“Valse Automatique is probably the weirdest project we’ve ever worked on,” says Studio Nand co-founder Stephan Thiel, “because it was the first project in which we faced major challenges related to the complexity of all the disciplines involved. It basically showed me that saying you work in an interdisciplinary way is easy, but truly making it work is extremely difficult.”
The project was a ‘design performance’ featuring a KUKA industrial robot and two musicians – put together to ‘illustrate the symbiosis between humans and technology’ – showcased at Made Berlin, an event for creative people from various disciplines to meet and share ideas.
KUKA’s robots are traditionally used on production lines for palletising, welding and handling. In the performance, one of its machines manufactured more delicate objects, such as vases. German composer Miki, accompanied by a pianist, performed the violin. Nand acted as the ‘mediator’ between the machine and the musicians, coming up with an interface and generative design principle to give the performance cohesion.