The work of some RMIT students were warmly welcomed last month at one of the world’s most renowned design events, WantedDesign in Manhattan, New York. The influential show offered a preview into the vital future of production and as the only Australian educational institution to take part in the exciting event, the students’ display of designs, specifically developed for Alessi, stood proudly amongst other design innovators from around the world.

The work of the students, otherwise known as the Alessi Mutants exhibition is a result of six years of collaboration between Alberto Alessi, RMIT and the University of Applied Arts Vienna. A total of 47 projects by architecture, landscape architecture and industrial design students and graduates from Melbourne, Vienna and other prominent design universities, presented their ideas of 3D printing for the purpose of eventual production.

The projects originated from the Alessi Mutants workshop, which has been held in Vienna every year since 2010. The workshop is led by Tom Kovac, Professor of Architecture at RMIT’s School of Architecture and Design, and Associate Professor Reiner Zettl from the Institute of Architecture at the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Tom Kovac encouraged the Alessi Mutants to ‘explore and reinvent the relationship between architecture and industrial forms,’ and instructed the students to design inspiring things that would be seen as outstanding in their structure and production techniques.

“This exhibition has been six years in the making and shows just how inspired Alessi has been by our students’ inventive ideas,” Kovac says.

“These projects redefine the notion of physical space by warping, pulling and pushing the boundaries of forms, moving into new and unfamiliar territories of design. They’re fresh, vibrant and exciting, and we look forward to working with Alessi to continue exploring and discovering new possibilities that exist on the very edges between architecture and industrial design.”

All projects at WantedDesign were showcased through a few avenues – via an exhibition, a responsive web app and a discussion led by Alessi, Kovac and other design industry professionals, where the future of design, materials and revolutions were explored.

The final presentations took place at Alessi HQ in Crusanillo, Italy. All students were given the opportunity to tour the factory and observe the engineering and marketing teams.

Kovac believes that seeing firsthand how the design industry functions and learning from this is crucial to the future of design and production.

“The interactions and negotiations that occur between vision and creativity, and the demands of production, branding and marketing are complex and critical,” Kovac says.

“We want to arm our graduates with the skills they need to be able to create and develop exciting products and to export Australian innovation beyond our shores,” he adds.

With the close of their New York debut, the Alessi Mutants exhibition will make their way to China in October for Shanghai Design Week, before featuring at the 2017 Milan Furniture Fair in April and then Australia’s RMIT Design Hub at mid year.

alessimutants.com

(Source:Furnishing International)