Armando – Design Technology Lab

Worldwide there are about 50 million people whose wounds do not heal properly. Chronic wounds mean pain, immobility and high treatment costs.
A newly developed technology enables the therapy of these conditions through cell stimulation. This takes place on an inpatient or outpatient basis, three times a week for 16 minutes. The aim of the project is to develop a device for the therapy of different parts of the body. The device includes an articulated arm that enables these areas to be treated in a safe and effective way.

Interview with Naomi Strauss:

You study mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich - still not a typical female profession. How did you get into it?

Mathematics and physics have always interested me. Mechanical engineering is a creative and versatile discipline. The education gives me tools to develop new things. It is also important to me that I can contribute to sustainable and socially relevant solutions with my work. I see a lot of potential in technology and mechanical engineering in this respect.

Were you already involved in design before the "Armando" project?

Yes, design was somehow always present in my life. Aesthetics are important to me and environmental design is something I also pay attention to. But I only realized how versatile design is and what it contains in the project.

What surprised you most about working with an industrial designer?

That so much work is done! I have never worked so much in my life as I have in the last few months. There is an incredible self-discipline in the studio and in the workshops. The students are very free in their choice of projects and at the same time incredibly persistent. I was also surprised that stereotypical ideas do not work in an interdisciplinary constellation. Sometimes Lukas argued like an engineer and I like a designer and sometimes vice versa. I hope that this interdisciplinary offer will be expanded and that more students will be able to have such an experience in the future. In my estimation, this will make it easier to start a career and also improve cooperation, since you already know and understand the other discipline.

And what was your strangest experience during the project?

That we worked through Easter!

What will happen now?

We have registered "Armando" for the Dyson Design Award and of course we hope to receive an award. Whether the Piomic company will realize our design is still open. I myself would like to be able to work for small, egalitarian companies in the future, just as it was possible in this project: interdisciplinary, committed and relevant.

Interview with Lukas Streit:

Why did you decide to study industrial design at the ZHdK after your training as a structural engineering draftsman?

I thought that on a smaller scale I would have better control of the problems. Products seemed to me to be clearer than buildings. I was wrong.

You work in a team with a prospective mechanical engineer. What is the difference to working in a "pure" design team?

I don't experience any difference from working in a team. The difference lies primarily in the nature of the project: it is real! In a team, the division of tasks is sometimes not quite clear because the two disciplines are intertwined. Agreements are important, discussions are important, and it is also important that we always find each other. That takes a lot of time, but in the end it's faster, because I couldn't do such a project on my own.

What is your task as a designer?

I make sure that our wound healing device can be used easily and flawlessly in hospitals, outpatient clinics and in home care. That the operation is clear, that the ergonomics are correct, that nothing is missing and that nothing is superfluous.

How would you like to work in the future?

I prefer to work independently and project-based. The work orders should be compatible with my own "why". Or in other words: I don't want to design products for the throwaway society. I think that our future lies in things that we can take into our own hands, that we can repair and that can take a very long time.

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