3D Printed Glass Vessels by Neri Oxman and the Mediated Matter Group

Glassy Construction

The 3D printing juggernaut crosses another frontier with glass as the latest material.  The Mediated Matter Group of the MIT Media Lab has developed an innovative technique which uses molten glass tubes to "print" vessels of different shapes and sizes, layer by layer.  This technology has interesting development potential, especially as the glass tubes can be used to transmit other media.  Could this be the start of windows in interesting 3D shapes, or perhaps glass vessels with integrated LED lights? 

The 3D Printed Glass Vessels by Neri Oxman and the Mediated Matter Group is on show as part of the Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt, the leading museum for historic and contemporary design in the US.  In this fifth edition, the Design Triennial showcases creations of 63 designers from around the world in an exploration of 7 notions of beauty: extravagant, intricate, ethereal, transgressive, transformative, emergent, and elemental.  This diversity not only reinforces the maxim that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but is also a reminder of how good design can inspire ideas, communicate stories and evoke the deep emotional responses which constitute beauty.

The Design Triennial exhibition is on display at the Cooper Hewitt Museum until 21 August 2016. 

Links

http://matter.media.mit.edu/about

http://www.cooperhewitt.org/events/current-exhibitions/beauty-cooper-hewitt-design-triennial/

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Product Inspiration

Furniture with a truly sculptural presence are great for adding interest in interior spaces, especially if they are brightly coloured as well, such as the Bold chair from Moustache and the Chariot trolley from Casamania.

Lighting can take on a sculptural shape whilst still be subtle and elegant.  The Lampscapes suspension lights from Frederik Roije and the Carambola suspension lights from LZF are great examples. 

Accessories which take on abstracted forms of nature can look beautifully sculptural, take the Tree vase by Sena Gu or the Crawl silicone container from Finell.