Make It Real: Vizcom at Milan Design Week
Vizcom partnered with Decibel for a global design challenge at Milan Design Week, bringing winning chair concepts to life through robotic 3D printing from over 200 submissions. The winners included Deniz Aktay's "Crystal," Go Kul's "REVERIE," and Sascha Sartory's "Kokoko," showcased at the Alcova SNIA installation.
At Vizcom, Make it Real isn’t just a mantra. It’s the core of everything we build. This year at Milan Design Week, we put that belief into action by launching a global challenge with Decibel: reimagine the future of furniture through the lens of Vizcom and industrial design. Designers from around the world used Vizcom to develop their visions for the next generation of chairs and we took the winning concepts from 2D to full-scale reality, brought to life with robotic 3D printing and unveiled on the world’s biggest design stage.
We received more than 200 submissions from designers across the globe. Each one brought fresh perspectives and pushed the boundaries of form, function, and fabrication. The creativity was undeniable. But for our jury, the real challenge was selecting concepts that not only stood out visually but could also be brought to life at full scale using Decibel's advanced additive manufacturing process.
Designer Spotlight: Brett Akop’s “Lou” Rocker
One of the standout pieces from the instillation was Lou, a 3D-printed rocking chair developed by designer Brett Akop. Created in Vizcom and shaped by a nonplanar printing toolpath, Lou redefines what’s possible when digital ideation meets advanced fabrication.
Designed by Brett Akop, Lou is a 3D-printed rocking chair that began with a single sketch in Vizcom. Brett used the tool to quickly explore silhouette, proportions, and form, allowing him to move fluidly between hand-drawn ideas and rendered visualizations. The chair’s flowing geometry was shaped with both intent and experimentation in mind, made possible by the fast iteration cycle Vizcom enables.
What makes Lou remarkable is not just its form, but how that form was created. The design takes full advantage of a nonplanar printing path, allowing the surface to curve smoothly in three dimensions without traditional layering. This approach eliminates the rigid, stepped look often associated with 3D printing, and instead produces a tactile, seamless flow that mirrors the elegance of the original sketch.
By designing directly for fabrication, Brett embraced the material behavior and constraints of robotic extrusion. The chair’s cantilevered sides, nested curvature, and single-piece construction are all intentional moves made early in Vizcom and carried through to the final print. The result is a piece that feels both sculptural and functional—a design made for the future, from the very first line.
The KAVE Chair by Andrew Schainker
Bounce Lounge Chair by Philippe Bietenholz
🥇 1st Place: "Crystal" by Deniz Aktay
Architect and designer Deniz Aktay delivered a standout piece with Crystal. The design balanced architectural precision with sculptural elegance, making it both visually striking and ready for production.
Printed at full scale, Crystal became the centerpiece of the installation at Alcova SNIA, a long-abandoned textile factory reclaimed by nature and transformed into a living lab for the future of furniture.
2nd Place: "REVERIE" by Go Kul
Go Kul’s REVERIE stood out for its fluid elegance. A single, organic sheet folded into a poetic and functional form, the design was quiet yet confident. Simple at first glance, it revealed a high level of technical refinement and captured the strength of restraint in design.
3rd Place: "Kokoko" by Sascha Sartory
Sascha Sartory’s KOKOKO explores the rhythm of geometry through softness and structure. Based in Cologne, Sartory brought a blend of modular thinking and sculptural clarity to the competition with a lounge chair that invites stillness without sacrificing personality.
KOKOKO is formed from a single flowing surface, where convex and concave curves fold together into a balanced silhouette. Inspired by Japanese minimalism and informed by sustainable, thoughtful design, the chair adapts easily between indoor and outdoor spaces. It’s light in appearance, grounded in comfort, and speaks to a quieter kind of innovation that encourages pause, reflection, and a return to essential form.
Watch the recap: Link
Meet the Jury
To narrow down over 200 global submissions, we assembled a panel of industry leaders across design, manufacturing, and emerging technology. Each submission was judged on creativity, originality, and feasibility for full-scale 3D printing.
Top 10 Finalists
Beyond the top three, we’re excited to celebrate the full list of Top 10 Finalists. Each designer brought a distinct perspective to the challenge, offering ideas that ranged from biomorphic forms to clever modular systems. Together, they reflect the global reach of the Vizcom community and the powerful blend of imagination and precision that defines this new era of design.
1. Crystal – Deniz Aktay (Germany)
🥇 Winner
2. REVERIE – Go Kul (India)
🥈 2nd Place
3. Kokoko – Sascha Sartory (Germany)
🥉 3rd Place
4. Omni Rocker – Chuck Hamilton (USA)
5. Squeeze Chair – Andrew Lee (USA)
6. FLUX LOUNGE – Noah James Young (USA)
7. New Space Age – Michael John Sweers
8. Flourish – Mads Ingvorsen (Copenhagen, Denmark)
9. Extructus – Andrew Roberts (United Kingdom)
10. The Dinamico Chair – Andrew Attivissimo (USA)
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