Partnerships with Mec-Art

Within the framework of the partnership between ECAL/University of Art & Design Lausanne and Mec-Art (Pour la Mécanique d'Art), the students of the Master in Design for Luxury & Craftsmanship had the opportunity to visit the manufactures and meet the artisans based in the town of Sainte-Croix. This region of the Franco-Swiss Jura arc gathers a great deal of know-how in watchmaking and art mechanics and is now part of UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

These visits and encounters should enable the students of the ECAL program to create simple and fun mechanical parts that will illustrate the various skills specific to the region, such as automatons, music boxes or watchmaking.

Partnership (2022)

Wind

Shangwei Zhou, Somchai Thumthatanuk
The mechanical components contrast with the natural and organic aesthetic of this clock, inspired by the iconic landscapes of Switzerland. Realized by the best craftsmen based in the small village of Sainte-Croix, this unique piece illustrates a perfect harmony between three typical Swiss mechanical arts: watches, automatons and music boxes. After every full turn of the minute hand, a music starts to ring and the blue metal pieces wave slowly, as the wind over the surface of the Leman lake.

Colours, illusions and concept of time

Sarah Yao
Based on a gradient optical illusion by Akiyoshi Kitaoka, our eyes perceive colours differently depending on the shade of the background they are placed against. I wanted to visualise the passage of time through colour - the resulting objects are a translation of this animated effect through the use of simple but elegant mechanics.

Wind ECAL/ Shangwei Zhou, Somchai Thumthatanuk

Couleurs ECAL/Sarah Yao

Couleurs ECAL/Sarah Yao

1/3

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

1/5

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

Workshop with Mec-Art/ ECAL

1/3

Projets similaires

See more projects

Aina Wang – Once Gold

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Aina Wang – Once Gold

by Aina Wang

In the 19th century, Prussian citizens gave up their gold to support the war, receiving cast-iron jewellery engraved ‘Gold gab ich für Eisen’ - ‘I gave gold for iron’. Berlin iron, an alloy of iron and carbon, covered in a layer of patinated black lacquer, was born of a moment when personal sacrifice became collective identity. This project revives that gesture by concealing the gold at the heart of the iron, like a buried memory. Inspired by military insignia and Gothic geometry, the piece evokes reverence and loss. Designed for movement, it transforms into ten forms, from brooch to pendant to belt, linking the ritual of the past with the wear and tear of the present.

Arnaud Tantet – : To a Glacier

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Arnaud Tantet – : To a Glacier

by Arnaud Tantet

Global warming is transforming the landscapes around us. The melting of the ice is intensifying, affecting the thousand-year-old glaciers of Europe. The aim of this project, : To a Glacier, is to use design to bear witness to the Mont Blanc glacier. This work is based around holistic field research, in the form of objects, photos, brochures and sounds directly inspired by these disappearing giants. Developed in collaboration with glass artisans at the CIAV (Centre International d'Art Verrier, in Meisenthal), the results of this project have included a number of experiments in glass, using moulds made from different materials.

Bom Noh – Plastic Love

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Bom Noh – Plastic Love

by Bom Noh

Plastic Love reinterprets the sculptural gestures of the Murano chandelier—a historical icon of luxury—to question how we define craftsmanship and value in contemporary context. Combining digital tools with the trace of the hand, the work emphasises the irregularities and physical presence that resist automation. Plastic, long associated with mass production and ecological harm, is reframed not as a cheap substitute but as a site of embodied labour and material critique. Through repetition, imperfection, and time, it gains a new kind of beauty. By deliberately choosing a material often dismissed, the project unsettles inherited hierarchies and challenges our assumptions about refinement—demonstrating how design can function not as a solution, but as a question.

Coline Schenck – Les formes de l’inconscient

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Coline Schenck – Les formes de l’inconscient

by Coline Schenck

Glazed earthenware pieces, intended for tableware and daily use, are developed through a process combining mental well-being and sensory design. Studies in neuroscience and neuroaesthetics are analyzed to identify shapes, colors, and textures that promote calm. This data is first translated visually into pastel compositions, then transformed into volumes adapted to the function of each object. The graphic composition seeks to visually stimulate while minimizing cognitive load, while the volume invites attentive tactile exploration. In a daily environment marked by sensory overload, these objects aim to reintroduce calm by turning the ordinary into a soothing refuge.

Emilie Heger – Typology of the Cut

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP

Emilie Heger – Typology of the Cut

by Emilie Heger

The aim of this research project is to bring together the earliest tools from the Palaeolithic era with contemporary gemstone cutting. While flint tools were essential to the survival of early humans, the techniques and gestures involved in stone-cutting have evolved into a particularly refined art, a symbol of wealth and power. Today, the only purpose of working precious stones, perfected by modern tools and technologies, is to maginify the reflection of light in order to produce aesthetic artefacts that are freed from their function. Typology of the Cut is a curatorial project that explores the duality between function and expression in relation to stone-cutting.

Related courses

See all courses

MAS DESIGN FOR LUXURY & CRAFTSMANSHIP