Focused on creating lighting objects through the use of biomaterials derived from waste, the practice behind RUSSO BEAT – founded by Stefannia Russo and Søren Betak – emphasizes an experimental dialogue between material innovation and craftsmanship.
Their new Ark Collection launched at SaloneSatellite during Salone del Mobile 2026. On the occasion, one of the pieces – the Nippon lamp – was awarded First Prize for his ability to translate the studio’s innovative material research into meaningful, luminous form. “Looking like paper but self-constructing, its sheets filter light with depth, revealing a material that appears fluid but is rigid.” noted the jury.
Russo Betak © Jason Idris Alami
Nippon, Ark Collection, Russo Betak © Jacob Storm
Nippon, Ark Collection, Russo Betak © Jacob Storm
Ark Collection, Russo Betak © Jason Idris Alami
Ark Collection, Russo Betak © Jacob Storm
Ark Collection, Russo Betak © Jacob Storm
The lamp range takes its name from the Danish word for “sheet,” referring to the process through which the studio approaches these products: 3D flat-print sheets and craftsmanship combine to give the pieces their final form.
The strange aspect of it RUSSO BEATHis method lies precisely in the combination of 3D printing with a final hand-made phase, which strongly contrasts with the more normal aesthetics usually associated with this process. The biomaterial, created from discarded restaurant shells, is harvested directly from the print base and quickly sculpted by hand before it cools and hardens.
The uniqueness of this approach lies precisely in its collaboration with time: the material remains malleable and functional by hand until it cools, when its final shape is defined. An interaction between time, temperature and experience.
This type of process offers an unexpected result because it presents an elegant and refined aesthetic, static but at the same time in motion, recalling materials such as ceramics, fabric and sometimes even bent and molded plywood.
The collection consists of three lighting designs (Snegl, Nippon, Shell), available in two sizes, in oyster, mussel and scallop shell variations, which give them their natural pigmentation. All are designed starting from rectangular sheets: for Nippon, these are applied in a way that simulates fabric gently falling from a support structure, creating soft geometries and games of transparency. In contrast, the other models show the potential to create more organic forms, almost like fabric wrapped around a cylinder, with the detail of the final fold giving the pieces movement.
The SaloneSatellite jury, chaired by Paola Antonelli, curator at MoMA, awarded RUSSO BETAK the exhibition’s first prize because it considered the work an example of research that goes beyond design, combining the field of bioengineering with a more techno-technical method. They emphasized that the award is not just an aesthetic recognition, but represents the ability to recognize “an intuition ahead of the market, research above the industrial scale.”
The collection also includes a more experimental and innovative element: to make these products possible, the studio has developed a custom horizontal 3D printer designed to treat waste recovered from restaurants.
About the Ark series, co-founder Stefannia Russo adds: “Each piece maintains gestures that seem fluid, even when they become static, this interplay between movement and stillness defines the collection.” Co-founder Søren Betak explains: “We wanted to break free from conventional 3D printing, where objects appear fully formed. We see 3D printing as a tool, not a process.”
