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New European Bauhaus
  • Project

Theform

Can computational design influence the future of design and make products more customisable?

Theform
Theform
© European Union, 2021

Can computational design influence the future of design and make products more customisable? 

According to Theform, a multidisciplinary design studio from Porto, Portugal, we're inching closer to that reality.

The concept was one of the finalists of the 2021 New European Bauhaus Rising Star prizes in "Techniques, materials, and processes for construction and design."

Theform focuses on immersive customising experiences, co-creation, and digital manufacturing. They advance in the formation, deformation, and reforming of
goods for corporate clients and customers by using various developing optimised digital solutions, from prototyping to production.

From furniture, jewelry, and even clothing, Theform is a concept that can work with any designer and adapt and tailor their designs. As a result, finished
goods are more inclusive and sustainable since they can meet different criteria such as size, customer needs, or material within the same matrix design.

The project's prototype consists of a lamp with an undefined shape that mimics soap bubbles mingling.

The parametric lamp can assume many different form variations from the same matrix concept through customer interaction in an online configuration platform.
Depending on the individuals' needs, the lamp can be configured to be tall, small, wide, made from wood, acrylic, recycled paper, or plastic; it can be a table, ceiling, or floor lamp. 

The possibility of choosing from many different materials alters the product's price and, thus, reaches a more diverse audience. Material variety has a sustainable
value since customers can opt for an FSC certificated wood, recycled paper, or even upcycled pieces of clothing. 

Theform plans to work with other designers to co-create and adjust their businesses by creating a marketplace using the same digital workflows as the lamp.

Customers could then choose from a broader range of made-to-measure items and solutions co-created with designers from diverse backgrounds. Theform intends to operate globally but locally with decentralised production.

📸 © European Union