In our „Behind the Scenes“ section, team members of Radiate Engineering & Design introduce themselves personally and share some insights into their work and life. Have a good read and get to know the people who keep our company and client projects moving.
Massimo Brivio
MSc ETH ME, Mechanical Engineering
What does a typical working day look like for you?
A typical day for me is a sequence of challenging and stimulating tasks organized around a morning, lunch and afternoon coffee routine. I divide my time between working on high-end competitive bike wheels and a sustainable prosthesis for low income people in developing countries.
What is your background before you started working at RADIATE?
I was a Mechanical Engineer Master Student at ETH Zurich.
What motivates you?
My motivation comes from the possibility to test and put into practice my ideas. I always have the feeling of being part of something I can contribute to evolve. This is great.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I’m passionate about camping and van life. I often go together with my girlfriend. We explore many places and enjoy some time off the city.
What is your favorite design/engineering object or tool?
The Computer. It’s a universe fitting in a small box. Every day it enables me to optimize designs, evaluate performance, organize my work and learn everything that I could wish for.
Where do you find inspiration?
I’m a very curious person, therefore I read a lot on many topics, from science and engineering to novels. I always find something that makes me passionate and stimulates me.
What has been the most exciting moment at RADIATE for you so far?
The unplanned brainstorming with a colleague during our last team event hike. We were a volcano of ideas. This reminds me of how dynamic and full of opportunities my job is.
With whom would you like to switch roles for half a year?
With my colleague Mario. I would love to learn the practical skills he has.
What does a typical working day look like for you?
On a typical workday, my alarm clock rings at 6.30 am. Apart from that, everything else that follows is usually not typical at all.
What is your background before you started working at RADIATE?
After graduating as an Industrial Designer at Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), I worked for a while on a project in collaboration with ZHdK, ETH Zurich and Helvetas in Nepal. After co-designing a stair-climbing wheelchair for Scewo AG and some smaller projects, I was happy to join the team at RADIATE.
What motivates you?
Working in an exciting team and always completing a wide variety of tasks with new challenges and the potential to learn more.
What do you like to do in your free time?
There are many things. Whether I’m working on my own project, traveling, making music, or standing on one of my boards in the waves, snow, or in the streets – getting bored is never an option.
What is your favorite design/engineering object or tool?
The Moka pot, invented by Alfonso Bialetti.
Where do you find inspiration?
If I set my mind to it, practically everywhere.
With whom would you like to switch roles for half a year?
To gain the most knowledge about human nature, probably with the person who is most different from me.
Pascal Trachsler
BSC of Arts ZFH in Product and Industrial Design
Mattis Stolze
MSc ETH ME, Mechanical Engineering
What does a typical working day look like for you?
My typical day consists of doing computer-aided design (CAD), communicating with clients (synchronizing expectations and current results). I carry out the planning of design, as well as computational, manufacturing and experimental tasks. I also have regular informal discussions with colleagues that help me push our work as a team in the right direction.
What is your background before you started working at RADIATE?
I am a Development Engineer and Ideation Consultant. I helped developing a 1MW wind turbine at Agile Windpower in Dübendorf. In a different instance, I consulted Helvetas on agricultural technologies and business development. A job that brought me to Nepal twice and substantially challenged my perspective towards development aid. At Spark Works I carried out more conceptual work in the field of product development and focused on identifying user needs. One could say this outcome was sort of a basis for the kind of jobs I do now at RADIATE.
What motivates you?
I get my motivation from designing beautiful products and seeing the physical results. I enjoy surprising clients by delivering results beyond their expectations, and I love finding a creative answer to a problem. Furthermore, I hope to see our sector moving in a more ecological sustainable direction soon. New materials and processes are already being explored but we are very far away from delivering „green“ products at the moment.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love alpine climbing, ski touring and hiking in remote places. Making fire, being subject to the weather, sleeping under the stars and playing my harmonica together with good people is a crucial part of it. If I enjoy a mellow weekend in Zurich I love making pizza and drinking a beer with my friends at Hardturmbrache. Unfortunately, the new soccer stadium will be built there soon. On the other hand, the fact that this will be all gone at some point makes it even more worthwhile.
What is your favorite design/engineering object or tool?
The Swiss „Sparschäler“! A great example of engineering: very handy, minimalistic look, optimized manufacturing leads to an unbeatable price tag. Unfortunately, I don’t know about the ecological footprint though.
Where do you find inspiration?
From fellow designers, architects or artists. I consider myself very lucky, as there are many inspiring people around me. Further, I love „live – hacks“, done by people in everyday life, showing very creative solutions to problems. Online, I like to browse what IDEO is doing. Car manufacturers can be interesting, too. This is quite ironic, as I am not a big fan of our current polluting, big and „unsmart“ cars. In fact, I would like to see more bikes on the road. However, cars are a big part of our civilization, that’s why I can learn a lot from them, whether it’s about aesthetic design, manufacturing or our socio-economic behavior.
What has been the most exciting moment at RADIATE for you so far?
Seeing the first batch of Skope’s Neurocam being produced. I invested more than a year of design work to give an overwhelmingly complex technology a „face“. In simple words, the MRI technology developed by Skope needed a shape; a housing to become a user-friendly product for medical research. In the future, researchers will use Skope’s Neurocam to look deeply into something even more complicated: the human brain. Very exciting!
With whom would you like to switch roles for half a year?
Tough question. I would switch with Gary Oldman, a very versatile actor, or Walter Bonatti, a former visionary alpinist and later journalist. Oldman is now and Bonatti was exploring new territories. Oldman has been delivering portraits of characters that I could not even dream of and I still feel familiar with them. I learn a lot about the world by watching his art of acting. Bonatti, while opening extremely new hard alpine routes in wild places, was very down to earth and had a uniquely creative approach to following his passion.