There’s something quietly radical happening when designers stop thinking about furniture as rigid, finished objects and start treating them like organisms that could have grown from the ocean floor. That’s exactly what YET FAB has done with their Alherd Collection, a series of lamps that look less like traditional lighting and more like glowing coral formations pulled from some computational reef.
Founded by Ilya Kotler, Anastasiya Kotler, and Rael Kaymer, YET FAB sits at that fascinating intersection where material science meets algorithmic design. The Alherd lamps are all born from the same generative system, inspired by how coral grows and how water erodes stone over centuries. The result is a porous, cellular texture that doesn’t just hold light but transforms it into something softer, more atmospheric, more alive.
Designer: YET FAB
What makes this collection especially interesting is how it scales. Rather than designing three separate products, YET FAB created one visual language that works whether you’re holding a compact table lamp or standing next to a 130 cm floor sculpture. It’s a smart approach that gives the collection a cohesive identity while offering real flexibility for different spaces and needs.
The table lamp is the quiet overachiever of the trio. Small enough to live comfortably on a desk or nightstand, it has this sculptural presence that works even when it’s switched off. But here’s where it gets clever: inside that organic, textured shell is a customizable filter system. You can swap out internal filters to shift the mood completely, moving from warm amber to soft white to deep red without changing how the lamp looks externally. It’s like having multiple lamps in one body, ready to adapt to whether you’re working late, hosting friends, or just need something moody for a quiet evening.
That adaptability matters more than it might seem at first. We’re living in smaller spaces with less room for single-purpose objects, and lighting plays a huge role in how a room feels. A lamp that can shift its emotional register without demanding more square footage? That’s genuinely useful design thinking wrapped in a beautiful package.
Then there’s the floor lamp, which takes everything up several notches in scale and presence. Standing at 130 cm, this piece becomes a vertical sculpture that anchors a room rather than just illuminating it. It’s made from recyclable plastic using a custom 3D printing process, which means each one is fabricated to order. The sustainability angle isn’t just marketing speak here; it’s baked into how these lamps are actually made.
You can choose between fully transparent or a sunset gradient finish, each offering a different vibe. Both versions use internal LED tubes that make the entire porous surface glow from within, creating this soft halo effect that feels more like ambient sculpture than functional lighting. It’s the kind of piece that makes you rethink what a floor lamp can be.
The pendant version brings that same organic aesthetic overhead. Suspended by two minimal cables, it floats above dining tables or work surfaces with an elongated form that breaks away from the typical linear pendant design. There’s something almost weightless about how it hangs there, despite having such a strong visual presence. Like its siblings, it comes in transparent or sunset gradient finishes and uses that same coral-inspired, porous surface to diffuse light gently across whatever space it occupies.
What ties all three pieces together isn’t just their shared aesthetic DNA but the philosophy behind them. YET FAB is researching how computational design can create forms that reference natural systems without mimicking them directly. These aren’t literal recreations of coral; they’re interpretations of how natural structures grow, adapt, and interact with light. It’s biomimicry filtered through algorithms and fabricated with contemporary technology.
Every lamp in the Alherd series is made to order and can be customized in color on request, which adds another layer of personalization to an already thoughtful collection. In a world drowning in mass-produced lighting that all looks vaguely the same, there’s something refreshing about objects that feel computationally precise yet organically imperfect, sustainable yet sculptural, functional yet deeply atmospheric. These aren’t just lamps. They’re experiments in how we might live with light differently.
The post These 3D-Printed Lamps Glow Like Coral Reefs first appeared on Yanko Design.