Basel – Unveiled during Design Miami/ Basel 2017, the winning works explored 3D printing, solar cell technology and innovative surfaces.
The three recipients of the Swarovski Designers of the Future Award 2017 collaborated with Swarovski to create a three-part installation inspired by crystal.
Tokyo-based studio Takt Project worked with 3D printing company Micron3DP to develop Ice Crystal, the world’s first 3D-printed crystal. The designers explored the ability of the technology to create a range of shapes and surface textures, and applied it to crystal in a process that Swarovski claims ‘effectively enables an artist to print light’.
Dutch designer Marjan van Aubel’s Cyanometer is a series of three ‘living’ light objects that harness solar energy from the sun through a portable crystal solar panel that users carry on their person.
Los Angeles-based Jimenez Lai’s Terrazzo Palazzo is an architectural environment made from a new material that incorporates upcycled Swarovski crystals. Inspired by the need to re-use and repurpose materials for a more sustainable future, the process ensures that the crystals that do not pass Swarovski’s quality control stage do not go to waste.