Dezeen and MINI Frontiers: architect and designer Daniel Widrig explains how he uses technology borrowed from the special effects business to design everything from jewellery to skyscrapers.
In this movie we filmed in Miami, Daniel Widrig says that designers can break down boundaries between disciplines by borrowing technologies and tools traditionally associated with one industry and using them in other industries, in unexpected ways.
“A lot of technology we use was originally developed for use in other disciplines such as special effects or the movie industries,” says Widrig. “One could say that boundaries are blurring between industries”
Widrig discusses his projects including a 370-metre tower on the outskirts of Istanbul, Turkey, a collection of dresses produced in collaboration with fashion designer Iris van Herpen and a series of 3D-printed stools.
Widrig trained at the Architecture Association in London and worked at Zaha Hadid Architects prior to starting his own practice in 2009.
His architectural background feeds into his ongoing research into using 3D-printing for clothing and jewellery, says Widrig.
“We work with the body in quite an architectural way: we investigated certain body parts and then we applied design processes to populate body parts with architectural microstructures,” he says.
One of these works was the Kinesis wearable sculptures he produced last year and showed during Design Miami.
For Widrig, it is often the experimental, low-budget projects that yield the most new ideas.
“The most interesting projects for me are the self-imitated projects where you set yourself a goal and an agenda and you work with sometimes really small budgets, but you have the freedom to explore,” he explained.
These then feed into more commercial projects, from experimental furniture to sculpture, computer game design and movie sets.
The music featured in the movie is a track by Simplex. You can listen to his music on Dezeen Music Project.
Dezeen and MINI Frontiers is a year-long collaboration with MINI exploring how design and technology are coming together to shape the future.
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