Light, Folded

How do you suspend and illuminate an origami crane 25 feet above a dining room without revealing how either happens?

The oversized origami cranes were fabricated in foam by Built by Bender and were intended to float above the restaurant with as little visible hardware as possible. Suspension alone was straightforward. Delivering power to the lighting beneath each crane without adding a second visible wiring system was the real integration problem.

The support cables were therefore asked to do double duty: carry the installation and carry power to the linear uplight below. What reads visually as an almost weightless suspension system is also the electrical pathway.

The installation photographs make the strategy legible. Milan Bender and the Built by Bender crew could position the sculptural elements using the same cable system that completed the lighting connection, eliminating a separate cord drop that would have weakened the illusion.