Spin-Off Contouro: From Digital Design to Buildable Reality

Spin-off Contouro, founded in May 2025 by ETH Zurich researchers Andrei Jipa and Angela Yoo, is redefining the intersection of architecture, art, and engineering. Building on over a decade of research in digital fabrication, Contouro transforms complex computational designs into real-world structures, from monumental sculptures to innovative architectural elements.

Andrei and Angela, the co-founders of Contouro, during the on-site assembly of Zardoz in the Garden of Art of Kunsthaus Zürich. Photo by Nicole Davidson/ ETH Zurich.

Andrei, you have recently founded Contouro. What kind of service does your company offer?

Angela and I have always been interested in exploring the remarkable creative freedom offered by computational design tools. With just a few lines of code, we can generate forms that defy imagination. Yet in the physical world, this freedom encounters very real constraints: laws of physics, material properties, building codes, and fabrication limitations. Contouro was founded to bridge this gap, turning complex architectural challenges into elegant, buildable solutions.

While we also offer design consulting, our focus is on developing building elements, such as modular stairs and floors that showcase the unique advantages of digital fabrication: design freedom, material efficiency and automation. For example, our modular stairs are designed for disassembly, using organic shapes for material efficiency and digital fabrication for waste reduction. The solutions we propose are compatible with circular construction strategies and integrate smart building systems.

The assembly of Cadenza in the building lab of Empa. The stair features an intricate geometry that can maximise structural efficiency thanks to digital fabrication methods. Photo by Han Seul Ju, Digital Building Technologies

How can Contouro address the gap in technical consulting for emerging technologies?

While many architects, engineers, and artists are eager to explore advanced digital technologies, they often lack the specialised knowledge or resources to turn experimental ideas into buildable solutions. At the same time, technology startups develop incredibly advanced tools that designers struggle to harness effectively. Contouro bridges this gap, transforming complex computational methods, robotic fabrication processes and material innovations into practical solutions and products that clients and architects can confidently implement.

We speak a common language with both designers and technology providers, enabling the construction of highly complex structures by pairing computational design with advanced fabrication methods. Our hands-on support spans the entire project —from early concept design to engineering, prototyping, fabrication, and installation. This integrated approach helps clients reduce risk, control costs, and unlock creative possibilities that would otherwise remain out of reach.

How and where do you integrate computational design into your work?

Computational design is an integral part of our work, reflecting our vision that digital processes are instrumental in shaping architecture. Specifically, we create comprehensive digital workflows from concept to fabrication data. We explore the design space through parametric models, optimisation processes, and numerical simulations, relying on digital fabrication to realise the final designs.

Cadenza 2.0 by Contouro transfers the research done at ETH Zurich to a real-world residential project. It embodies structural and material efficiency principles in a digitally fabricated, minimalist design. Photo by Andrei Jipa.

Monster Chetwynd's Zardoz has recently been installed in the garden of the Kunsthaus Zurich. The monumental head is over eight metres tall and serves as an interactive sculpture, complete with a slide. What do you have to do with Chetwynd?

For Zardoz, we were involved in all stages of the project, from digital modelling to developing the fabrication strategy and managing production and assembly onsite. Monster Chetwynd’s concept is a subversive object that aims to activate the Garden of Art behind the Chipperfield building.

Monster modelled Zardoz as a 40-centimetre-tall physical clay head, and Kunsthaus Zürich commissioned Contouro to develop a strategy to scale it up to eight meters. We proposed several methods and explored different materials, finally settling on one that is compatible with the artist’s vision, while also allowing the sculpture to be disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere. Thus, the sculpture comprises 38 prefabricated concrete elements that are assembled on-site using steel bolts. The sculpture is a 20-millimetre-thick glass-fibre-reinforced lightweight concrete shell supported by a network of reinforced-concrete ribs. This complex geometry is carried by an intricate stay-in-place timber formwork, digitally fabricated to capture the sculptural features of the head.

Andrei, you were previously engaged as a postdoc within the NCCR Digital Fabrication. In what way did the NCCR DFAB shape your research?

The work we do with Contouro builds upon the research developed at ETH Zurich. Within the NCCR DFAB, I was fortunate to work on large-scale real-world demonstrators, contributing to three units at the NEST: the Smart Slab, one of the HiLo Slabs, and the Cadenza Stair. These projects motivated me to continue to seek validation for our research in the real market. My PhD project investigated 3D-printed formworks for complex concrete building elements, and I continued to develop the research during my postdoc. The knowledge base developed over the past ten years forms the backbone of the activities we engage in with Contouro.

Angela and I co-founded Contouro together, continuing our 8-year collaboration at the Digital Building Technologies chair at ETH. While she is now focusing on a different sector, she remains involved as a member of Contouro’s advisory board.

What projects are you currently working on, or what kind of projects would you like to attract in the future?

Zardoz attracted significant attention, naturally sparking interest in similar large-scale sculptural projects in Switzerland. This niche aligns closely with Contouro’s profile and expertise in large-scale digital fabrication. We are excited to keep working at the intersection of art and architecture. This space presents both demanding technical challenges and a unique freedom to explore ideas beyond the conventional boundaries of typical architectural projects. Nevertheless, this kind of highly bespoke work, which requires direct hands-on involvement, is not necessarily the primary scope of Contouro. Our background and main preoccupation remain in architecture. In this direction, the solutions we develop, such as prefabricated discrete stairs and highly efficient slab systems, are ready-to-implement, freely customisable products.

Get in contact with Contouro: contact@contouro.com

Visit Contouro’s website: https://www.contouro.com/

Connect with Contouro on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contouro/

Visit Contouro’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contouro.design/