Design Studio Burns Metal to Create Sophisticated Home Decor with Iridescent “Scars”

Hamanishi Design - Burning Metal Project

Japanese design studio Hamanishi Design creates stunning, contemporary home decor using experimental techniques. Their Burning Metal Project is an intriguing collection that uses the chemical reaction created by burning titanium alloy to produce a set a sleek, colorful design pieces. These iridescent showpieces are sophisticated while bringing a touch of whimsy into the home.

Hamanishi Design has created a set of lamps, side tables, and vases that have a distinct look and feel. By harnessing the colors of natural titanium oxide, they're found a way to introduce a permanent coloration to the metal without adding any extra substances. With this simple, effective method, the possibilities are endless.

The Pillar floor lamp seems to transform its color as one looks closer to the heat source. The long, thin stand is the highlight of the piece, moving from natural titanium to blue and keeping a minimal silhouette that puts the color change at the forefront. Similarly, the Flame pendant lamp bursts with color exactly where the bulb is positioned, giving the illusion that the color change is due to this heat source. The elegant striations of color blend seamlessly, like soft layers of watercolors laid over the metal.

Hamanishi Design Vases

This look contrasts with Hamanishi's Graffito vases, which use a digital technique to provoke the titanium oxide reaction in specific patterns. This intriguing method of burning metal is proprietary to the studio, which developed a digital machine to execute the patterns. The result is simple, effective tableware that is sure to be a conversation piece.

To round out the collection, TIG is a small, cylindrical side table that makes effective use of the burnt metal to create a color explosion that appears to leak from the center of the table outwards. The warm, subtle glow emanating from the table is both a nod to welding as well as an effective way to introduce color. “In order to appreciably add the story of the manufacturing process into the product, we applied the gradation design to show the heat transmission from the inner shelf,” the firm explains.

Hamanishi Design has created a collection of home furnishings that take advantage of the chemical reaction of burnt metal.

Hamanishi Design Home Decor

Hamanishi Design Floor Lamp

Hamanishi Design Home Decor

Hamanishi Design - Burning Metal Project

Titanium oxides produce incredible, permanent colorations on each piece from The Burning Man Project.

Hamanishi Design - Tableware

Hamanishi Design - Burning Metal Project

Hamanishi Design Home Decor

Hamanishi Design Side Table

Hamanishi Design Industrial Design

Hamanishi Design: Website | Instagram | Behance

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Hamanishi Design.

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Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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