Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla by Rio Jiunyu Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Uzzal in Afeṣṣel n Ifarisen d Ifecka n Tafat Competition Category.

UzzalTafat· 2025

Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla

by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Client: Rio Chen Studio

Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Uzzal Winner in Tafat Category

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Colors

The Design

About Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla

Blocks Lamps d tajmuɛt n tfenyar n tabla ipeslen s wudem n tesnulfut, ipwafernen seg tsertit n temdinin. Xemsa n tewsatin-a ttekkint seg tikutar (libraries), tessalayin, ixxamen n temdint, timeṛketiyin ipwakksen s uneggar-nsent d imkanen n usqerqec (arenas). Yal tafanust tettwaxdem s wesɣar n idri amellal, s uzzal akked ukaɣeḍ n tqermuct (mulberry). Ticreḍt n usɣar, ittwaksen seg tira s tefransist n uḍebbeɣ, ttwasnulfunt-d ɣef ishwiten n tfanyar, ussan-d s wakka aεeddi n wakud. Ticki ttwasersent tfenyar-a ttemyid, tajmaɛt-nsent ppcabhent s uqerqec n temdint (city block), ppgemment tanmegla gar tafat d Tili. Tajmaɛt-a tettwali tafat am uḥric udmawan akked yiwen ussisen n tsertit.

The Recognition

About the Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Uzzal

Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla d amerbaḥ n Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Uzzal, tagmat i yisnulfa yelhan i yemmalen ayen i d-ttrajun yimdanen seg yisnulfa yelhan. Imerbaḥen n Uzzal ttbanen d tmusni, tmahilt d tazmert n yimahilen-nsen. Blocks Lamps Tafanust n Tabla ad yili d asnulfu yettwaɛezzen, yelhan, amaynut. Isnulfa-a ttwaɛezzen imi ɛawnen deg tudert, rran ddunit ugar n lxir.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Blocks features a series of sculptural table lamps that evoke the geometry of city blocks. Each lamp combines minimalist forms with textured surfaces, offering a modular aesthetic inspired by Chen’s experience of constant relocation—from Taiwan to Chicago and New York. The designs capture the tension between permanence and transience, symbolizing how objects and spaces accumulate meaning over time.
Dimensions & Packaging: Tower Lamp: 120mm x 120mm x 343mm, Library Lamp: 153mm x 280mm x 172mm, Pyramid Lamp: 228mm x 228mm x 178mm, Arena Lamp: 203mm x 203mm x 203mm, House Lamp: 120mm x 120mm x 203mm.
Material: White Oak, steel, and mulberry paper.
Tags: Architectural Design, Lighting, Lamps, Wood, Blocks
Production Technology: The sculptural table lamps take cues from architectural forms, spanning libraries, towers, townhouses, inverted pyramids, and arenas. These shapes transform familiar structures into modular, intimate objects, blurring the line between furniture and urban design. The wood grain textures from Chen’s printmaking technique are integrated into the lamp shades, transferring the organic patterns of wood onto a new material surface. This approach reinforces themes of time, material memory, and transformation within the lighting design.
Design Challenge: Inspired by Chen’s personal journey relocating between Taiwan, Chicago, and New York, the collection examines the act of packing, shifting, and reassessing belongings—both physically and emotionally.
Blocks reflects an object-oriented perspective, questioning how we define value, space, and memory in our lives. The work suggests that cubes—whether seen as obstacles, pixels, cities, or cherished objects—shape our perception of place and belonging.
Research: Blocks is a design-driven research project exploring architecture, material memory, and movement in object design. Inspired by relocation, it examines how urban landscapes and modularity shape emotional connections to objects. Drawing from libraries, towers, and townhouses, the lamps resemble cityscapes with wood grain-imprinted shades that capture time’s passage. The project reimagines lighting as both personal and architectural, bridging design, space, and memory.
Inspiration: The sculptural table lamps take cues from libraries, towers, townhouses, inverted pyramids, and arenas, transforming familiar structures into modular lighting pieces. When assembled together, the lamps resemble a city block, creating a dynamic interplay of light and shadow that evokes the rhythms of urban environments. The wood grain textures from Chen’s printmaking technique are integrated into the lamp shades, transferring natural patterns onto a new medium and reinforcing the theme of time.
Project Duration: The project started at the end of 2024 and was exhibited in Stockholm Furniture Fair Greenhouse Exhibition 2025.
Operation Flow: When assembled together, the lamps resemble a city block, creating a dynamic interplay of light and shadow that evokes the rhythms of built environments.
Team Members: Rio Jiunyu Chen (Me)
Image Credits: Image 01 and 02: Studio 57
Image 03: Rio Jiunyu Chen