In 2018, we explored how the home-tech market is shaking things up in a bid to de-tangle and de-clutter the household. Our findings highlighted a shift in interest towards ‘flexi-tech’, multi-functional products making our digital domesticity easier, tidier and, above all else, healthier.
Romanian product designer Vlad Iorgulescu sees the link between technology and wellness fundamental to modern home product design. This relationship lies at the crux of his latest venture, Oupio: the merging of a high fidelity speaker with a smart lamp, optimised to brighten our indoor lives with ‘human-centric’ lighting and quality sound.
‘Since we spend most of our time indoors, we end up relying on artificial lighting to light up our spaces,’ he explains. ‘The ways in which we’ve adapted our lighting ends up confusing our body’s response to light and our circadian rhythms, leading to mood changes, insomnia and tiredness. Oupio is here to fix that.’
Guided by Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design and the motto ‘own less, do more’, Iorgulescu housed the two pieces of sensory tech together within a spherical shell of white opal glass, anodized aluminium and wood. Both the visual and sonic experiences on offer can be shaped via a minimal touch interface located around the central speaker ring (change parameters with one finger for sound, two or more for light), which makes moulding the perfect indoor ambience a simple affair.
Both technologies are similarly designed with utility and calm in mind. Twenty high-powered LEDs offer everything between cold, crisp hues to calming mellow yellows on the lighting front, and have been designed to last a minimum of 10,000 hours. On the sonic side of the coin, audio can only be streamed via Bluetooth. Streamlined Balanced Mode Radiator technology and a pair of co-axial drivers offer a frequency range of 65Hz to 20KHz with a fairly loud top volume of around 90dB.
Oupio can be fitted anywhere around the house, either acting as a tabletop companion or providing overhead sound and light when hung from the ceiling. ‘We need hybrid products with mixed functionality,’ states Iorgulescu. ‘By doing this, we declutter our living spaces, have a smaller carbon footprint and pay less while still maintaining the functionality we desire.’
‘We need to find ways of making life indoors better for our health, mood and wellbeing. This is Oupio’s mission and we’re only just beginning.’
INFORMATION
-
The Sialia 45 cruiser is a welcome addition to the new generation of electric boatsPolish shipbuilder Sialia Yachts has launched the Sialia 45, a 14m all-electric cruiser for silent running
-
Tokyo design studio We+ transforms microalgae into coloursCould microalgae be the sustainable pigment of the future? A Japanese research project investigates
-
What to see at London Craft Week 2025With London Craft Week just around the corner, Wallpaper* rounds up the must-see moments from this year’s programme
-
The Fender American Ultra II combine made-in-the-US quality with contemporary techA deluge of new products from Fender shows the iconic guitar manufacturer still knows how to innovate and entice
-
Moog’s mood-altering Labyrinth and five more new synthesizers and sound toolsExplore soundscapes and ambient realms with these new synthesizers and other desktop composition tools for shaping all forms of audio
-
From Tangerine Dream to cult PlayStation hits, eight books chronicling the art of noise and playWe explore eight titles that get under the skin of music history, technological evolution and the art and experience of digital culture
-
San Diego-based audio specialists Wrensilva update their elegant Record ConsolesWith new materials, upgraded electronics and input from three industry greats, the new Wrensilva Standard and M1 Record Consoles are the ultimate in audiophile furniture
-
A new limited-edition Rhodes piano and Gibson doubleneck guitar aim for the starsThe new Rhodes Mk8 Earth Edition piano and Gibson Jimmy Page EDS-1275 Doubleneck guitar revisit classic instruments at a price
-
20 of the best CD players as the compact disc comeback continuesWe expand our guide to the best compact disc players with a fresh selection of good looking and great sounding models
-
Six new ways of making music, from sonorous start-ups to note-perfect classicsOur music technology round-up showcases six new ways of making music, from a piano designed to blend into the modern home to sophisticated effects units and an all-in-one DJ system
-
ABBA Voyage director Baillie Walsh on songs, sequins, and virtual spacesBaillie Walsh, the director behind ABBA Voyage, one of the most advanced entertainment spectacles ever, tells Wallpaper* how the magic happens, ABBAtars and all
