The Blooming is an ongoing project exploring the heat expansion properties of PLA, a characteristic often seen as a limitation due to its low heat resistance. In this work, the material’s tendency to deform under heat becomes a key feature.

Despite access to a large-scale 3D printer, Silvia Sukopova developed a method to create oversized prints by first producing textile-like drapery forms, then applying heat to expand and transform them into much larger, flowing structures.

The first applications are pendant lights, but the project remains in progress, with new objects and forms continuously emerging. The Blooming investigates how material behavior and digital fabrication can merge to produce dynamic, unpredictable, and visually rich objects.

3d printed PLA, light source
2025

Photography by Nora Saparová