In recent days, at Spazio Lenovo Milan, the Lenovo x Rivatelier Contest award event took place — a project born from the collaboration between Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, Lenovo, and Rivatelier. 

The initiative, developed within the Product Design course led by Lorenzo Bustillos, invited students to engage with the theme “From AI to Handcrafted”, exploring the dialogue between artificial intelligence and artisanal manufacturing through the design of a small furnishing accessory for contemporary living spaces. In this project, AI represents the main tool for creative development, useful for generating ideas, inspirations, and design visions. The students thus reinterpreted the classic computer stand, transforming it into a functional design object that combines technology and craftsmanship, integrating naturally into contemporary home environments.

The event

The gathering, intimate and convivial in tone, brought together the finalist students, representatives from partner companies, and the school’s leadership.
Speakers included Barbara Toscano, School Director of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design; Sergio Nava, Director of Education & Global Scientific Director of Design; Emanuele Missaglia, Art Director of Rivatelier; and Alessandro Gabrielli, Lenovo Mid Market Italy Leader, who emphasized the importance of collaboration between creativity and technological innovation.
The event concluded with a relaxed catering reception, offering an opportunity to share experiences and reflections on the future of design.

The winning project: INCLINA by Aigin Juhls

The first prize was awarded to Aigin Juhls for the project INCLINA, which interpreted the contest theme with balance and sensitivity. The proposal combines essential lines with refined craftsmanship, merging materiality and movement into an object that accompanies everyday life with both technological discretion and human warmth.
For its formal coherence and ability to embody the dialogue between AI and craftsmanship, Juhls received a cutting-edge Lenovo PC and an internship at Rivatelier, where they will further develop their design vision.

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The finalists

Alongside the winner, the jury also recognized the quality of the projects OTTO by Artis Kristians Abikis and Pebble by Camille Ferreira. Both stood out for their balance of innovation, material research, and formal poetry, confirming the high level of experimentation and sensitivity expressed by the students of Istituto Marangoni Milano Design.

A dialogue between AI and design

The From AI to Handcrafted contest stands as a tangible example of how technology can become a tool for creative expression — not an end in itself, but a means to enhance intuition and the designer’s human touch.
Thanks to the collaboration between Lenovo, Rivatelier, and Istituto Marangoni Milano Design, students had the opportunity to explore the future of design through a human-centered lens, where handcraft and algorithm coexist in harmony, transforming design into a shared language between art, technology, and craftsmanship.

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LENOVO X RIVATELIER CONTEST