2026 | Student

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Zephyr is a luminaire conceived around the co-evolution of sustainable materials and digital fabrication. It employs a seaweed-based biopolymer / PETG composite, reducing environmental burden while maintaining structural integrity and optical translucency.
Its form is driven by manufacturing logic: the morphology is reconstructed from the principles of robotic additive manufacturing and toolpath planning, making “how it is made” an explicit component of the design language. Zephyr innovatively applies non-planar printing to generate continuous, curved stratification. The surface texture is inspired by the flowing cadence of wind-lifted hair in Botticelli’s paintings. This “wind-shaped” trajectory is translated into a continuous non-planar deposition pattern—like the traces left on a surface as the west wind (Zephyr) passes across it.
The overall silhouette fuses the classical connotation of a flared, horn-like profile with the future-oriented order of a rectilinear geometry; through a restrained volumetric convergence and clearly articulated interfaces, it articulates a disciplined yet tensile visual language. As light passes through the layered texture, refraction and diffuse scattering produce a soft, halo-like glow with nuanced gradients. The rear surface incorporates an approximately 30° inclined, cantilevered print, achieving a delicate balance between process controllability and the material’s self-consistent gravitational settling. This yields a surface with a near hand-crafted warmth and “breath,” while the semi-translucent sustainable material subtly modulates in appearance with changing ambient illumination.
Credits
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Chuan Liu
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Landscape Design - Cultural Heritage Design
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Hebei Baoli Engineering Equipment Co., Ltd; Shijiazhuang University
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Product Design - Heavy Machinery
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CHIANG MING HSI
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Conceptual Design - Graphic & Illustration
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KX Interior Design & Build Co., Ltd.
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Interior Design - Restaurants & Café