Swedish studio develops lights from kelp

A Swedish design house is creating the first prototype lights made from kelp-based bioplastic.

It’s the latest in a range of products made from the marine plant by innovative studio Interesting Times Gang.

The firm describes the tactile speckled effect of the material, which is compostable in natural biotopes like soil and water, as ‘absolutely delightful’.

It says the kelp luminaire represents a vision of what can be achieved with large-scale 3D-printed furniture made of recycled fishing nets.

ITG says the Kelp Collection, which also includes furniture, is inspired by biomimicry with undulating lines and organically swaying silhouettes to emulate the forms found in ocean vegetation.

The process of manufacturing with kelp is made possible by the latest advances in 3D-printing technology and material development.

The furniture, originally commissioned by two-star Michelin chefs Niclas Jönsson and Daniel Höglander and Custom designed for their new venture, a sushi restaurant concept, Black Milk Sushi, located in central Stockholm.

The collection was originally created to bring attention to the fact that ‘vast amounts of known underwater kelp forests have been eradicated due to unsustainable fishing practices and rising ocean temperatures’.

Kelp removes as much CO2 per hectare, as 20 hectares of trees.

It’s not the first time that Interesting Times Gang has used innovative materials.

The group came up with a substance which combines recycled fishing nets with wood fibre, a recycled FSC-certified bi-product from the saw mill industry in Sweden.

The idea is ‘to create 3D-printed designs that can stay within the same material ecosystem once they reach the end of their life-cycle’. These objects can be ground down to create new bio-materials that can be reused again and again, to create entirely new objects within a closed design loop.

Interesting Times Gang is comprised of four core designers, Sean Barrett, Anna Eliasson, Pinar Metin Hagström and Alexander Westerlund.

‍• Recolight is offering a series of special one-day training workshops on ‘Lighting product design for a Circular Economy’. Hosted by industrial designer Simon Fisher of F Mark, the CPD-accredited event explores the design criteria, regulations and standards to help lighting manufacturers apply and demonstrate circular economy principles in product development. More HERE.