Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska by Rio Jiunyu Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award in Naqshadeynta Alaabta Iftiinka iyo Nalallada Competition Category.

BirIftiin· 2025

Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska

by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Client: Rio Chen Studio

Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award Winner in Iftiin Category

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Colors

The Design

About Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska

Blocks Lamps waa ururin nalal miis oo farshaxan ah oo ka dhashay dhismaha magaalada. Shanta qaab ee ay ka kooban tahay waxay ka soo qaataan maktabadaha, munaaradaha, guryaha waaweyn ee la wada leeyahay, pyramids-ka rogan iyo goobaha weyn. Nal walba wuxuu ka samaysan yahay geed oak cad, bir, iyo warqad mulberry ah. Qaababka alwaaxda ee laga soo qaatay farshaxanka daabacaadda ayaa lagu daboolay hadhaha nalalka, taasoo xusuusinaysa marxaladaha wakhtiga. Marka nalalka la isku dhigo, kooxdu waxay u eg tahay block magaalo oo abuurta is dhexgal ah oo dhalaal iyo hoos ah. Ururintani waxay u aragtaa iftiinka sida shay shakhsi ah iyo mid dhismeed labadaba.

The Recognition

About the Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award

Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska waa guuleystaha Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award, aqoonsi sharaf leh oo la siiyo naqshado wanaagsan oo buuxiya shuruudaha xirfadeed iyo kuwa warshadeed ee laga filayo hal-abuurro si wanaagsan loo naqshadeeyay. Guuleystayaasha Birta waxay muujiyaan xirfad weyn, takhasus sare, fahan khabiir iyo awood hal-abuur oo abuurayaashooda. Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska waa hal-abuur la filayo inuu noqdo mid aad loo tixgeliyo, la ixtiraamo oo la jecel yahay, wax ku ool ah oo cusub. Naqshadahan ku guuleystay Abaalmarinta Birta ah ee A' Design Award wuxuu isku daraa hab-dhaqannada ugu wanaagsan warshadda wuxuuna leeyahay sifooyin farsamo oo karti leh oo ku xiran aqoon iyo hibo. Dhammaystirkeeda awgeed, Blocks Lamps Nalka Miiska waa mudan ixtiraam, waxaana loo naqshadeeyay inay keento hagaajin nololeed oo ka caawisa in adduunka laga dhigo meel ka wanaagsan.

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