“Double Overhead” is the title of this installation designed and fabricated by students of a design studio at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Led by Professor Kyle Talbott, the task was to explore emergent qualities in ordinary building materials at full scale. The team of young designers opted for different kinds of wood. From the surfer’s lexicon of maritime terminology, “Double Overhead” is used to describe a wave that is two times the size of the surfer’s body. As a lighting structure for a small coffee bar in post-industrial Milwaukee, the title conjures visions of the nearby Lake Michigan shoreline. The parametrically-designed fixture houses a traditional track system and responds to the physical and dynamics of the Roast Coffee Co. service counter. As light sources the students used thirty-nine ten watt CFL pendants which they claimed they chose for energy efficiency reasons. The materiality of the installation is reflected in the shop’s vintage style. Salvaged tube steel creates a skeleton that supports a cladding of reclaimed woods, including oak from a 150-year-old church and pine from a 100-year-old barn. Strands of recycled transparent materials run concurrently with the wood. These glowing capillaries constrict where a muted ambiance is desired and swell where bright task light is preferred. Creative work indeed, which may have been even more successful and sustainable had the students been introduced to LED technology …

Project team:          

Client: Roast Coffee Co., Milwaukee/USA.  

Design and realization: Grit Tank, project team from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee/USA.  

Photos: Grit Tank