Light Transmitting Wood

If you thought that see-through concrete was a cool material innovation, this even more refined-looking wooden counterpart may dazzle you even more. And with the core technology now fully developed, the sky is the limit – virtually any material can be made to let light pass through it.

Sandwiched between wooden slats, the vertical strips that help light move from one face to the other are visible as tall thin bars – but like vertical pixels, the effect of the composite image is readily apparent as our minds stitch the image back together. The resulting high-tech hybrid material can be deployed in everything from structural walls to horizontal surfaces or room dividers.

Similar cutting-edge, light-transmitting fiber-optics as those that allow lights and shadows to penetrate concrete (pre-cast or poured on site) are used by Luminoso to carry light from one side to the other – making considerations of density and thickness obsolete. Just imagine: a warm and dark wooden wall providing physical and psychological solidity and security – but that also lets light shine through it.