Following a workshop led by Camille Blin and Erwan Bouroullec, Master Product Design students of ECAL present projects around the Workbays created by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec and edited by Vitra. Together with new functionalities, these prospective work environments are presented on the occasion of Design Parade Toulon – festival international d’architecture d’intérieur.
With Workbays, which they created for Vitra a few years ago, the French designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, who regularly collaborate with ECAL, have developed a micro-architectural system that redefines the working environment and breaks with the typical rigid planning structure of offices. Thus Workbays create distinct areas where individuals or groups can retreat from the general office environment to carry out specific activities. The units come equipped with everything users need: work surfaces, seating, optional storage and power connections. The structure of Workbays consists of slim aluminium profiles and organically shaped wall elements made of pressed polyester felt.
“The ECAL students suggested we devised new typologies for these working environments, adding novel features and supplying them with new accessories”, says Camille Blin, the designer and professor who headed the project. So the Master Product Design students worked for a full semester under the watchful eye of Erwan Bouroullec and invented new structures that call to mind Japanese 0capsule hotels, a prototyping workshop, a gym, a bar, a garden or a resting area.
For each of these spaces, the students created specific and original objects, ranging from Bluetooth loudspeakers to miniature lamps reminiscent of stadium ones, desk pads-cum-bags, a semi-standing stool, a cable-covering carpet, in & out wastepaper baskets, multi socket trays or a desk partition with vases and drawing pins.
A 3D animation film specifically created by TRAUM Inc. presenting these unusual Workbays can also be seen at the exhibition.
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MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Christophe Guberan
‘Stool Story’ invited students to explore innovative, re-contextualised, or intriguing materials and production techniques to create a simple yet fundamentally structural typology: the stool. Each process was documented through a short, vertically formatted video. The result is a range of stools, each demonstrating a unique perspective and approach.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Philippe Malouin
SolarPunk is a design exploration into how increasingly accessible solar energy might shape and integrate into our everyday lives in the near future. Embracing a hopeful vision of sustainability, the movement challenges traditional perceptions of renewable energy by imagining creative, aesthetic, and functional uses of solar power. This collection of work was created by first-year Master’s students in Product Design at ECAL, under the guidance of designer Philippe Malouin. Developed specifically for the Soleil·s exhibition at the MUDAC design museum in Lausanne, the projects reflect bold experimentation and speculative thinking. Rather than focusing solely on efficiency or utility, the students explored poetic, playful, and sometimes unconventional applications of solar energy, highlighting the emotional and experiential potential of this technology. Among the featured works are two standout projects which have been developed and feature in the exhibition: ‘Solar Shade' by Carl Johan Jacobsen, a wearable hat that powers a cooling vest using flexible solar panels, and ‘Butterfly Sunglasses’ by Takumi Ise, simple lightweight eyewear that combines colour, movement, and solar functionality.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Augustin Scott de Martinville
Designed in CH, Made in JP is a collaborative project between ECAL Master Product Design, Karimoku New Standard, and Presence Switzerland. From 13 April to 13 October 2025, representatives from countries across the globe will gather to showcase innovation, culture, and sustainability at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan. For Switzerland’s pavilion, MA Product Design students at ECAL were tasked with designing a stackable wooden chair to be produced in Japan by Karimoku New Standard, intended to furnish the lightweight, bubble-inspired architecture by Manuel Herz. Under the guidance of Augustin Scott de Martinville, the class developed ten chair designs, each offering a distinct perspective. Some draw inspiration from the pavilion’s scenography, while others explore cultural iconography or celebrate the symbiosis between two nations—each unique in heritage yet united by shared values of craftsmanship and innovation. Of the ten designs, one was selected to be produced for the pavilion: HUG, designed by Jacob Kouthoofd Martensson and Min Xiyao, is a circular chair that stacks inversely—a feature that not only informs its name but also visually embodies the essence of collaboration. This versatile design accommodates a range of uses, from conferences to general pavilion seating. The final chair will be unveiled both in Osaka in the Swiss Pavilion at the World Expo 2025, and during Milan Design Week 2025, with the full project exhibited at the House of Switzerland.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Augustin Scott de Martinville
Heat pumps are energy-efficient household climate systems essential for transitioning to renewable energy and combating climate change. Typically installed outside close-by to buildings, they are becoming common visual elements in urban landscapes, often resembling air conditioners with limited design variety across brands. To reimagine these essential typologies, Viessmann, a world leading Heat Pump producer, invited MA Product Design students from ECAL to develop innovative concepts, resulting in designs that challenge norms and explore new visual identities of heat pumps.
MA PRODUCT DESIGN
with Thélonious Goupil
During this one-week workshop led by Thélonious Goupil, edits were made to a ‘drop false ceiling’ in Bar Gala Lausanne. By hacking the system, playing with existing elements such as lighting or ventilators, the outdate ceiling was given new life without the need for full renovation.