Stephen Pikus: Turning Waste Into Bespoke Lighting

For Stephen Pikus, inspiration can begin with something most of us wouldn’t look at twice. A discarded air filter, unwanted glass or a piece of industrial metal might not immediately suggest beautiful lighting, but that is precisely where the award-winning South African designer likes to start.

It is an approach that turns the traditional design process on its head. Instead of beginning with an idea of what a piece should look like and finding the materials to create it, Stephen Pikus Design often starts with the waste itself.

“Our creative vision is a little bit different to most people,” Stephen explains. “We actually identify a waste product, and then everything we do gets built around that.”

The air filters used in some of his sculptural lighting are a case in point. Usually thrown into a skip once they have served their original purpose, one caught Stephen’s attention and ended up sitting on his desk while he considered what else it could become. That curiosity eventually led to a new lighting design – and another unexpected material entering the studio’s creative vocabulary.

A total transformation

Recycled glass, wire, industrial metals and other reclaimed materials are similarly transformed into handcrafted fixtures that are as much about form and atmosphere as they are about illumination. Each retains something of the material it began with, but is reworked into a piece designed to hold its own within an interior.

There is plenty of room for experimentation along the way. Colour is one area Stephen continues to play with: while the studio frequently works with four or five different shades of green glass, a recent fixture brings multiple colours together for the first time.

The possibilities may be broad, but bespoke lighting always begins with the space.

Understanding the environment

“To create lighting for each space, I think it starts with the space,” Stephen says. “There are so many options with what we do as far as material, colour. I think it’s very important to understand the space and who the people are that are living there, working there.”

That sensitivity has taken Stephen Pikus Design well beyond its Johannesburg and Cape Town bases. Its bespoke pieces can be found in residential, lodge and commercial interiors across Africa, while the studio’s international footprint continues to grow, with work reaching Europe, the UAE, Australia, New Zealand and North America.

It is an impressive journey for designs that can begin with something destined for the skip. And perhaps that is part of their appeal: Stephen sees possibility where others see waste, using colour, craftsmanship and a little creative curiosity to give overlooked materials a very different second life.

Visit Stephen Pikus Design for more.