Where a huge, neon Asahi beer sign was once a beacon, there now looms what can only be described as an objet, a kind of golden beet resting on a black obsidian-like pedestal (which doubles as a restaurant).

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Some of these are then fed into a prototyping machine, made by Objet of Israel, that can produce a 3-D model in lightweight plastic in minutes.

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"There are little secrets that are yours to keep, " said Taffin designer James de Givenchy, who approaches each piece he makes as a complete objet d'art.

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