New Zealand designer David Trubridge’s Koura lamp design has been mimicked in a new Hermès boutique in Paris.
The Koura lamp is from one of Trubridge’s kitset collections and was designed to replicate the shape of small freshwater shrimps, while the criss-cross pattern of the lamp mirrors the woven traps used for catching them.
Trubridge’s Koura design was cited as a key influence by the architects of a new Hermès boutique in Paris. French architecture firm RDAI (Rena Dumas Architecture Interieure) has designed an organic series of three-level dome structures that are the main focus within Hermès’s new store.
The oversized domes may appear unlike the Koura lamp in size and functionality, but the criss-cross pattern is identical. With the increased focus on and interest in eco-friendly designs, European designers are increasingly drawing inspiration from previously ignored cultural sources, providing non-European artists with an opportunity for global recognition.
Dedicated to energy conservation, environmental sustainability and the conservation of wildlife, Trubridge constructs his decor from eco-friendly plywood timber and his designs are flatpacked and kitset for easy and low-energy freighting. He ensured the Koura lamp is available with both a halogen and LED option.
More recently, Trubridge’s Icarus lamp was purchased for the permanent collection of the Pompidou Centre in Paris.
