Assa Ashuach was born in Israel in 1969, completed his BA at the Bezalel Academy of Art & Design in Jerusalem and his MA at the Royal College of Art at Ron Arad’s Design Products department in London 2003.
Assa Ashuach studio was established in London, focusing on Research and Consultancy within the progressive design and manufacturing. Assa has exhibited in different galleries and museums around the world; his work is included in permanent exhibitions and public collections. Some of his early work was bought by The Contemporary Art Society for the ‘Special Collection Scheme’ in London 2003. Assa’s OMI light for Materialse mgx is one of the first 3D printed products to be distributed to a mass market in 2004.
Assa was invited to show at London’s Design Museum Tank and Atrium over the London design festival and Frieze art fair in 2005, he received the Design Museum and Esmee Fairbairn Foundation Award. Assa introduced the Osteon chair, the first chair to be designed using a combination of 3D tools and artificial intelligence, produced by EOS SLS the chair met all of the mechanical requirements while only using 1/3 of the anticipated material. Assa received the ‘red dot’ award for product design 2006. In his show at Rabih Hage gallery in London Assa exhibited the AI light, a biologically inspired mechanism with a built-in ‘digital brain’ and sensors, introducing the notion of ‘training’ over controlling products in 2007.
Assa was invited to lead and take part in writing and establishing the new cross-disciplinary ‘MA Design Suite’ of London Metropolitan University, Sir John Cass Art Media & Design in 2008. Assa has patented, trademarked and later co-founded Digital Forming ltd and UCODO ltd (User Co Design Objects), awarded TSB government funding to develop his vision of embedded ‘open 3D products’ featuring the technology with a collection of 3D shape modifiable products at London’s Science Museum’s 100 years anniversary in 2009. Following his RSA 21st century manufacture keynote, Assa was invited to install a 3D interactive product show of ‘co-generated’ products with users at the Victoria & Albert Museum over London’s design week 2011. Assa’s limited edition objects and a selection of co-designed digitally produced objects where bought by the Plasticarium museum, one of the world’s most comprehensive plastic pop design permanent collections as a glimpse into the future of product design in 2012. Presented a collection of laser sintered (3D printed) objects within a user co-designing software algorithms at both Design & Science Museums in London 2013