Astro have been shortlisted for Lighting Piece Award in The International Design and Architecture Awards.
Consistent with Astro’s creative ethos, that good design demands simplicity, the Capsule Collection Volume 01 focuses on precision and restraint, presenting three iconic designs that transcend seasons and trends by being functional yet beautiful. A creative collaboration between Astro’s Co-founder and Design Director James Bassant and Senior Designer Riley Sanders, the collection’s three products – the Orb, io Pendant and Halftone – are designed to stand out, but also stand the test of time.
Astro products and collections aren’t dictated by trends. They are rooted firmly in the now, but with a timeless quality that avoids the vagaries of fashion. The Capsule Collection delivers three unique products that are not to be frequently replaced. The designers take care to refine and consider each element, and this collection can be incorporated with any space for many years to come. That’s the magic of Astro’s Capsule Collection – three products with distinct aesthetics that will make them consistently relevant and intriguing.
Inspired by the mechanical perfection of an orrery, the Orb light presents an illuminated spherical ball, with a fully adjustable and magnifying mirror that ‘orbits’ around the luminaire at its centre. The delicate moving parts are robust but with a sense of lightness, masking a complex engineering solution behind its simplicity. Primarily designed to be positioned alongside a bathroom mirror, the Orb provides useful task lighting with an appreciable sense of design and can be partnered with the single Orb light. The io Pendant however, takes inspiration from the fluted detailing of the ancient Greek Ionic pillars. Using the unique production process of gravity-fed glass extrusion, io Pendant takes a circular 2D design and extrudes the glass downwards to create a perfectly ribbed cylindrical form. The luminaire’s components are discreetly hidden, where the glass plays the leading role, allowing the light to subtly reflect and refract. Handcrafted to the highest quality with no detail spared, the delicacy of the glass adds a real sense of luxury to any interior.
Developed by Astro’s Designer Riley Sanders, when creating the io and the Halftone, he combined his love of materials and fascination of manufacturing processes to explore new and innovative techniques. A fusion between art, technology and science, the Halftone wall light focuses on the simple form of a circle with an engaging etched pattern on a translucent, clear acrylic. Its subtle etched pattern begins from the edge of the disc and increases with intensity, creating a vivid ring of light. The transparency of the acrylic allows the wall to still be visible, both when the light is switched on or off and designed in two sizes and depths, Halftone can be layered to produce a more intense and striking illumination that will add interest to the surrounding architecture. Commentary from Designers James Bassant and Riley Sanders “The Capsule Collection gave us the platform to liberate our creative process and reinforce Astro’s design led approach. They are bold and visually strong, yet still with a delicacy that compliments a design scheme. Remaining true to Astro’s design ethos – Good Design Demands Simplicity, we pared back each part of the design process to remove unnecessary components and keep the designs as simple and minimal as possible and let the materials be the magic of each piece.”
Each piece honours the DNA of core Astro product, with a confidence to hold their own in any space. The Orb; striking yet functional. Halftone acts as a piece of art both when lit and unlit. io instantly elevates its environment.
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