Riccardo Balletto
Pinwi
Pinwi optical fibres illuminated in blue
ILLUMINATED CATCHALL · THEORY OF FORM · 2025–2026

Pinwi

A landscape of light.
Made to be touched.

250 FIBRES / ONE GESTUREEXPLORE THE PROJECT ↓

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DRAG TO ROTATE
« The construction of Pinwi »
01 / LIGHT TAKES SHAPE

Function is the starting point.
Interaction is the project.

Putting down your keys, brushing a surface, leaving an impression. Pinwi turns an everyday gesture into a small landscape of light. The fibres yield under weight and light spreads. Then the meadow rises again.

01 / MATERIAL

The source disappears.
The light remains.

An RGB COB LED strip lights the edges of the PMMA sheets. Light travels through the acrylic and up the optical fibres to their tips.

02 / TOUCH

A form that responds
to your hand.

The optical fibres bend when touched. Their curvature allows light to emerge along the stems: an impression becomes visible, just for a moment.

03 / USE

A place for your things.
Room for surprise.

Pinwi is a catchall, yet it invites touch before revealing its function. Objects rest on the meadow and reshape its landscape.

Detail of illuminated optical fibresThe fibres bend under the touch of a handWallet and keys resting on Pinwi
02 / A NATURAL RULE

Order without
straight lines.

The arrangement follows phyllotaxis: each new point rotates by 137.5° and moves away from the centre according to √n. The pattern grows in a spiral, then meets the square boundary of the plate.

250optical fibres
137.5°golden angle
θ = n × 137.5°   r = c × √n

Distribution principle · move your cursor over the points.

03 / INSIDE PINWI

Where the light begins.

Exploded technical drawing: upper closure, optical fibres, PMMA plates and base01020304

Upper closure

The upper frame conceals the edges and closes the assembly. Four screws fasten it from below.

Optical fibres

250 PMMA fibres, Ø 1.5 mm. Each heat-formed lower end is held between the plates, without glue.

PMMA plates

The upper sheet guides the fibres. Pockets in the lower sheet hold their mushroom-shaped ends.

Base

Supports the plates. Corner brackets centre the assembly inside the frame.

PMMA / Ø 1.5 MM / 250 FIBRES
FROM PINWHEEL TO PINWI

One rotation.
At every scale.

The outline begins with a pinwheel: four blades become arcs, an S-shaped wave along each side. The same rotation appears in the frame and the fibre arrangement. Modules can sit together, allowing the meadow to grow.

Original study of the pinwheel-shaped outlineStudy of the pinwheel outline
04 / EXPERIMENT, BUILD, REPEAT

Hole by hole.
Fibre by fibre.

Making moves from the drilling template to the holes, from melting the tips to assembly. A continuous conversation between a geometric rule and the behaviour of a material.

01 / Drilling the plates by hand
01 / Drilling the plates by hand
02 / Inserting fibres into the prototype
02 / Inserting fibres into the prototype
03 / Illuminated prototype, after assembly
03 / Illuminated prototype, after assembly
Pinwi

Light is more than
something to look at.
It can be encountered.

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