Altius Institute

DEAD CITY PENDANT

Dead City refers to the ruins of antiquity that we are sublimely fascinated with as a culture. Inspired by the patina of the effects that time has on a material, we sought to create a light fixture that expresses simplicity, patina, and the passage of time by taking a slow, hand-made, artisanal approach.

The Dead City Pendant is made of micarta (a material traditionally used for hunting knife handles) in an innovative way.

Linen, the classic beginning of a painting, and epoxy resin is used to form a composite. The cylindrical shape is crafted from multiple layers of fabric hand-rolled onto an aluminum formwork. Once hardened and removed from its mold, the rough piece is then spun on a lathe and machined to its final shape revealing its layered construction. The shade armature is milled from solid brass hex rod and then assembled.

The Dead City Pendant is beguiling in the way light interacts with its materiality. The magical translucency of the revealed layers of lathed linen offers an ethereal, timeless glow once illuminated. Whether turned on or off, the surfaces multifaceted strata conjure a landscape or ruin. Each hand-made piece is unique and we relish in the nuances of the way light permeates the shade. When illuminated from within, the darkest parts of the fixture transform into a warm amber glow and reveal the subtle patterns of the fabric and its layered construction.

We seek to create complex connections through our design work, weaving history, process, and aesthetics to achieve subtle and nuanced results.

DEAD CITY PENDANT

The Dead City Pendant is made of micarta (a material traditionally used for hunting knife handles) in an innovative way.

We seek to create complex connections through our design work, weaving history, process, and aesthetics to achieve subtle and nuanced results.

DEAD CITY PENDANT

The Dead City Pendant is made of micarta (a material traditionally used for hunting knife handles) in an innovative way.

We seek to create complex connections through our design work, weaving history, process, and aesthetics to achieve subtle and nuanced results.

The Dead City Pendant is made of micarta (a material traditionally used for hunting knife handles) in an innovative way.

We seek to create complex connections through our design work, weaving history, process, and aesthetics to achieve subtle and nuanced results.

TINY FOG LINE CUTSHEET

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Altius Institute

Altius Institute for Biomedical Sciences headquarters in Seattle's World Trade Center East Building is a research environment that couples the scientific creativity and innovation of an academic environment with previously unavailable integrated capabilities in instrumentation, automation, and computation.

The 16,000 sq foot tenant improvement includes custom workstations and 125 pieces of custom furniture that aim to change the way a lab environment is experienced.

Architectural Team:

Kristen Becker

Jim Friesz

Square Footage:

16,000 SQ.FT

Location:

World Trade Center East

Seattle, WA