The Ski Building Workshop was both a teaching and a learning experience. As I taught Bachelors students at ETH Zurich how to design skis based on computational tools, I myself went through the process several times. I used a stiffness model to inform the size of the ski core and the types of fibers in the layup and FEM to tailor the torsion. In my iterations, I played with a variety of natural fibers, such as flax and basalt, and used a mixture of woods and plastics to creating appealing visual art.

After the final geometrical and material parameters had been defined, the skis were manufactured with the following steps and fabrication methods: cut the base using a plotter; CNC the core and glue in a reinforcement plate; bend the edges using specialized pliers; cut the fibers and top sheet roughly to size; laminate, vacuum bag, and autoclave the full layup; cut out the skis using a saw; finish using sand paper and oil for wood top sheets.