PET Lamps

A prime example is the PET Lamps project, initiated by designer Alvaro Catalán de Ocón. In this global initiative, the designer acts as a systems orchestrator. The project's core procedure involves giving a specific Assignment to artisan communities in countries like Colombia and Ethiopia, who possess deep, generational knowledge of weaving. The brief from the designer is precise: he provides the structural frame—a repurposed PET plastic bottle—and then entrusts the intricate fabrication of the lampshade to the artisans' unique craft. This is not a delegation of the core design concept, but a commission for specialized execution outside the designer's own abilities.