Hasta La Ideas

Our latest shipment with the subscription service features Joshua Harker’s 3D filigree brilliance

Back in November 2011, we announced our partnership with the subscription service Quarterly Co., which offers users the chance to receive gifts in the mail from a roster of design-minded contributors four times per year. For the second shipment, Cool Hunting co-founders Josh Rubin and Evan Orensten sent subscribers a miniature “Crania Anatomica”, a sculpture by Chicago-based artist Joshua Harker.

We first learned about Joshua when he was seeking funding for the project on Kickstarter with the goal to raise $500; he ended up with $77,271, the highest funded sculpture project in the history of the website. Now, Joshua has created a version exclusively for our second Quarterly shipment. We’re thrilled to offer subscribers a little something that celebrates the human form and serves as a solid addition to any cabinet of curiosities. Subscribers have been receiving theirs over the last few days and have been tweeting pictures of the little 3D-printed filigree wonder in various settings.

Due to high demand, Quarterly Co. is currently closed to new subscribers, but you can join their waiting list or check out their blog for more information.

Images by Josh Rubin

Biomimetic lamps created from leaf-based algorithms

Design studio Nervous System‘s new Hyphae lamps uses a complex 3D computing process to mimic the naturally beautiful and unique structure of plant leaves. Each lamp is grown through a controlled process based on the Auxin Flux Canalization theory, positing that vein formation occurs from the growth hormone auxin which flows “where it has flowed before and cells with high levels of auxin differentiate into vein cells.” The two MIT grads behind Nervous System translated this computer model (devised by the University of Calgary’s Algorithmic Botany group) into an algorithm for creating physical objects, with no two pieces ever the same just like veins on a leaf.

To produce the computer-generated pattern, the techniques are just as high tech. Starting each lamp with a base volume and a set of root points, they are then “grown” through an iterative process in an auxin-filled environment. The pieces are then printed by NYC-based Shapeways, who minimize waste by only using the nylon material in the final form and by using Selective Laser Sintering, a process that creates extremely involved geometries directly from digital CAD data without a mold. Three Cree LED lights, using only 3.6 watts of electricity, generate the mesmerizing reflections on the walls surrounding the lamp.

In addition to the elegant lighting, Nervous System previously used the Hyphae algorithm to create a collection of intricate jewelry that appears delicate but is super-strong, grown from one end using a hierarchical network.

Hyphae jewelry and lamps sell online from the Nervous System shop. Accessories vary in price depending on style and material. Each lamp is $600.