Facadeprinter
We are engaged in the invention, development, and application of a new print media: an inkjet-printer in architectonic scale.
The Facadeprinter is a communication-tool. Even the application of the artwork is part of the message; straight and direct. A work of art is converted to a vector or pixel file and shot dot by dot onto the facade. The viewer watches the emerging artwork like the drawing of a magic pen.
Personal
The two product-designers, Martin Fussenegger and Michael Sebastian Haas, met during their studies in 2000 at the HfG Karlsruhe (State University of Art and Design, Karlsruhe Germany). While at Karlsruhe they developed several experimental machines and visions for products: An experimental 3D display, the vision of a ‘Transatlantic Bridge’, a translator t-shirt, an electronic newspaper, and the ‘Spider’ - a thermoplastic processing technique. They began work on the experimental Facade Printer in 2004 as part of a university project, and it soon became their favorite project. After completing their degrees in product design, Martin and Michael decided to continue work on the Facadeprinter.
Little by little the two technology enthusiasts departed from conventional product design and began pursuing the ideas and motives behind production technology. Their interest was not limited to the product; rather it encompassed the production techniques and tools they used to create the product as well. The development of the Facadeprinter became part of a search for a fresh aesthetic and a new means of communication. Haas and Fussenegger received a big boost from gaining the support of the ‘Young Innovators’ program, which covered their costs and allowed them to continue their work on the Facadeprinter. Soon after, they received first prize in the ‘Multimedia Founder Competition’ held by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Germany, which was an overwhelming help to them in realizing their plans for a second prototype of the printer and eventually founding a company.
In January 2008 both moved to Berlin, where their young company could take advantage of the city's media infrastructure and the great number of old and blank firewalls. There they met the young engineer Julian Adenauer, whose technical skills and enthusiasm for new, visionary methods made him a great addition to the team. His degree in mechatronic engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Karlsruhe allows him to bring greater technical competence to the team, and he has worked on the electronics and programming of the second prototype.
In December 2009 the trio proudly founded their company Sonice Development GmbH. The company's business objective is the invention, development and application of technical-moral avant-garde projects.
Credo
Design is research driven by the desire to discover and understand. In essence, a new design comes from delving into a glimmer of intuition. Step by step, a vague idea gains substance and becomes an insight. Beauty and innovation can be seen in the process of understanding how a work fits together as a coherent whole. New aesthetics through new technology. The Facadeprinter is inseparable from the rough printed appearance of the works it produces; product and method are both a part of the artwork.
