STF#9 - 2025: Presentations
Building web applications with nothing but Grasshopper
vivobarefoot
Ramboll
ShapeDiver
Computational designers have always built amazing software.
But unlike other development frameworks, Grasshopper and its peers lack an ecosystem of tools and frameworks to quickly and effortlessly deploy creations to broader audiences.
ShapeDiver was founded to help bridge this gap, and its newest generation of tools removes the need for any development skills and resources outside Grasshopper itself, allowing computational designers to create and deploy sophisticated tools to their colleagues and clients independently.
After a quick overview of ShapeDiver's progress, our talk will feature speakers from two innovative companies sharing use cases for Grasshopper-based applications in very different settings.
The Vivobarefoot BIOME project tackles the limitations of traditional shoe manufacturing by democratizing algorithmic inputs for both customers and designers. Using computational systems, the team developed a foot-centric workflow that converts Signed Distance Fields (SDF) into machine code for robotics and automated slicing. This streamlines production into scalable, efficient pipelines.
Ramboll is a global engineering, architecture, and consultancy company with more than 18,000 experts that create sustainable solutions for governments and companies all over the world. Their computational design teams recently started using the ShapeDiver App Builder to develop early-stage design tools for their colleagues and clients, and will showcase an early version of a bridge design and evaluation too
Peter Davis - Computational Systems Lead - vivobarefoot.
Peter is a self confessed computational nerd, he has an extensive background working with artists, companies and research institutes to express their innovative visions. Whether that's bespoke creations for installations in public spaces to serial production of customized products incorporating client data.
Finishing a career as a professional breakdancer and selling his first company specializing in Urban entertainment, Peter wanted to continue into a new industry with the potential of strong creative expression. This gave rise to co-founding a second company specializing in Computational design, 3D Printing AR/VR and visualizations. After much deliberation their company got acquired by ECCO to start an Innovation lab for the future of leather and shoe production. This bizarre career path has led to Peter pushing the boundaries in all aspects of 3D, robotics, 4.0 manufacturing and even jet packs.
Peter now is spearheading the automation of bespoke products by dramatically accelerating innovation through A.I. based engineering. Products, structures to entire machines are engineered through computer algorithms and mass produced in Digital Factories using Industrial 3D Printing. The resulting objects are more advanced, efficient and sustainable than conventional products.
Iman Warsame - Ramboll
Iman Warsame is an award-winning Product Owner at Ramboll, specialising in digital transformation and automation. With extensive experience bridging the digital and engineering worlds, Iman has led innovative projects and contributed significantly to shaping the future of the built environment through a variety of internal and external projects. His expertise in computational design, full-stack development, and project management positions him as a key figure in driving technological advancements in the AECO industry and is often engaging with the wider industry attending hackathons and generating relationships with start-ups.
Mathias Höbinger - CEO - ShapeDiver
Mathias is an applied mathematician by training, he has worked in automating CAD processes for more than 15 years. After several years at Evolute consulting on large-scale freeform building projects for architects, engineers, and facade contractors, he co-founded ShapeDiver in 2015 to make computational design accessible to wider audiences. Mathias is a husband and father of two, a military reserve officer, and a huge fan of all things train or railway.
Websites:
vivobarefoot
Ramboll
ShapeDiver