Aestus: The Fusion of Traditional Materials and Modern Technology

Oliver David Krieg's Award-Winning Vases Showcase the Aesthetics of Modern Manufacturing

With a decade-long engagement with wood and digital technologies, Krieg has always been intrigued by the relationship between the scientific, almost purely mathematical approach of robotic fabrication, and the aesthetics of the material that is directly affected by this process. The tension between the digital and physical - the method and the result - is most prevalent in wood, and Aestus is Krieg's exploration of these potentials.

Aestus vases are carved from hundreds of layers of wood by an industrial robot, capturing the machine's fluidity in the wooden texture. Each of the four vases is a statement for contemporary wood design, expressing the aesthetics of a modern manufacturing process. The vases are both functional and highly durable, with a brushed stainless steel inset marking the lip of the vase and serving as a durable water repository.

The creation process of each piece involves re-constituting layers of beech plywood before being formed by the bespoke kinematics of a 7-axis industrial robot, milling grooves into the material. A wax finish serves as a natural protection to the wood. The sizes of the vases range from 32 cm to 110 cm, with weights ranging from 5 kg to 19 kg.

The design project, which started as an exploration into design, material, and fabrication in 2012, turned into a serious product development in 2017. After several months of prototyping and documenting, the vases were released under the then newly founded design label odk.design in summer 2018. The goal of this project is to explore, exhibit, and educate about the relationship between material and making, raising awareness about the properties of materials and about the possibilities, efforts, and constraints of manufacturing technologies.

Despite the challenges of pushing the limits of 3D milling, both in tool path design and tooling complexity, Krieg was able to develop a product that can be produced efficiently and with a consistent quality. This achievement earned him the Golden A' Furniture Design Award in 2019, a prestigious accolade granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom.