The BIC ballpoint is a triumph of efficient design; it’s also a pretty good mascot for disposable consumption, with 100 billion having been manufactured since the 1950s. But empty pens are good for more than just landfill: chain 10,000 together, and you can have yourself a neat canopy.
The ‘BIC pavilion’ is a clever structure engineered mostly from BIC Crystal pens, which I guess pose some passing resemblance to something you might find in a chandelier. The aim of the project isn’t to create something useful, though: it’s “more about the process transforming its initial function. It is about designing with components rather than norms”.
The canopy is on display at the Muziekgebouw in the Netherlands until August 20th.
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