Bent Out of Shape

To achieve the ­drooping form of its first lamp—Flora, for Fontana Arte—Future Systems used a bicycle-industry technique­ called hydroforming. High-pressure fluid forces aluminum into a die, producing a lightweight, rigid tube. The designers could have chosen a more traditional method—but what’s the fun in that? “It’s about pioneering rather than using what’s already available,” associate director Andrea Morgante says.