arik levy: tuile de cristal chandelier for baccarat

‘tuile de cristal chandelier’ by arik levy for baccaratphoto © yves duronsoy

baccarat has a history deeply embedded in the production of chandeliers, since the introduction of its first collection in the mid-19th century. bringing together tradition and innovation with new technologies, the company combines strong influences from the past with a language of the present which is expressed through the various collaborations it has engaged in with some of the most renowned international designers of our time.designboom recently visited the baccarat manufacturing plant in lorraine, france where we had a sneak peak of the production of their new collection which includes arik levy‘s lighting piece ‘tuile de cristal chandelier’ which is making its debut at milan design week 2013 from april 9th to the 14th at palazzo morando.

instead of creating an entire chandelier, the french designer has conceived a single element, a crystal tile–in two styles, ‘frozen’ and ‘picadilly’–which are arranged in multiple fragments, around a metal frame of varying diameters: ø 50 cm, 3 tiers; ø 69 cm, 4 levels; ø 87 cm, 4 levels;the owner is engaged in the actual construction and ‘building-up’ of their own lighting piece–something which draws formal qualities froma chandelier, but which doesn’t necessarily follow the conventional assembly or construction of one. the lighting fixtures are made with twotypes of modular crystal units. one style uses chaotic overlapping cuts engraved into the surface that create linear prisms and diffuse light ontoits environment in playful dynamic ways. the other uses regular parallel vertical etchings in the individual units that recalls the history of glasscutting and the company’s legacy; both of which provide a familiar memory represented in a new form. its client-based design also allows a greaterarchitectural potential, as a refined raw material it lets the user instantaneously customize the piece for the correct aesthetic and lighting qualitiesto compliment a domestic environment. from its conception to its installation, the chandelier is handled with the utmost care and shipped so asto make the customer feel priviledged to own it; it is a piece of art that is meant to enliven any space from the second it is assembled.

designboom interviewed arik levy who spent much time with the workers and the machines in the baccarat factory to gain an internal knowledgeof the process behind the creations. he explained the development of the chandelier and the techniques employed in its production:

arik levy speaks to designboom about the development of his ‘tuile de cristal chandelier’ for baccaratvideo © designboom

we will follow up with a second chandelier by arik levy, ‘torch’
, one of the bestselling pieces in baccarat’s lighting collection.stay tuned for our behind-the-scenes footage of the production of baccarat’s collection.

three tiered version of the ‘tuile de cristal chandelier’ image © designboom

detail of how the crystal tile elements are layered over one anotherimage © designboom

arik levy with the baccarat team going over some of the final design detailsimage © designboom

the individual elements are hung onto a wire frame allowing the owner to engage in the process of building up the chandelierimage © designboom

a single ‘frozen’ crystal tile element image © designboom

‘picadilly’ tileimage © designboom

the metal frame in which the tiles are hung are available in varying dimensionsimage © designboom

image © designboom 

arik levy inspecting his lighting design at the baccarat manufacturing headquartersimage © designboom

base element of the chandelierimage © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

the individual pieces are hand moldedimage © designboom

drawing which indicates the cuts made into the crystal for ‘picadilly’ (above) and ‘frozen’ (below)image courtesy of baccarat

baccarat headquarters (manufacture in the background / middle) image © designboom