Designer Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt's "Bau" pendant lamp for Normann Copenhagen recently caught our attention. The colorful array of interlocking basswood discs is as good an example of high modernism as we've seen lately. "Bau has an immediate pattern that is broken up by the discs' colours, sizes and off-centre linkages, making the lamp living and organic in its expression."

The lamp comes in two sizes, each of which is available in a color version or a natural finish, which works to a surprisingly different visual effect.

As Schmidt explains:Decoration does not need to be restricted to objects you hang on the wall, but can also form an integral part of more functional objects, such as a table or a lamp. This creates new and exciting opportunities in furnishing. When you move your position in relation to Bau, the tight geometric lines are broken. The sort of experience I want people to have is to see the Bau lamp and wonder what it looks like form the other side. It must appeal to peoples' sense of curiosity.

It should come as no surprise then, that Schmidt's: "love for architecture is also reflected in the Bau lamp." And lest we English-speakers take its name as a Bauhaus reference, "in German, Bau means construction, and it is exactly the lamp's construction and composition that create an expression of harmonious disharmonics."

Some assembly required: the lamp is shipped as a flatpack, with 59 discs in the small version, 80 in the large.

The "Bau" lamp is available now directly through Normann Copenhagen, as well as Design My World.