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.
Workshop (2023) with Erwan Bouroullec
The workshop leveraged the site’s potential and its unique attributes — an isolated landscape with space, nature interactions, and a public dimension. Here, agile, effective, and relevant methods took precedence over industry norms, embodying a performative lightness and focusing on minimalism.
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The essence was to provide creative freedom, encouraging the students to draw inspiration from the ordinary yet multifaceted environment and to diverge from traditional process. Insisting on the discovery of novel methods while allowing the use of on-site materials or energies, interventions were required to leave no trace, demanding a light and respectful approach.
Emphasizing the bond with the location and its essence, the students engaged in extensive walks in the forest, bonfires, and discussions with local craftsmen, foresters, farmers and manufacturer.
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The workshop's outcomes ranged from tangible constructions to ephemeral interventions, drawing inspiration from resources at hand like water, wind, wood, and discarded items. The final showcase takes the form of process videos, which not only capture the workshop's diverse typologies of creations but also influence a broader protocol of socialization, advocating for harmonious living through purposeful design.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Elric Petit
As part of the CITY TREES project, students were invited to design an object in connection with a tree of their choice within the urban landscape of Lausanne. Drawing inspiration from dendrology, they observed an existing tree and envisioned a subtle, respectful, and reversible intervention. The aim was to highlight the unique characteristics of the tree while ensuring the project harmoniously blended into its surroundings.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Christophe Guberan
In collaboration with a local craftsman, the students designed a reusable packaging solution suitable for production in a little series. The project aimed to enhance the value of an everyday food product while addressing current challenges related to transport, sustainability, and the second life of packaging. The intervention had to be simple, functional, and eco-friendly, offering a purpose beyond its original packaging function.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard
The first-year students of the Bachelor in Industrial Design (BADI) at ECAL, under the direction of Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard, head of BADI, embarked on a project to design their own unique interpretations of a Bluetooth speaker. This project challenged the students to work creatively within the constraints of an existing kit of technical components, encouraging them to explore innovative approaches in terms of form, materiality, and functionality.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Elric Petit
Newspaper is an industrial design project that aims to cultivate fresh ideas with the potential to seamlessly integrate into our contemporary society and its economy. Under the guidance of Elric Petit, each student had the possibility to explore a chosen topic, expressing their personal affinities and interests, thereby enhancing the overall project experience. In the spirit of multidisciplinarity, the students underwent a writing workshop with a professional journalist, which culminated in 25 articles written by the students on their individual projects, collected in a printed journal.
BA INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
with Adrien Rovero
AGO Lighting has come together with ECAL Bachelor students in Industrial Design, under the guidance of Swiss designer Adrien Rovero, to conceive a collection of lighting installations to be used in public places such as museums, hotel lobbies, coffee bar and so on. Focusing primarily on the spatial aspect of light, our approach was to design lighting structures based on components supplied by AGO and inspired by the fabric of Seoul, rather than creating mere lamps.