Unveiled at IMM Cologne 2010, Lantern is an unclassifiable lamp designed by Mathias Hahn for Ligne Roset. Hahn likes function, but he also likes humor and a dash of the unexpected (also see his work with Okay Studio, such as M Trestle Table). Lantern is a floor/suspension light: using a clamp mechanism and a cord that moves along the center of the lamp, Lantern “can be adjusted in height between floor and ceiling.”

Lantern. Designed by Mathias Hahn for Ligne Roset.

Like drawing a blind, the action required for moving Lantern is to pull down with one hand and/or slide up with the other–sort of like feeding climbing rope to someone on belay. Move the light to the height needed next to a reading chair or lift it to the ceiling for generalized overhead illumination–it’s a task lamp, floor lamp, and ceiling-mounted lamp all at once.

The Lantern lamps are made of spun aluminum, copper, and glass–materials that should last (also something Hahn takes into consideration as he is against “fast, ephemeral product consumption”). I have gone on at length about my love for exposed cords, especially if they’re red or orange or, as with Lantern, green (for example, see the lamp made entirely from a cord, Coil Lamp). The transparency of the mechanism here is lovely. Hahn explains, “The configuration of lamp shade and cable utilises the geometry of the production processes and puts the traditional materiality into a new aesthetic and functional context.” See how Lantern works at the AD Home Design Show 2010 going on from March 18-21 in New York.