DESIGN ERWAN BOUROULLEC, 2025
Maap by Erwan Bouroullec is a wall-mounted lamp of considerable size. It is composed of a light element equipped with four LED bulbs and a cross-shaped iron support that magnetically secures the lamp body – an unusual casing made of Tyvek®. This casing is available in three sizes (Wall 1, Wall 2 and Wall 3), depending on the number of light modules mounted on the wall. At full extension, Maap can cover up to 3,2 metres in width, while its height remains constant at 155 cm.
When crumpled, Tyvek® takes on unique, organic forms, giving users complete creative freedom to shape and configure its appearance.
“Paper”, explains Bouroullec, “was the starting point, but it proved too soft, too fragile. Tyvek®, with its strength and resilience, became the perfect choice, allowing the lamp to endure and evolve over time.”
The Tyvek® casing is attached to the metal frame, or ‘skeleton’, using large magnetic buttons (Dots), aligned with four magnetic points at each light source. Beyond their functional role, these buttons become a further expressive detail, as the designer explains: “With a kind of magic, these Dots subtly fix the casing in place and allow for endless reshaping. Maap could also be called Maak, as it is rooted in a simple gesture: ManMade. The installation responds to our innate inclination to create and shape objects in response to their context. It embraces our attraction to free forms, which can evoke countless interpretations. Maap resembles a map, a visualised tide landscape, a vector field, or even an extreme close-up of cellular structures. It is the outcome of making: partially uncontrolled, instinctive, and alive.”
Maap is a visually impactful lamp. Like a large cloud, it diffuses light across a broad surface: the source seems to emanate not from a single point but from the entire illuminated area. It fills the space with a soft, ambient glow like a window, a glass wall, or sunlight itself, creating a sensation that is both enveloping and atmospheric, spreading gently and evenly throughout the space.
Materials: Tyvek®, steel.
Light source: LED bulb E27, 8000 lm (1 unit with 4 bulbs), 2700 K, CRI 80, dimmable.
