'spettro' by matthieu girel is a flying saucer that magnetically captures paperclips
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz

during milan design week 2011, ECAL / university of art and design lausanne presents an exhibition of products
produced in collaboration with italian design brand alessi. the objects have been designed by second-year students
in the industrial design bachelor program as a result of a workshop directed by elric petit, head of the department.
at the beginning of the project, the company's president, alberto alessi, explained his 'formula' for which
all alessi products follow: combining the chemistry between the emotional elements, functionaly, communication,
price and industrial technology of a design.

the students have conceived a series of new desk and office objects for alessi, considering the working space
as a friendly and welcoming environments, developing tools to provide joy to their users.


'A4' by marie douel is a basket can be gradually built up with sheets of paper
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz

'this small exhibition showcases the projects that the students of ECAL in lausanne devel­oped for us during a workshop
in the autumn/winter of 2010. for over twenty years we have dedi­cated part of our activities to joint projects
with international design schools and universities. these are moments of great exchange where we try to offer the benefits
of decades of experience, receiving new energies and innovative interpretations of the material world in return.
the projects revolve around the theme of the office and the home study: a product area that we have rarely tackled and,
as such, an interesting opportunity for us to enrich the 'alessi encyclo­paedia'. in recent months we have seen a series
of very precise and varied proposals take shape, each responding to the same necessity of upgrading the classic work space
by trying to make it more domestic, friendly and personal.

the result is a collection of single items connected not by form, but rather by their overall design harmony where innovation,
as is often the case in the world of design, is gradually revealed through small but telling gestures.
we are talking about naturally versatile objects that are suitable for use in real offices or to complete areas of the home.
I am amazed by how much enthusiasm and depth was given to analyse the single functions, by the freshness of expression
in all proposals and the pleasant quest for simplicity in some of these. I believe that these excellent results cannot
only depend on the talent of each student but also on the competent and concrete learning method adopted.
our work together does not end here: we still have to examine certain themes that require more time to evolve,
as I hope some of these concepts will develop into authentic products.
this is the best result anyone could expect from a workshop.' - alberto alessi

marie douel's 'A4' basket and matthieu pache's '45 degrees'
image © designboom


'graffetta' by marie-anne le corre is a wall-hanger which is influenced by paperclips. letters or keys can also be slid on to it.
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'ora' by isaure bouyssonie is a clock mobile that suspends time
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'erbario' by diane bayard and christophe guberan is an ensemble of six bookmarks based on the aesthetics of leaves, in a herbarium notebook holder
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'volta' by laure gremion is graphically based on the movement of the second hand, which is multiplied by sixty and makes the passing of time pleasantly visible
image © designboom



detail of 'volta'
image © designboom



'filo' by marie schenker is an elegant minimalist sticky-tape dispenser made from a simple steel wire
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'filo' by marie schenker
image © designboom




'frana' by christophe guberan is a collection of containers that slide with a simple gesture to reveal or hide the objects they hold
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'frana' by christophe guberan
image © designboom




'frana' paper clip holder by christophe guberan
image © designboom



'saros' by manon briod displays a new pattern every second due to its water-ripple effect
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz

'pennello' by blandine gay allows documents to be easily affixed around the mirror due to a brush-bristle system
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz

'pennello' by blandine gay
image © designboom



'ciambella' by carlo clopath is a holder consisting of two separate elements based on a cake mould typology
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz

'stadium' by raphaël nessim is a storage system consisting of three versatile elements to create diverse storage spaces
photo ECAL/julien chavaillaz



'berra' by lucien gumy supports work by gravity, by just sliding documents between the blocks on the slope
image © designboom



installation view of the exhibition at aleeis, via manzoni 14-16, milan
image © designboom