African Design Magazine November 2014 | Page 19

News Willowlamp unveils two new award-winning designs Since its inception in 2005, Willowlamp, with architect Adam Hoets at the reigns, has pioneered an innovative method of producing highly intricate and unique decorative lighting designs by attaching ball-chain to lasercut steel frames, using geometry and nature’s ‘blueprint’ as inspiration. The result is a vast collection of lampshades, pendants and chandeliers that can today be seen suspended from the ceilings of globally renowned hospitality, retail and commercial sites. Perpetually inspired, Hoets is evolving not only his existing designs, but his vision for future designs too. Latest to Willowlamp’s collection, is the Mandala No.2 (a second edition to a previous design called The Mandala) and the Geometric Storm limited edition that stemmed from fresh inspiration. The two chandeliers were revealed at the recent 100% Design South Africa where Adam Hoets won the Award for Best Lighting Design. The Mandala No.2 is an adapted version of The Mandala (a design Hoets developed for Southern Guild and launched at the Everaard Reed Gallery in 2012). Completely captivated by the intricacies of sacred geometry, Adam based the new design on sacred Islamic geometry. “I spent over 400 hours drawing and decoding Islamic patterns and geometry, until I nearly went mad. This, to me, was the ultimate template and key beneath all because it holds within it all of the principles of Islamic sacred geometry”. Shorter in length, but with no shortage of detail, the result is a vibrant yet sophisticated masterpiece of complexities. While previous designs have been based on the patterns of sacred geometry, Hoets’ new chandelier, the Geometric Storm was inspired by abstract art forms – particularly cubism. Instead of depicting objects from one angle, cubism typically depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a wider context. Hoets describes the shape of the Geometric Storm as “awkward yet balanced.” Layered landscapes, rock formations and strata in mountains further inspire the design. Hoets comments, “The design seems to evoke a kind of highly geometricized landscape from an alternate abstract cubist reality.” A fusion of complex, calculated patterning and organic forms found in nature is the signature style of Adam Hoets’ willowlamp, and we can l ook forward to watching its evolution. AD i africandesignmagazine.com 19