While at DesignMai last week, I saw the Lightable that Julian Appelius and Fabien Dumas designed back in 2001.

The light of the LEDs is transmitted through the glass top, but you can’t see it unless you place an object (glass table ware, perfume flacons, plastic items, etc.), capable to transmit light, on the glas surface: by neglecting the meeting surfaces through complete flush contact, light emits from the glas surface and enlights the object.

The designers see possible applications in glass architecture: each raindrop would leave its trace, each rainshower would create fire works.