In 1951, Isamu Noguchi created the Akari series — light sculptures that were simultaneously functional objects and works of art. Each one is still made by hand in Gifu, Japan. More than seventy years on, the process is unchanged. The result remains singular.

The 1AD is the directional variant of the 1A form — designed for spaces where light needs to be guided as well as diffused. The washi paper, hand-pleated over a bamboo skeleton, produces a warmth of light that electric bulbs alone cannot replicate. A piece of design history that works as well today as the day it was conceived.

Original Akari Light Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi · Handcrafted in Gifu, Japan · Washi paper and bamboo · Designed 1951