Steel marbles within the Lucie Le Guen-designed Mercure Lamp act as a light switch – when the lamp is tilted to one side, they slide towards the base, making a connection between the two metals and completing the current needed to illuminate the bulb.
This movement makes the inner workings of the object visible, and the French designer said that in an era of touch command, it was “necessary to understand the importance of the intention of gestures and how to best design for them”.
The Mercure lamp is inspired by the mercury tilt switch, inside of which a drop of mercury switches the light on and off depending on its inclination.
A one-off project, the lamp will be on display at the Biennale International Design Saint-Etienne from 12 March to 12 April.
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