Characterised by one boldly beautiful swooping curve, this 'Yumi' floor lamp is a recent design by architect Shigeru Ban for FontanaArte.

The large indoor floor lamp plays with the lightness and extension resistance of carbon fibre, and for all its apparent simplicity, it's a bit of a technological marvel too.

Inside the stem is a sequence of different materials - fibreglass, aluminium and carbon fibre - which are visible, and layered in order to obtain a single element with high structural properties.

Amazingly, the stem is just ten centimetres thick, with the cabling sunk into the structure and becoming part of it.

The outcome is a graceful light fixture which ably demonstrates how carbon fibre combined with other materials produces lightweight objects that retain a high mechanical resistance.