Geometry as function
The twelve pentagonal faces frame the light openings on their own.
Form & 3D PrintingSemester 2 · 2026
Excavated Dodecahedron
A table lamp grown from a Platonic solid, whose inner lattice throws patterned shadows.
- Material
- PLA, translucent orange and white
- Process
- FDM 3D printing
- Shell
- 2 parts: upper dome + open cage
- Light
- LED strip, warm white 3000 K
- Base
- Printed cylinder, USB powered
- CAD
- Blender
Starting from an excavated dodecahedron, its twelve pentagonal faces pushed inward, I explored hanging, pendant and table configurations before settling on a self-standing lamp with a cylindrical LED base.
Shadow as feature
The inner lattice casts patterns onto nearby walls.
Print strategy
Splitting the shell in two removed overhangs and kept the surfaces clean.
Material choice
Translucent PLA spreads the warm LED glow evenly across the faces.
01 · Exploration
From solid to lamp
Pages of sketches tried hanging lamps, pendants and table lamps, playing with how much of each pentagonal face to cut away and how an inner fractal lattice might throw shadows.
02 · Printing
Designing for FDM
A single closed shell would need heavy supports and spoil the inner lattice. Splitting it into an upper dome and an open lower cage removed the overhangs and let the two parts snap together cleanly after printing.
What I learned
Takeaways
- 01Geometry can be the function: the faces became the light openings.
- 02Print orientation and part splits are design decisions, not afterthoughts.
- 03Translucent PLA and warm 3000 K light change how a form is read at night.
- 04Testing in the dark showed the shadows were the real feature.