The Koi suspension lamp is the creation of a very special collaboration between LZF Lab and Inocuo The Sign.
Unveiled at Milan Furniture Fair 2015, the enormous carp captured imaginations and wowed visitors with its ingenuity, presence and sheer technical bravado, to take centre stage as the show’s most spectacular and ambitious piece.
From Koi’s inception to launch at Milan was a six year journey, the lamp being finally resolved and completed only due to the technical expertise of some of the best designers and craftspeople in Spain.
The inspiration for Koi came from an intertwining wood system and the transparencies it produced when lit. Manolo Martin, a famous local craftsman who knew how to create volumes with strips of wood, collaborated with LZF to build this fantastical fish from its skeleton outwards. Consisting of a wooden frame – constructed using traditional Valencian carpentry techniques – that supports the ‘scales’, which are made from dozens of small over-lapped pieces of wood veneer. The quality of the craftsmanship is especially noticeable in the detail of the head, tail and fins. Inside the body, LED technology is the source of light. In addition, the Koi has two independent control systems to regulate the light intensity through Bluetooth devices.
The result is a stunning handcrafted piece, measuring more than three metres from head to tail, that’s beautiful and powerful both lit and unlit. A creature made of wood and light; half-lamp, half-sculpture that drifts silently overhead with an aura all of its own.
You can watch the Koi short film by Inocuo The Sign here: http://www.lzf-lamps.com/koifilm/
