‘babel vase #1’ by michael eden all images © designboom

‘babel vase #1’ by UK-based designer michael eden brings actual and virtual experiences together. with this work, made from nylon and mineral coating, eden likens the symbolic surface decoration of an ancient chinese ‘hu’ (6th century ceremonial wine vessel) to the encoded information of a QR (quick response) code. both patterns link to factual information, but neither can be ‘read’ without a translator.

the vessel’s unique QR code forms the footprint of the piece, which is created by a 3D printing process, and so is extruded vertically throughout the form. the code can be scanned from the top surface using a QR-enabled mobile device.

michael eden: babel vase vase (top view)

michael eden: babel vase detail of the base