“We began with the idea that we could manipulate the malleability of glass based on its temperature,” says Bocci creative director Omer Arbel in a recent video about the making of 57, the lighting company’s new chandelier.

This year, Bocci will exhibit for the first time at Euroluce during the Milan Saloni

The glassblowing process used to create the chandelier is similar to that used for production of open-cell foam. The piece is composed of several glass spheres that are joined together to create a single cloud-like form. Then, that assembly is dipped into dark green glass. As air is pushed into the form, it takes the path of least resistance, pushing outward on the glass where it is hottest. Pockets of air are invisible when the chandelier is off, but reveal a new layer of complexity as the air bubbles are illuminated from within.

Created to be a modular, horizontal form, 57’s flexible suspension system allows pendants to be clustered so that they touch each other, referencing a cloudy sky (a reference to Vancouver, Bocci’s hometown). Orbs may also be suspended individually, or across large ceiling surfaces to create a horizontal chandelier.

Visit the company’s web site for a list of showrooms and contacts.

About the Manufacturer: Bocci is a contemporary design and manufacturing house based in Vancouver, Canada, with a satellite company based in Berlin, Germany. Unlike typical corporate structures, Bocci operates unconventionally as a co-operative community of designers, architects, craftspeople, technicians, agents, governance bodies, testing facilities, raw materials suppliers and fine shops. The company’s aim is to build a healthy, flexible and stable network united under the goal of creating practical but striking consumer goods of the highest quality.