Mathieu Lehanneur: Clover

To coincide with COP21 Mathieu Lehanneur has launched his first urban lighting furniture collection, Clover, for the public to “break and recharge”.

Clover is a follow-up to the Mathieu Lehanneur’s 2012 creation of Digital Break, a range of Wi-Fi stations in Champs Elysées Avenue that offers a new way of experiencing the city and connecting with the rest of the world.

Clover is a series of “trees” encompassing energy, functions and materials. Mathieu Lehanneur describes them as “hybrid objects par excellence, combining light and seating, wood and solar panels, town and country”.

Carved from a wooden mast, Clover comprises a floor lamp and bench that appear cut and polished by the hands of a craftsman; rather, they are digitally machined using an unprecedented industrial process that allows the designer to blend different species of wood together. Lehanneur aims to create a structure like “a replanted tree that always should have been there”. Clover features large aluminum domes which release downward LED light to minimise light pollution and energy loss. An additional dome, faced upwards, is equipped with solar panels to produce enough energy to power the lamps for three hours. A small hatch is also available where passers-by can charge their smartphones.

The Clover bench is designed to be adaptable and extendable – reaching over 15 metres long if required.

Clover was launched to coincide with COP21, United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Paris. The project was initiated and sponsored by the Poitou-Charentes French region.