Sofia Hagen and Lisa Hinderdael, both architects and designers, created the HagenHinderdael design studio in 2020. “Our spirit is to highlight craftsmanship for life while always keeping in mind the life cycle of installations,” they explain.
“When Rossana Orlandi launched her third Guiltless Plastic campaign, we got the concept for TWINE,” says Sofia Hagen. Orlandi, a well-known Milanese gallery owner, regularly invites artists and designers to exhibit her work aimed at cleaning up the earth in an impressive way. TWINE was created as a result of HagenHinderdael’s invention.
Sofia continues: “We wanted our furniture to be exciting, comfortable and durable, and we wanted to use Reflow filaments.” Reflow is an award-winning social enterprise based in Amsterdam that uses recycled plastic waste to produce high-quality, sustainable 3D printing filaments. The raw material used by TWINE is rPETG filament, which is derived from obsolete hospital trays.
Ai Build in London was chosen for this project because they had previously worked with Reflow filaments.
According to COO Michail Desyllas, Ai Build is a software-as-a-service company that “now employs 20 people and 5 KUKA robots.” Performing successfully in aerospace, automotive, construction, marine and energy sectors.
Ai Build was excited to be able to create pieces for an exhibition in Milan. “The geometry of the parts and the intended aesthetic finish were the main challenges for this particular project,” says Desyllas.
The TWINE project is a module that is 1.06 meters long and 50 centimeters high, with a configurable width of 30 or 45 centimeters. When Rossana Orlandi fell in love with the idea of this project, and TWINE was named a finalist for the RO PlasticPrize 2021. Whoever wins this award for recyclable plastic objects makes news across Europe. As a result, the TWINE seat was shipped to Milan for feature demo.
Ai Build presented a KR30 L16 robot (KR IONTEC series) and a KR90 R2700 robot from the KR QUANTEC series. Ai Build’s Desyllas says they are “fully integrated with our software, allowing us to do real-time quality control.”
The smaller elements were created with the KR30 L16 and the larger KR90 R2700, both equipped with a filament extrusion mechanism, were used to make the smaller elements. This method allows for scaling of transparency by transporting up to four separate filament streams in different shades. TWINE needed to look as natural as the waves on the beach, so Ai Build created a double curved bed-shaped mold to cool and firm the 3D printed mix.
“Each layer has to be placed within a certain amount of time,” Desyllas confesses about placing the heated rPETG filament into the mold, layer by layer. However, thanks to careful planning and the robots’ devotion, they were able to build elegant, durable and comfortable furniture that was ready to sit on. Sofia Hagen and Lisa Hinderdael were so pleased with the result that they sent TWINE to Milan, where it captured the hearts of art and design fans.
TWINE was part of the “Planted” design program during this year’s London Design Festival. In March 2022, TWINE will be exhibited at the Vorarlberger Architektur Institut in Austria. The new TWINE elements can be customized and will be printed by KUKA’s Italian partner Caracol-AM.
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