shiro studio: phylum for alessi

‘phylum’ by shiro studio for alessi image © alessi

london-based shiro studio has designed ‘phylum’ a table lamp for italian brand alessi‘s spring summer 2012 collection.

artificial light is perhaps one of the most precious phenomena of our civilization. the primordial instinct to protect its source like the most delicate flower is the design principle behind the lamp. the brilliance of the object acts as ethereal pollen, gently shaded by two ribbed steel petals. the compact size of ‘phylum’ allows its luminosity to become ubiquitous, while the geometry of the petals lets the user direct the light source in different directions. the leaf ribbing not only increases the rigidity of the thin metal sheet by which it is made, but enhances the overall illuminating quality of the lamp’s caustic projections. the design draws its influences from the formal language adopted by shiro studio’s andrea morgante, and the ‘megaptera’ tray he developed for alessi in 2011. the lamp is created using a complex production technique that involves modelling a sheet of corrugated and folded steel into a form that evokes the corolla of a flower, shiny on the outside and white, matte on the inside. the refined contrast between the white and the shiny steel transforms into an evocative synthesis for diffused and reflected light. 

the lamp’s form evokes the corolla of a flower image © shiro studio 

a sheet of corrugated and folded steel is used to form the lamp image © shiro studio

the refined contrast between the white and the shiny steel transforms into an evocative synthesis for diffused and reflected light image © alessi

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