TENSEGRITY SPACE FRAME LIGHT
Designer: Michal Maciej Bartosik, Toronto
Buckminster Fuller may have popularized tensegrity (the structural integrity achieved by the interplay of compressed and tensioned building components), but lighting designer Michal Maciej Bartosik gives the principle an exciting and luminous new form with his modular lighting system, configurable as columns, beams and walls. Made up of fluorescent lights, electrical wiring and a custom-built connector – just three parts that serve both structural and electronic functions – the Tensegrity Space Frame Light employs a minimum of material for a maximum surface area. The possibilities are endless, running the gamut from single pendants to trippy, glowing mosaics that span entire facades.
THONET CONCEPT BIKE
Designer: Andy Martin Studio, London, U.K.
Evoking a Thonet bistro chair unfurled and refashioned into a bike, this concept was initiated by the German chair manufacturer to see what else could be done with its distinguished steam bending process, which dates back to the ’30s. To build the prototype, British designer Andy Martin hand-bent the beech frame, then adjusted its final contours and joints using a CNC machine; he also custom-crafted a series of connectors and sprung rod supports. While he went high-tech with a pair of fixed wheels in carbon fibre, he eschewed a brake system altogether. No worries – this bike is sure to stop traffic.
