Karim Rashid Creates Fabric Sheet Using Two Hummers Worth of Glass

Say what you will about Karim Rashid, the man knows his way around cutting-edge fabrication. Tasked with realizing a design by artist Michela Vianelloe, he's just completed a new technical wonder: "Fluxus," an undulating canopy made of woven glass. The installation was unveiled today, at a White Gallery, a boutique in Rome. The project was a sponsored by Andromeda, a company that specializes in applying old-school Murano glass-blowing techniques to high-tech lighting.

It's not that the glass is thread-like--rather, the canopy is composed of over 80,000 pieces of glass which are laced onto laser-cut, metal backing. The light comes from over 5,000 individual halogen lamps. (Not so green, but hey!) All told, the massive piece covers close to 650 square feet, and weighs--get this--almost seven tonnes. That's the equivalent of two Hummers.

Check out more images at Design Boom and Yanko.