Gunnar Kähler

Gunnar
Kähler

Projects

PRODUCT DESIGN

Gunnar Kähler – Meadow Furniture

by Gunnar Kähler

Meadow Furniture sits directly in the garden, present in the wild green around it. Surrounded by tall grass and flowers, the objects belong to the landscape. Sun, air and rain pass right through them, reducing their impact on the ground and the plants below. The welded assembly of steel rods makes for a lightweight and resistant structure: easy to carry around or to leave in a favourite spot for the season. For storing the pieces during winter, the chairs and table stack onto each other for a shared footprint. Meadow Furniture proposes an interface for the untamed garden, where a quiet human presence is welcomed and the landscape is allowed to remain itself.

PRODUCT DESIGN

ECAL X GOOGLE - A Message From Tomorrow

with Chris Kabel

The Industrial Design team at Google (Google ID) initiated a collaboration with ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne to develop a concept for a mobile-focused product inspired by a daily ritual. ECAL’s Master Product Design students were invited to envision innovative hardware engaging with contemporary habits. Through compelling storytelling, these conceptual projects consider the human dimension of mobile technology: how it shapes everyday gestures and how our relationships with devices might evolve in the future. This collaboration reflects ECAL’s forward-looking approach to design, combining experimentation, critical thinking, and a strong receptivity to emerging technologies.

PRODUCT DESIGN

ECAL x OFFECCT - Sound & Vision

with Camille Blin

As the modern workspace and living environment trend towards open-plan designs, the need for versatile acoustic solutions have regained momentum. Offecct, a renown Swedish contrat furniture manufacturer, has teamed up with 8 students part of Master Product Design from ECAL, led by course tutor Camille Blin to reinterpret the acoustic room divider — an essential tool in structuring both our spaces and our ideas. Acoustics have been a steady part of the Offecct’s portfolio since the early 2000's and it is time for this category to question its own versatility and its influence on the well-being of our workplaces.

PRODUCT DESIGN

One-Off 1/1

with Augustin Scott de Martinville

For this semester, students were invited to focus on the creation of a “One-Off” of their choice. They were encouraged to free themselves from the issues traditionally associated with industrial design - mass production, costs, market positioning, etc. The project concluded in a silent auction at the ECAL's traditional Christmas Market.