This inventive brutalist lamp is actually made out of bacteria-based concrete
This brutalist lamp has a hidden material innovation you won’t notice at first glance. The lifestyle brand Normal Phenomena of Life (NPOL) has previously made $80 face oil out of fungi, $245 prints from algae-based ink, and a $5,000 jacket dyed by microbes. Next on the company’s list of innovative biodesigns? A $500 lamp that was grown in a lab. The Gathering Lamp, which launched early this month in an ultra-limited run of 10, is a brutalist-inspired, 9-inch-tall light with a minimal profile. Its seemingly simple design belies its unique material construction: Rather than using standard concrete, the Gathering Lamp is made from a carbon-saving material that uses bacteria to literally grow cement. NPOL specializes in researching and developing objects made from living organisms, and uses high-end biotechnologies to both rethink the materials commonly used in apparel and product manufacturing, and find more sustainable, circular alternatives. The Gathering Lamp is its most recent exclusive design, created in collaboration with the design studio Mitre & Mondays. Designing a bacteria-based lamp The lamp has a modular construction comprised of a softly glowing light panel sandwiched between two concrete slabs, which is secured to a concrete base at a ninety degree angle. The concrete is made from a material called Biolith tile, which is manufactured by the materials supplier Biomason. [Photo: Courtesy of Normal Phenomena of Life] Typically, cement production requires using fossil fuels to heat limestone to a scorching 2,732 degrees before it’s ground into a fine powder. Alongside the fossil fuels needed to achieve these temperatures, the actual burning of the limestone itself directly releases CO2 into the atomsphere. But Biomason, which was profiled by Fast Company in 2022, has derived a new, more sustainable way to make cement. To start, Biomason uses pieces of recycled aggregate—the chunks of material that cement binds together. The company then adds a bacteria strain and various other natural materials like calcium, carbon, and nutrients to the mix. The combination reacts to create calcium carbonate, a “biocement,” per the company’s website, which acts like glue in the same way standard cement does, but without requiring the application of extreme heat. “Each tile takes less than 60 hours to grow at ambient temperatures—rather than 28 days for traditional kiln-fired cement,” says Chieza. According to Biomason, there is a potential to eliminate 1 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere for every kilogram of biocement material that’s used instead of standard concrete. Applying a modular approach to sustainability The lamp’s modular construction ensures that every piece of the design can easily be fixed or replaced, making it even more sustainable. Only six holes have been drilled into the Biolith tiles to prevent material waste and simplify disassembly. Its aluminum fixings are designed to be repaired, replaced, and ultimately recycled. Even the box that the product ships in is fully compostable and dissolvable in water. [Photo: Courtesy of Normal Phenomena of Life] NPOL’s products are currently geared toward a luxury customer interested in sustainability, Chieza explained to Fast Company in 2022. None of NPOL’s products are accessible to the average consumer at their current price points. Ultimately, though, her goal is to secure partners who can produce more biomaterial-based objects at scale. “We want to be a place where you learn about the power of biology to decarbonize to eliminate toxic materials from supply chains, but we want that to be fun,” Chieza told Fast Company in 2023. With such a limited run, the Gathering Lamp certainly won’t make a dent in concrete manufacturing’s existing carbon footprint—but it may just nudge others in the industry to consider the versatility of sustainable materials, from paving sidewalks to crafting high-end design objects.
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This brutalist lamp has a hidden material innovation you won’t notice at first glance.
The lifestyle brand Normal Phenomena of Life (NPOL) has previously made $80 face oil out of fungi, $245 prints from algae-based ink, and a $5,000 jacket dyed by microbes. Next on the company’s list of innovative biodesigns? A $500 lamp that was grown in a lab.
The Gathering Lamp, which launched early this month in an ultra-limited run of 10, is a brutalist-inspired, 9-inch-tall light with a minimal profile. Its seemingly simple design belies its unique material construction: Rather than using standard concrete, the Gathering Lamp is made from a carbon-saving material that uses bacteria to literally grow cement.
NPOL specializes in researching and developing objects made from living organisms, and uses high-end biotechnologies to both rethink the materials commonly used in apparel and product manufacturing, and find more sustainable, circular alternatives. The Gathering Lamp is its most recent exclusive design, created in collaboration with the design studio Mitre & Mondays.
Designing a bacteria-based lamp
The lamp has a modular construction comprised of a softly glowing light panel sandwiched between two concrete slabs, which is secured to a concrete base at a ninety degree angle. The concrete is made from a material called Biolith tile, which is manufactured by the materials supplier Biomason.
Typically, cement production requires using fossil fuels to heat limestone to a scorching 2,732 degrees before it’s ground into a fine powder. Alongside the fossil fuels needed to achieve these temperatures, the actual burning of the limestone itself directly releases CO2 into the atomsphere. But Biomason, which was profiled by Fast Company in 2022, has derived a new, more sustainable way to make cement.
To start, Biomason uses pieces of recycled aggregate—the chunks of material that cement binds together. The company then adds a bacteria strain and various other natural materials like calcium, carbon, and nutrients to the mix. The combination reacts to create calcium carbonate, a “biocement,” per the company’s website, which acts like glue in the same way standard cement does, but without requiring the application of extreme heat.
“Each tile takes less than 60 hours to grow at ambient temperatures—rather than 28 days for traditional kiln-fired cement,” says Chieza. According to Biomason, there is a potential to eliminate 1 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere for every kilogram of biocement material that’s used instead of standard concrete.
Applying a modular approach to sustainability
The lamp’s modular construction ensures that every piece of the design can easily be fixed or replaced, making it even more sustainable. Only six holes have been drilled into the Biolith tiles to prevent material waste and simplify disassembly. Its aluminum fixings are designed to be repaired, replaced, and ultimately recycled. Even the box that the product ships in is fully compostable and dissolvable in water.
NPOL’s products are currently geared toward a luxury customer interested in sustainability, Chieza explained to Fast Company in 2022. None of NPOL’s products are accessible to the average consumer at their current price points.
Ultimately, though, her goal is to secure partners who can produce more biomaterial-based objects at scale. “We want to be a place where you learn about the power of biology to decarbonize to eliminate toxic materials from supply chains, but we want that to be fun,” Chieza told Fast Company in 2023.
With such a limited run, the Gathering Lamp certainly won’t make a dent in concrete manufacturing’s existing carbon footprint—but it may just nudge others in the industry to consider the versatility of sustainable materials, from paving sidewalks to crafting high-end design objects.
