Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili by Rio Jiunyu Chen is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award in Àpẹẹrẹ Ohun Ìmọ́lẹ̀ àti Ẹ̀rọ Ìtànṣán Competition Category.

IrinÌmọ́lẹ̀· 2025

Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili

by Rio Jiunyu Chen

Client: Rio Chen Studio

Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award Winner in Ìmọ́lẹ̀ Category

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Colors

The Design

About Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili

Blocks Lamps jẹ́ àkójọpọ̀ àwọn fitila tábìlì onífọ́nrán tí a fà yọ láti inú iṣẹ́ ọnà ilé-nlá ìlú (urban architecture). Àwọn ìrísí márùn-ún wọ̀nyí ń fa àwòkẹ́kọ̀ọ́ láti orí àwọn ilé-ìkàwé, àwọn ilé-gogoro, àwọn ilé-ẹgbẹ́ (townhouses), àwọn pirámídì tí a yí padà àti àwọn àgọ́ eré-ìdárayá (arenas). Fitila kọ̀ọ̀kan ni a fi igi óàkì funfun, irin àti bébà mọ́lbẹ̀rì (mulberry paper) ṣe. A gbé àwọn àpẹẹrẹ ọ̀rá igi tí a mú láti inú iṣẹ́ ìtẹ̀wé (printmaking) kọjá sí orí àwọn ìbò fitila náà, tí ó sì ń rán ni létí bí àkókò ti ń kọjá lọ. Nígbà tí a bá ko àwọn fitila náà pọ̀, àkójọpọ̀ náà á dà bí ẹ̀ka ìlú kan tí ó sì ń dá ìbáṣepọ̀ láàrin ìmọ́lẹ̀ àti òjìji sílẹ̀. Àkójọpọ̀ yìí ń wo iṣẹ́ ìmọ́lẹ̀ gẹ́gẹ́ bí ohun-èlò tí ó jẹ́ ti ara ẹni àti ti iṣẹ́ ọnà ilé-nlá pẹ̀lú.

The Recognition

About the Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award

Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili jẹ́ olùborí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award, ìdánimọ̀ olókìkí tí a fún àwọn àwòṣe tó dára tí wọ́n pàdé àwọn ohun tí iṣẹ́ àti ilé-iṣẹ́ nílò tí a retí láti ọ̀dọ̀ àwọn ẹ̀dá tí a ṣàwòṣe dáradára. Àwọn olùborí Irin ń fi ìjáfáfá ńlá, ìmọ̀ pàtó gíga, òye ògbóǹtarìgì àti agbára ìṣẹ̀dá àwọn olùṣẹ̀dá wọn hàn. A retí pé Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili yóò jẹ́ ẹ̀dá tí a kà sí gidigidi, tí a gbóríyìn fún tí a sì nífẹ̀ẹ́, tó wúlò tó sì ní ìmúṣẹ̀dá tuntun. Àwòṣe tó borí Àmì-ẹ̀yẹ Irin A' Design Award yìí ń kó àwọn ọ̀nà tó dára jùlọ ilé-iṣẹ́ jọ, ó sì ní àwọn ànímọ́ ìmọ̀-ẹ̀rọ tó péye tí a so mọ́ ìmọ̀ ṣíṣe àti ẹ̀bùn. A bọ̀wọ̀ fún Blocks Lamps Fitila Tabili nítorí ìfọ̀kànbalẹ̀ rẹ̀, a sì ṣàwòṣe rẹ̀ láti pèsè ìmúdára ìgbésí ayé tó ń ran ayé lọ́wọ́ láti di ibi tó dára jù.

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