Flux Amber — Astolfo Maria Cicerano

Year: 2020
Location: Turin, Italy
Role: Lead Designer & Concept Development
Type: Lighting Design / Atmospheric Research
Status: Independent Design Research

Flux Amber is an investigation into the capture of time through modern materiality, a geological memory and a fossil from an impossible future. It is a crystallized exploration of a body that remembers its origins: a formation that straddles the liminal space between a meteorite and a heart, between a single-celled organism and a drop of ancient resin.

The research focuses on the transition from digital fluid-dynamics to solid cast-resin states. Standing at 40cm and weighing over 8kg, the object challenges the ephemeral nature of light by giving it a massive, structural gravity. Through a process of Atmospheric Design, Flux Amber modulates two distinct luminous fields: a core 2700K amber glow that saturates the resin body, and a secondary, architectural projection that casts high-contrast shadows through its engineered perforations.

This object performs a complex paradox: it is an alien structure, yet intimately familiar; a digital ghost rendered into a structure that endures.

Materiality and Luminous Fields

1. Engineered Transparency

My foundational concept was to test the limits of modern synthetic resins. I sculpted the form to act as a catalyst for a dual luminous performance. With an engineered dimension of 40 x 29 x 28 cm, Flux Amber is fabricated using Plexi Fluid, a high-transparency liquid resin. In this instance, I selected a golden-amber hue, transforming the industrial material into a shifting, reflective, and precious substance that captures and modulates light, echoing the density of ancient geological matter.

2. Dual Luminous Performance

I engineered Flux Amber to project two opposing luminous fields from a single source. The primary surface radiates a warm, diffused golden glow (2700K), filtered by the amber resin. This is intersected by a series of structural perforations that act as ocular passages. Through these conduits, the internal light is released unfiltered, creating direct, penetrating beams and sharp, defined shadows. This dialogue between the monolithic density of the object and the ephemeral nature of light is the core of my research on Atmospheric Design.

3. Modular Fabrication & Craft

I designed the entire object as a single, structurally cohesive piece, bridging digital precision and artisanal craft. The design includes an integrated, modular base that allows for the maintenance of the LED source without compromising the resin shell. Standing at 15.7 inches in length and weighing over 8kg, this design creates a profound spatial dialogue with the human body, asserting its presence as a permanent architectural fossil.