3D-printed pollen lamps by regine cavicchioli, roman jurt + michael kennedy

swiss designers regine cavicchioli, roman jurt and michael kennedy have created a colorful series of 3D-printed  lamps that recreate the unusual shapes of pollen – as seen under a microscope. the chosen designs borrow the forms of particles originating from hay fever’s main triggers in europe: grass, birch, ragweed, dandelion, sunflower and ash pollen.

taraxacum lamp close-up

after extracting SEM images generated by the microscope, cavicchioli, jurt and kennedy 3D printed each shape with nylon powder using selective laser sintering technologies. as a result, the pollen lamps were displayed in different places to illustrate the phenomenon of pollen dispersal. the lighting series is available for purchase, and can be seen for more details here. 

betula lamp close-up

fraxinus lamp close-up

helianthus lamp close-up

taraxacum, also called dandelion pollen

fraxinus, also called ash pollen

ambrosia, also called ragweed pollen

helianthus, also called sunflower pollen

poaceae, also called grass pollen

pollen lamps displayed in stores

displayed in unexpected locations like bars, fitness clubs, hotel lobbies and co-working spaces

‘making of’
video from pollen lampen

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