ENEA
Design Museum, London, UK
Beazley Design of the Year Nominee, 2018–2019
Beazley Design of the Year Nominee, 2018–2019
ENEA was developed by Shiro Studio as a rethinking of the traditional walking stick, combining advanced manufacturing, structural optimisation and contemporary design to create an assistive device that users could embrace with pride rather than view as a symbol of limitation.
During this collaboration, I carried out the structural analysis and computational studies that informed the development of the walking stick's internal architecture. Working closely with Shiro Studio and MHOX, I evaluated a series of bio-inspired cellular structures derived from bone tissue, helping to identify solutions that could achieve the required balance between strength, stiffness and weight.
The project leveraged additive manufacturing to realise geometries that would have been difficult or impossible to produce using conventional manufacturing methods. By combining computational analysis with iterative design development, the team was able to create a highly efficient porous internal structure while maintaining the performance required for everyday use.
The resulting walking stick combined engineering, digital fabrication and industrial design into a functional and visually distinctive product. ENEA was nominated for the Beazley Design of the Year Award and exhibited at the Design Museum in London, highlighting the potential of computational engineering and 3D printing to improve both the performance and user experience of assistive devices.
Image credits: Shiro Studio
