INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Gaia Vitali – Vela

by Gaia Vitali

Vela is a wooden structure designed to be installed in the Ticino River, which is currently undergoing renaturation. Intended for the newly designated swimming areas, Vela invites people to step into the water and experience the river during its calmer moments. Its backrest-like shape is welcoming and offers an immersive pause in the heart of nature. But the Ticino can suddenly become dangerous: when the current strengthens, Vela opens up to reveal colorful signage that warns of the risk. It is an object that combines comfort and safety, designed to bring people closer to the river in a simple, intuitive, and responsible way.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Newspaper

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.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

WOOD PLAY!

with Marc Morro

The WOOD PLAY workshop, led by Spanish designer Marc Morro, invited students to explore wood as an open construction system accessible to all audiences. The aim was to foster creativity and experimentation through the design of playful, reconfigurable modules, leveraging the material’s possibilities and constraints while avoiding an overly childlike aesthetic.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

BY HAND

with Friederike Daumiller

Even if it seems that digital is taking over analog, there's still an interest and need for us as humans to have a physical connection to our daily tools. So many designers swear by their drawing routine and real-life experimentation still plays a important role in our practices. Under the guidance of Friederike Daumiller students took the challenge to design their own interpretations of hand writing and hand drawing instruments always referring to their hands-on tests and experience.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

ECAL x FREITAG - Access over ownership

with Christophe Guberan

Second-year industrial design students collaborated with Zurich-based brand FREITAG Lab, leveraging their expertise in environmental awareness, material upcycling, and the circular economy. Using the FREITAG manifesto as a foundation, they developed new shared products centered on the principle of "access over ownership."

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Filiforme – 2025

with Tomas Kral

In this project, first-year students were invited to design an object using wire as their main creative material. The aim was to explore the expressive and structural potential of this linear and flexible medium, while developing a personal and innovative approach. Bending, twisting, braiding or welding the wire became a way to experiment with form, balance, and lightness, and to rethink the function of the object through the limitations of the material.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

TRANSPORTER

with Elric Petit

This project explores the broad theme of transport. Since the dawn of time, our strength and energy have been limited — which is why we’ve always been inventive in finding ways to move the things around us. First-year students were asked to design an object that intelligently and comfortably moves or transports the elements they chose.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

Bag It

with Stéphane Halmaï-Voisard

For this project, the 1st year BA Industrial Design students had to design a bag, or a collection of bags.

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.

FOUNDATION YEAR

Option Course Industrial Design – S2 21–22

FOUNDATION YEAR

Dessin Créatif