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Bacteria-Filled Chandelier Seems Like It Would Be Stinky

by Matthew Zuras on September 20, 2010 at 04:30 PM

bacterioptica
This, dear readers, is sadly not a robotic jellyfish. Bacterioptica, designed by MadLab, is a chandelier whose light is filtered through bacterial colonies. Why, you ask? We wonder, too.

Each lamp is fitted with a petri dish that allows the lamp to "evolve" as it grows full of various prokaryotes. MadLab's site is light on the details, but it mentions that the chandelier "is living and breathing the same air and bacteria we are." This, of course, raises several questions. First, how can one be sure that the individual strains aren't either killed or transformed into heat-resistant superbugs by close, high-intensity lighting? Secondly, if the petri dishes are open enough to allow the bacteria to breathe "the same air," we wonder if growing a common swab strain like, say, Staphylococcus epidermidis, might not result in your oh-so-cool dining room smelling like old jockstraps doused with fish sauce. We're not opposed to our tiny friends being incorporated into design as a rule (since we've written praise for bacteria-made dresses and typography), but using an unfettered colony as mood lighting seems to fall flat in terms of concept and execution.

Tags: bacteria, bacterioptica, chandelier, design, lamp, lighting, madlab

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