paolo ulian's pixel washbasin for antoniolupi breaks down like an 8bit digital image

exploring tradition and technology in a whole new light, industrial designer paolo ulian reveals his pixel washbasin for italian brand antoniolupi. starting off with the concept of decomposition, the design borrows the intriguing breakdown of 8-bit pixels as witnessed in the digital world.

pixel washbasin is a three-dimensional marble sink where each cubic unit can be broken and subtracted

simply put, a pixel constitutes the smallest unit of any digital image; once a breakdown occurs in each point-surface, a kind of three-dimensional mosaic manifests itself which completely alters the original visual. following this concept, paolo ulian‘s pixel washbasin for antoniolupi is a three-dimensional mosaic where each piece can be broken and removed — customizing the surface through an intriguing and ever-changing play of light, shadows, depths and volumes. this is possible thanks to the sink’s outer surface in white carrara marble, which is engraved through deep horizontal and vertical milling that define a grid of cubic units.

made of white carrara marble, the pixels are engraved via horizontal and vertical milling processes

in the end, the pixel game that forms the basin is completely oriented by consequentiality, revelation, proximity, and decorum coming from the material itself. by randomly eliminating the smallest units that make up the washbasin, one of many possible shapes is unveiled — bringing the essence of the sink to light and highlighting its three-dimensionality even more.

the paolo ulian pixel washbasin offers a play on light, shadows, depth and relief

borrowing the digital breakdown of pixels, the sink is mapped out as a 3D grid that makes up virtual images

by subtracting individual pieces, new shapes and volumes come into play

designer paolo ulian at work on pixel

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom