lighting. Corner uprights hold the panels in place, while a central post carries the light source, with wiring threaded through a hole in the base. Early versions were taped together to test proportions and spacing before final assembly.
Lamp Frame
An interior plywood frame was built to support the leaf panels and hide the lighting. Corner uprights hold the panels in place, while a central post carries the light source, with wiring threaded through a hole in the base. Early versions were taped together to test proportions and spacing before final assembly.
