Luminairies

Concept:

Luminairies are small lights that illuminate when the wind is blowing. They are meant to be installed in the trees in Union Sq as an urban intervention, but have many other applications. By infusing the currents of air in the park with actual electrical current, luminairies visualize the natural climate to the park’s visitors. It is my goal that this fusion of electric and organic will make passersby more aware of the ebb and flow of their natural surroundings.

Presentation:

View my presentation for this project here, or view the documentation below.

Inspiration:

For this project, I knew I needed a lo-fi, cheap way to make wind-reactive LEDs, so I looked to Ken Murphy’s Blinky Bugs for inspiration. I altered the design to suit the needs of my project, developed a prototype and tested it.

Materials:

Ultrabright LED
.25mm guitar string
22 guage wire
3V coin cell battery
Scotch tape
Florist tape
Hot glue

This project is intended to be implemented on a large scale, so I tried to keep costs to a minimum. The coin cell batteries are the most expensive component, but if bought in bulk each luminairy can be made for about $2.

Process:

Step 1: I had to diffuse the LEDs with hot glue to give them a softer glow. I taped the LED to a pencil, covered it in hot glue, then turned it to coat the LED evenly. Here’s a video:

Step 2: I had previously braided 22 guage wire using a power drill in the class lab. I cut a small piece of the wire and looped it around the guitar string to secure it.

Step 3: I made the positive terminal of the LED into a loop. The guitar string will rest in between the loop and will touch it when the wind blows, thereby completing the circuit.

Step 4: I taped the negative terminal of the LED to the negative side of the battery, and the guitar string to the positive side. Then I fit the guitar string inside the looped LED wire and made sure the guitar string rested right in the middle of the loop.

Step 5: For the purpose of making a lasting prototype, I hot-glued the leaves of my synthetic branch to the guitar string. Were these to be installed into the trees, I would substitute this process with a real leaf and some tape.

The single luminairies are now complete. They are ready to be installed into the trees with florist’s tape. For the purpose of prototyping and testing, I taped a few to an artificial branch.

Testing:

Here is a video of an initial test of a luminairy out my window, followed by the final test once the luminairies had been affixed to the artificial branch. I tested the branch by placing it in front of my air conditioner.