Stalaclights are 3d printed bulb shades, designed by Studio David Graas, showing skyscrapers that seem to grow directly from the bulb. Since LED light hardly emits any heat, it is now possible to connect a light shade to the bulb itself. The intricate design of the shades are inspired by the Art Deco era, a time when the first skyscrapers appeared in big cities like New York and Chicago. Nowadays every major city is dominated by high rise buildings. Their height steadily increasing in time, fuelled by the desire of their builders to realize the highest building of the world. If you would imagine these cities turned upside down it would look just like stalactites growing from the ceiling of a limestone cave. Steadily growing in time with every drop of ground water seeping through the cave’s roof.
David Graas studied product design at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Since 2004 he works as an independent designer. His work explores the relationship between products and their users, how these products are valued and why. He sees himself as a guerrilla designer, fighting in a peaceful way the current industrial model. Hacking the system that produces only mass produced products, that are the same everywhere, with no character and no durability. And proposing an alternative that is more elegant and gives back control to the people using these products.
His work is featured in numerous international publications and showcased in exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Osaka and Moscow. In 2013 David Graas founded the 3D printing label LAYERS (www.layersindesign.com).
