Project Overview

The Pivot Sconce gets its name from the adjustability of its spun aluminum shade. The geometry of the shade is designed to reflect the vectors of the supporting structure. The cast collar is a complex but essential component, providing an elegant transition from each shade to the more delicate lines of its supporting arm.

Organisation

Brendan Ravenhill Studio

Team

Brendan Ravenhill Studio specializes in furniture, lighting, and product design. We’re located in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, where we work to strike the perfect balance between material, function and form in our designs. Our work is devoid of excess and ornament, striving for a logical celebration of physics, material and craft. We find great reward in making beautiful things and are proud to build all our pieces in the USA.

Project Brief

The Pivot Sconce is a sculptural celebration of structure. The design is as much about how the lamp is supported as it is about the light that it casts. Streamlined and minimal, the Pivot Sconce is both strikingly new and timeless.

Project Innovation/Need

The Pivot Sconce is a new take on Jean Prouvé’s classic Potence Lamp. By using the fixture’s electrical cord in place of the guy wire the Pivot Sconce reduces the parts needed and the result is a pleasing symmetry between the structural members. The sconce utilizes the principle of tensegrity, or floating compression, where the compression of the steel arm resists the tension of the cloth electrical cord to hold the spun aluminum shade aloft. A cast collar cradles the shade and allows it to rotated to provide light where you need it.

Design Challenge

This lamp was born from a desire to create a swinging arm fixture which could house both incandescent as well as energy efficient bulbs. Loving the simplicity and function of Prouvé’s Potence Lamp, the challenge became how to innovate on it and make it contemporary. The Pivot Sconce reflects it's past influences while firmly placing itself in the present.

Sustainability

All our products are built using a network or talented fabricators located in and around Los Angeles. Working with local fabricators allows us to have a deep understanding of what goes into our products and we often adjust our designs based on what we learn through conversations with these craftsmen. One of the factors we often consider before designing is the size of the material blanks that will be used to make the part. Factoring this in to our design process allows for economical use of materials and a reduction of waste.

We also pay particularly close attention to structure and form, never making a a chair leg or lamp arm bigger than it needs to be, and trying to use all parts to their fullest. This results in designs that are both light in appearance and physical weight. Lastly we try and design all our lighting to break down for shipping, saving on costs and reducing our carbon footprint.