But craft is the earliest form of serial production on a modular basis, if we think, for instance, of ancient vases or bricks. Machines today can perfectly reproduce a model and they can even generate the model itself, the matrix. It is here that craft takes on a fundamental, urgent, and necessary role: it is our way of remaining human and unpredictable. The great masters taught us this; for example, Enzo Mari and his work on ceramics made us see that even for serial production we have to deviate from the rules as a form of rejecting standardization.

The means are increasingly advanced, but no tool has ever been responsible for its own use. So the artisanal use of technological tools is welcome, where by artisanal we mean what is governed by the project’s freedom to create authenticity. That has nothing to do with high cost or exclusivity based on a price but is a matter of uniqueness in a series, the same thing that makes us one-of-a-kind, but not superior to anyone else.”

Digital Dimension “The impact of artificial intelligence in the discipline of architecture is unavoidable and undeniable,” as noted in the introduction of the book Artificial Intelligent Architectureb (Frank Jacobus and Brian M. Kelly – ORO Editions): this book collects different examples and projects by major international figures to spark dialogue on the potential of AI as a tool for conceiving and extending the architect’s authorship. Going beyond the real. To slip into another dimension where creativity is the limit, human creativity that can use available technological tools to create visionary works. Let’s take a step back. During the pandemic, there was much talk about the “phygital” in design: a hybrid between the physical and digital worlds where companies created platforms that could let people experience their products from their homes.

Now we are talking about the design metaverse where design comes to life in a virtual room, doing away with the phase of physical prototyping; the product comes to life virtually, cutting costs, saving on materials, and thereby becoming, in effect, sustainable. Arturo Tedeschi talks about “liquid matter”: an object or architecture shaped by going beyond the boundary of the material and becoming immaterial – while making it somehow perceptible through digital interfaces. But that is not always all: the Hortensia armchair, for instance, born of Reisenger’s imagination, covered in petals, came out of the virtual world to become a real chair with uncommon appeal, bringing the real into the visionary world that the digital can create.

Andrés Reisinger In the 21st century, Reisinger carved out a unique position in contemporary culture, occupying and creating a fertile realm between the digital and physical. He built a bridge between these two worlds with a distinctive aesthetic that conveys a clear, captivating vision. Some of his best-known works are The Shipping, Arcadia, and Hortensia, an embodiment of his aesthetics; and the Take Over series, an experiential work transcending the boundaries between the physical and digital. As he says, “The digital realm serves as my experimental ground and fuel, unleashing boundless creative possibilities and urging us to transcend known boundaries, perpetually evolving and expanding our horizons. The future I envision and work towards is one where the digital and physical realms harmoniously coexist, mutually informing and enriching one another. Presently, we perceive them as separate entities, almost diametrically opposed, if not outright adversaries. Yet, there is an uncharted potential in their collaboration that extends beyond mere abstraction and touches lives, tangibly. This very collaboration can extend into bettering the way we understand and shape our daily lives.

Max Lamb British designer Max Lamb’s works are made by simple and direct actions: cutting, carving, sand casting, molding, folding. His objects are tactile, responsive, a result of the reaction of the hand to material: primarily furniture, but also ceramic tableware and engineered marble. Lamb says, “I want the process to be communicated in the final object. The aesthetic is a consequence of the making. It’s not about design: it’s about how it’s made.” His passion for making objects with his hands and exploring the natural landscape led him to obtain a master’s degree in Design Products from the Royal College of Art in London. He then laid the foundations of his workshop-based design practice. Lamb takes the products back to their essence, mindful of his schoolteacher’s adage, “Furniture is just an extension of the floor.” An example is chairs made from rock that came out of his sifting quarries and stone-yards for stones. He doesn’t consider himself a craftsman but rather someone who is good at “making.” It is this skill in treating different materials that led him to collaborate with a variety of artisans and industries.

David Dolcini
Dolcini’s path in design is deeply rooted in his heritage as he was born into a family with a rich history of craft and production. His design approach is not merely academic, but rather a rich mix of educational experiences that he had around the world and practical expertise acquired over years of professional work. Time Made is one example, grounded in the fundamental idea that there is an exact correspondence between materials and form that can be captured and expressed only by having the right savoir-faire. Marco Sammicheli, curator for the design, fashion, and craft sector of the Milan Triennial and director of the Italian Design Museum, says, “David Dolcini is part of the long Italian tradition of designers who think with their hands. I borrowed this definition from Enzo Mari who chose the imperfect mathematics of craftsmanship to sum up an aesthetic applied to everyday life.”

Arturo Tedeschi
Arturo Tedeschi is an Italian architect and computational designer, renowned for his sculptural and visionary approach. He constantly studies advanced design methods, materials, and manufacturing technologies. He wrote the book AAD Algorithms-Aided Design, considered the go-to book on the subject of algorithmic modeling. We asked him what role digital plays today in the world of architecture and design. These are his thoughts: “Digital architecture today emerges as a fascinating, complex frontier, which challenges our traditional conceptions of space and materiality. By adopting advanced modeling software and sophisticated algorithms, architects and designers are now capable of manipulating digital elements – data, points, lines, and surfaces – with a precision and fluidity similar to interacting with physical material. We often think of the digital realm as ethereal and impalpable but it is actually ‘liquid material’ that can shaped, transformed, and even ‘felt’ through digital interfaces.”

Draga & Aurel She is Draga Obradovic, Serbian; he is Aurel K. Basedow, German. They came together to found a multidisciplinary studio that works in the fields of furnishing, textile, and interior design. Their artistic approach stems from a deep knowledge of the materials and their skill at directly testing its limits. Aurel explains, “We started out as artists, making our ideas with a craft approach. Our first source of creativity is our ability to make things. We started more from art design than from industrial design. Craft is fundamental for us. We have to touch the material with our hands and then experiment and develop the product. It is in this manual investigation that we discover new paths.” Draga adds, smiling, “Craft is sexy. It means knowing how to use your hands, mastering a technique, taming a material, treating a surface until it sings. It creates a melody that you gave birth to. This process gives us the gift of feelings that we experience ourselves and then get to convey through the product we create.”

Tim Fu Tim Fu is known in design for his specialization in advanced computational and artificial intelligence (AI). Emerging from Zaha Hadid Architects, he founded Studio Tim Fu, a high-tech architectural practice pioneering in the integration of AI into his visionary designs. He leads workshops on computational design in academia and is a prominent voice on the use of AI in architecture, speaking at conferences globally. Among his works are transformations of simple crumpled sheets into architecture. He says of them, “I wanted to showcase how the arbitrariness of an input can be interpreted by the AI to produce very refined results, thus showcasing how the stark contrast between whimsicality and intention can both play a role in design. I am heavily invested in the use of AI in architecture because I see huge untapped potential. There are many possibilities to enhance the design to construction pipeline with AI, to exponentially improve speed efficiency, and even quality.”