You?ve probably never seen a chess set like this one before.

The first semester students from the ?Design in der Digitalen Gesellschaft’ program at the University of Arts in Braunschweig, Germany took the centuries-old game of chess and gave it a modern, parametrically-designed facelift.

So how did they do it" Using Rhino and Grasshopper (two algorithmic modeling softwares), the students chose a single algorithmic definition that would be used to create a complete set of chess figures. After creating a set of laser-cut cardboard mock-ups, a final set was selected, refined and 3D printed at Shapeways, an online 3D printing service. The chess board is made from a laser-cut 8mm thick sheet of acrylic with milled cavities that are filled in with black and white plastic tiles. Lastly, the students created posters to communicate their creative design approach.
Rendering by Manuel Kretzer
Poster by Moritz Boos
Poster by Tim Luders
Poster by Leon Ehmke

Credits:

Supervision: Dr. Manuel Kretzer / Visiting Professor Digital Crafting
Students:

Lydia Jasmin Hempel, Moritz Boos, Maximilian Dauscha, Tim Daniel, Ingo Lüders, Leon Ehmke, Florian Schulze, Anna Ocklitz, Elina Mishina, Benedikt Schaudinn
All photos by Maximilian Dauscha and Benedikt Schaudinn unless noted.

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