Officine19 is a digital creation studio based on computer simulation and advanced fabrication.
In the age of artificial intelligence and technological domination, the symbiosis of humans and computers is giving us powers to create extraordinary objects.. All of our jewellery and products are realized using computer algorithms fusing science, technology, and maths. We work with the most contemporary manufacturing techniques to embody these algorithms in the craft of the future.
Our Philosophy
We exploit technology as a tool as much as an inspiration.
Computational Design is the foundation of Officine 19. Our take on bespoke design. We use Algorithm-Aided Design software, Generative Design tools, Artificial Intelligence, techniques we inherited from our previous experiences in software development and biomedical design. We exploit 3D Printing and digital fabrication techniques for their ability to make bespoke and mass-customisable products. Which means every person gets something unique.
Design from Nature
Natural materials are designed by evolution with a very different strategy from our engineering practices. Nature tends to favor a process of grow and formation which encourages the lowest energy expense. It consists of assembling simple construction elements, usually simple cells, in complex structures, putting material just where it is needed.
The design complexity is moved from the material to the set of rules that combines it.
This information theory of nature is the foundation of our design process. We are not inspired by nature, we use its optimization process. We use computer simulations and equations for defining the rules on where the material should be, and where it should not. We vary the topology and the aggregation rules of matter from simple variations in porosity to complex and layered lattice structures.
We design the set of rules, and the computer assembles the design, in a creative process that is founded on the feedback loop between the designer and the algorithm.
Once the rules are set, we put together the 3D building blocks in a virtual morphogenetic process. Modern digital fabrication technologies allow us to transform the 1s and 0s in physical objects. 3D printing gives the design freedom allowing topology and geometry variations that are difficult to handle with traditional manufacturing processes, on a personal production scale.
Bespoke
Contact us if you would like a special design or variation on our collections. Our ability to customise and tweak our algorithms and designs is our pride.
About the designer [Giacomo Pollesel]
I am an Italian designer, developer, and researcher. I grew up in Milan where I studied design & engineering. I have always been passionate about the complex relationship between physical and digital creations. At the end of my studies, I had a first formational experience at Brodie Neill Design studio in London, and later mastered computational design as a university researcher, first in Milan, then in London. I was lucky enough to work with innovative prosthetics and biomedical companies, and creating algorithms for custom footwear and apparel for renowned brands.
I grew attracted by the way data can be used to inform and augment the objects around us, and how the interaction between people and computers change and evolve. I strarted Officine19 as an experimental space for exploring these interactions, a call for a conversation about the relationship between art and engineering.
