BEAUTY IN IMPERFECTION

Founded by architect Chan Loo Siang, Inte Architects is known for experimenting with asymmetry and modern architecture, while still retaining a sense of simplicity and functional style in its projects. This design approach is represented in the firm’s prototype for MM Galleri—the architect has created two sculptural lamp concepts inspired by the Japanese philosophy of wabi sabi. “The concept stemmed from my appreciation of wabi sabi, which is about appreciating the natural state and the beauty of imperfection,” says Chan. Comprising onyx and granite, these artful creations are not your typical lamps. One of the prototypes is a standing granite vase that features a square slab of marble wrapped around a round body. The other plays with the concept of a fallen vase with a vessel-shaped piece of marble lying on its side on a granite base. Inspired by the fragments of a broken vase, the fallen vase’s granite base boasts an eccentric silhouette of sharp lines, undulating curves, and off-kilter angles. LED bulbs create a backlit effect on the onyx surfaces, turning the sculptures into light-giving objects. The contrasting textures selected also add to the unusual qualities of these lighting concepts. It creates imaginative shadow play that celebrates the translucent property of onyx, set against the rugged charms of the granite base. Straddling the boundaries between vase and lamp, furniture and art, these lamps challenge the way we view and use these objects. “The lamps are a celebration of the everyday; I also wanted to reinvent the ways that objects relate to one another when merged in new ways,” says the architect.