Due to the current situation of Covid-19, Pro Helvetia and Pro Helvetia Shanghai have decided to suspend the Design Switzerland delegation and exhibition to the Shenzhen Creative Week, to be held from 12-15 June 2020.

Four young Swiss design studios were selected through a call for participation launched by Pro Helvetia & Pro Helvetia Shanghai to take part to the Design Switzerland exhibition.

AATB
AATB are Andrea Anner & Thibault Brevet, both graduates from ECAL. Having previously worked on interactive objects, the tandem then explored the use of industrial robotic arms, crystallizing their research and leading them to investigate the potential of robotics and industrial automation outside of the factory. Their «Phasma lamp»’s name originates from the thin, needle-looking insect. Almost invisible against a wall during the day, the lamp emanates a warm glow at night, its sinuous contours becoming more obvious. It is formed of primitive modules that that can be assembled into a wide and almost unlimited array of simple and complex structures and shapes, making it a customable and outstanding object.

Laure Gremion
Laure Gremion is a product designer born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Driven by challenges and discoveries, she likes to stretch her limits by tackling complex and manifold subjects. In Shenzhen, she will present her «Arrimage» bags as well as «Ting». The former are «encordé» bags made of DuPont™ Tyvek®, a material that looks like paper but has unexpected properties. «Ting» is a rain collector for garden use. The top part is made of brass using the cymbal manufacturing technique. The brass sheet is hammered and heated by hand until it takes a curved and natural shape. As the raindrops fall on the top, a delicate music can be heard. The water is then collected in the ceramic vase and may be used to water the indoor plants.

Ilio Studio
Ilio Studio focuses on material innovation and process development that explore the boundaries between crafts and industry. «Hot Wire Extensions» challenges alternative manufacturing processes and material uses and transforms line structures into solid bodies. After building a shape with thin nichrome wire, the process consists in placing the form in a box filled with silica and waste nylon powder of SLS 3D printing, a material that is currently not recycled. Once activated by an electric current, the sand and nylon powder heat up and grip along the wire.

Shizuka Saito
Shizuka Saito graduated from HEAD — Geneva in 2017, as an interior architect. She was recently nominated for the Design Prize Switzerland 2019-2020 in the category «Rado Star Prize Switzerland for young talent». Her work is around materiality, sustainability, in product design and scenography. Every project is made out of a particular material and design from its proper qualities, like this «Valet», a perforated metal sheet, cut, fold, assembled using threaded rods, which was presented during the Milan Design Week 2019 and at the Design Days 2019.