Dezeen Magazine

Lasvit creates minimalist versions of traditional chandeliers

Dezeen promotion: Lasvit has teamed up with designers Jan Plecháč and Henry Wielgus to recreate a selection of chandeliers found in five of the world's most famous theatres.

The Neverending Glory collection is made up of a series of pendants based on chandeliers inside the La Scala theatre in Milan, the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Estate Theater in Prague, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.

Each piece, made alongside Lasvit's glassmakers, has been scaled-back in order to fit in better with contemporary interiors.

"The idea of Neverending Glory collection came to us when we realised how many amazing old crystal chandeliers there are, and that it would be beautiful to bring them to a contemporary form and into modern homes," said designer Henry Wielgus.

To create each pendant, Plecháč and Wielgus sketched the shape of the original chandelier while rotating it, blurring the details to create a smooth edge.

Local craftspeople in Bohemia – a region recognised for its glasswork – then worked alongside the designers to create the shapes from wooden moulds.

The resulting collection sees five chandeliers available in white, opal, iridescent and smoke tones.

"The pieces are bordering the edge of what is possible to do with human hands, whether in terms of the sizes of the hand-blown glass objects or in terms of precision and mastery," Lasvit said.

"The large pieces of glass, for which even the wooden moulds are enormous, are so demanding to produce that it would not be possible to create anything bigger."

Founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimic, Lasvit specialises in producing glass lighting goods and installations, previously working with recognisable names such as Nendo, the Campana Brothers and Maarten Baas.

Previously, the Czech company's creative director Maxim Velcovsky created a sculpture made up of thousands of smoky glass spheres to resemble the figure of a diver, which is suspended in the atrium of South Korea's tallest skyscraper.

Also, during the festive period in 2017, the company worked with design firm Yabu Pushelberg to create an illuminated glass Christmas tree for the lobby of Hong Kong's Upper House Hotel.