ÉCAL's grow-at-home sponge furniture expands to ten times its size
Researchers from Swiss design school ÉCAL have unveiled a range of flat-pack furniture at Milan design week that needs to be soaked in water to reach its final form. More
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Philippe Malouin takes students "junkyard diving" for ÉCAL workshop
Students from Swiss design school ÉCAL have worked with Philippe Malouin to make furniture from metal objects salvaged from the scrapheap in a project called Junkyard Diving. More
ÉCAL students turn Artek furniture waste into children's toys
Students from Swiss design school ÉCAL have used material offcuts and production rejects from Finnish manufacturer Artek to create a collection of toys. More
Milan design week
Milan design week
Yamaha and ÉCAL students design music players that encourage physical interaction
Students from the Swiss design school ÉCAL have collaborated with Japanese manufacturing company Yamaha to create six devices for playing music which were showcased at Milan design week. More
Souhaïb Ghanmi uses animal bones instead of plastic for minimalist sockets and light switches
Waste bovine bones from the meat industry have been ground into a powder and turned into a collection of light switches and electrical outlets by ÉCAL graduate Souhaïb Ghanmi. More
Furniture
Furniture
Muji and ÉCAL students design compact furniture built to tidy up daily life
Design brand Muji has collaborated with students at ÉCAL to create a collection of space-saving furniture, which was presented in an exhibition at Milan design week. More
Anna Piasek makes bento-style boxes for takeaway food from moulded cellulose
ÉCAL graduate Anna Piasek has created modular takeaway food packaging that can be divided like a bento box and composted after use. More
Sumo seaweed-fibre nappies offer healthy and sustainable alternative
ÉCAL graduate Luisa Kahlfeldt has designed a new diaper that is more sustainable than even other reusable cloth nappies — an innovation for which she won the Swiss James Dyson Award. More
Pierre Keller, former director of Ecal and an "extraordinary force of nature", dies aged 74
Designers and students have paid tribute to Pierre Keller, the graphic artist and former director of Swiss design school Ecal, who died of liver cancer on 7 July. More
Celeste light by Marina Daguet offers electric alternative to prayer candles
ÉCAL graduate Marina Daguet has designed a cleaner, modern alternative to the traditional prayer candles found in churches. More
ÉCAL students create imaginative oil diffusers and wash bags for Aesop
A quilted washbag and a transparent oil burner are just some of the products conceived by ÉCAL graduate students in response to a brief set by Aesop. More
Yesul Jang designs storage bed for compact living
ÉCAL graduate Yesul Jang has designed a bed with storage capacity for millennials with limited space in urban dwellings. More
Reimagined fire hydrant doubles up as a water fountain for people and dogs
This multipurpose drinking fountain, designed by ÉCAL industrial design graduate Dimitri Nassisi, can be used for fighting fires, quenching thirst, filling bottles and refreshing pet dogs. More
Sebastian Maluska's pop-up tent can fit on the roof of any car
ÉCAL graduate Sebastian Maluska has created a simple rooftop tent that can be fitted to the roof of any car. More
C-224 lamp uses LiFi technology to transmit data through light
ÉCAL graduate Alexandre Picciotto collaborated with French technology firm Oledcomm to design a LiFi emitting lamp for libraries. More
ÉCAL students transform Milanese palazzo into 3D-printing factory
ÉCAL students have set up a pop-up factory during Milan design week, where they are 3D printing a range of design objects on demand. More
Pleated aluminium forms chair designed by ÉCAL student Ilseop Yoon
ÉCAL student Ilseop Yoon used a sheet of moulded aluminium to create the pleated seat and backrest of this chair. More
Emilien Jaury bases minimal cocktail set on traditional glassblowing techniques
ÉCAL graduate Emilien Jaury looked to the rotating motion used in traditional glassblowing methods when designing this collection of cocktail tools. More
Erika Marthins uses edible robotics to create sensory desserts
ÉCAL student Erika Marthins has combined a series of different technologies with food to create three interactive desserts that move, make noise and refract light. More
ÉCAL students design dedicated farming, napping and gym office cubicles
Office workers can sleep, grow plants, pour themselves a cocktail and work out in each of these specialised hubs created by students at ÉCAL university. More