Algae Chandeliers Illuminate Your Home With A Part Of The Ocean

A design studio is shedding light on creatively tapping into Mother Nature’s gifts with Algae Lamps.

Created by New York-based nea-studio, these chandeliers are made from organically-sourced marine algae. It took the designers over eight years to find the perfect breed of the plant to turn into these stunning fixtures.

After lucking out in finding the right supplier for the algae, the studio finally landed on a local seafood store in Brooklyn.
 
The light fixtures are made up of bronze sconces and translucent algae that shade the room in soft golden light. The algae are shaped into cylindrical forms around LED lightbulbs and their modular ability allows them to be used as singular lamps or with sconces to form chandeliers. 

According to Vegconomist, founder Nina Edwards Anker said she was inspired to create these lights while doing her PhD and studying light and materials. She deep-dived into different ecosystems to find the right biomaterial that could soften the glow of an LED bulb.

Algae is becoming an incredibly desirable material in the design space. With its durability and versatility, it is able to be adapted into a myriad of designs and products. It is also a departure from materials such as plastic and wood which can have detrimental effects on our environment. 

[via Trend Hunter and Vegconomist, cover image via nea-studio]