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Yuya Zhou's Genesis and the Design of Impermanence
Designer Yuya Zhou launched a collection of seven bioplastic lamps that are intentionally engineered to deform and degrade over time.
What: Presented at Milan Design Week 2026, the 'Genesis' series uses a composite of starch, gelatin, glycerin, and edible pigments that change shape and color based on environmental conditions.
Why it matters: This project challenges the industrial standard of designing for infinite durability, proposing a 'post-extractive' design philosophy where materials are treated as temporary, evolving participants rather than static, manufactured components.
Deep dive
- The collection includes seven pieces: four table lamps, two pendant lamps, and one floor lamp.
- Materials are cast from a mixture of water, gelatin, starch, glycerin, and pigments.
- Design goal is 'controlled instability,' where the material’s structural integrity varies intentionally.
- The lamps were exhibited in the 'No space for waste' section of the Isola Design District.
- Each piece functions as a 'non-repeatable outcome' due to its reaction to ambient humidity and temperature.
- The series is arranged as a lifecycle, starting with fluid, light structures and progressing to denser, more complex forms.
Decoder
- Bioplastic: A plastic material produced from renewable biomass sources such as vegetable fats, oils, corn starch, or microbiota.
- Post-extractive material thinking: A design methodology focusing on materials that are circular and regenerative rather than those requiring permanent extraction of raw natural resources.
Original article
Yuya Zhou's Genesis, a series of seven bioplastic light objects shown at Milan Design Week 2026, challenges the conventional permanence of design by using materials — starch, gelatin, glycerin, and edible pigments — that evolve, deform, and change over time.
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