INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Noé Chassot – Aflô

by Noé Chassot

Inspired by Aldo Rossi's Teatro del Mondo, created for the 1979-80 Venice Biennale of Architecture, the Aflô is a rotomolded chair designed to seamlessly integrate with the CubiSystem modular floating pontoon system. CubiSystem, a French company, offers an ingenious solution comprising plastic cubes that can be assembled with connectors to form versatile floating platforms or pontoons. These simple and low-cost systems offer a wide range of applications. Aflô is an additional module within the company's product range. This seat, combined with the other elements offered by the brand, offers the possibility of comfortably seating an audience on a floating platform during summer events such as concerts, swimming or boating competitions, fireworks displays and so forth.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Figure Libre

with Elric Petit

Figure libre is an industrial design project that empowers students to explore topics of their choice. This semester, guided by Elric Petit, students developed their personal projects inspired by articles from specialized newspapers or magazines. The objective is to create projects with the potential to seamlessly integrate in our contemporary society and its economy, leveraging their personal affinities and interests to enhance their work.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Presque Rien

with Erwan Bouroullec

Led by the acclaimed French designer Erwan Bouroullec, the workshop 'Presque Rien' unfolded as an exploration of design possibilities within the setting of his estate and recently renovated Burgundy farm. The project envisioned an open canvas, encouraging ECAL’s Bachelor Industrial Design students, to diverge from traditional problem-solving.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Soft Power

with Christophe Guberan

Under the direction of Christophe Guberan, the students used their design talents to rethink an everyday object that consumes more energy than it should, using their powers of observation to choose a type of contemporary object that consumes energy and reduce its dependence on energy during use.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Abundance & Scarcity

with Nadine Sterk

When we live in a society with so much abundance yet at the same time so much scarcity, how do we discern the resources around us? How can we look to our surroundings to learn about where things come from, or how we might apply them in our own lives? More importantly, how can we live more harmoniously with nature by respecting it and taking only what we need? Within the workshop held by Nadine Sterk from Atelier NL the BA Industrial Design students were asked to create tableware around the theme ‘Abundance & Scarcity' from vernacular earth collected together in the Sauvabelin woods in Lausanne. Students and crew had no hesitation in getting their hands (and clothes) dirty to knead, turn, form, glaze, and fire ceramic tableware that tells a story.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Molds

with Elric Petit

The aim of this project was to approach industrial casting techniques through a playful, experimental laboratory. The students produced objects in plaster, which did not necessarily have to have a function. However, they must be technically interesting, i.e. their molds must be simple to produce, and the molded parts must feature singular characteristics inherent in the molding process. The molds (free materials), together with the plaster castings, were shown for evaluation in the form of a group exhibition.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Junkyard Diving

with Philippe Malouin

"Form follows function" is an expression attributed to the modernist architect Louis Sullivan. It is a statement that is quite relevant to industrial design. On the other hand, form can sometimes also determine function in a process of reverse exploration. During the workshop with Philippe Malouin, students were encouraged to look for new functions inspired by forms found in a metal recycling center. In this process, random discoveries and associations were made to generate a new and surprising vocabulary of forms.

EXHIBITIONS

ECAL MILANO 2023: Junkyard Diving,
17–23.04.2023,
House of Switzerland, Milano

On the occasion of the Milan Design Week (17-23 April 2023), ECAL presents Junkyard Diving at the House of Switzerland. Under the guidance of the designer Philippe Malouin, ECAL’s Bachelor students in Industrial Design invite us to question our consumption habits, the role of designers and the world of tomorrow.