Humans
and Machines

COMPANY

Woodworking workspace with partially assembled wooden structures and a wooden mallet on a curved table.

At Shelterhood we develop techniques that empower the collaboration between humans and machines.

Design and fabrication can be fully automated, therefore they will be soon. The old industrial dream of machines making what humans have designed will be substituted by an economy where humans will make what machines have designed.

As we approach the Total Automation era, when corporations and big companies seek to erase the human factor and replace it with highly-efficient, obeying machines and digital processes, we explore an alternative route where man and machine work hand in hand in close collaboration.

Inspired by Ivan Illich’s Tools for Conviviality, we have spent the last ten years researching design and making techniques that empower and allow the realisation of the full potential of each individual as well as the team it belongs to.

Symbiosis. Techniques for conviviality.

A man working with machinery in a workshop with wooden frames, pipes, and a large window in the background.

The machines

Close-up of laser-cut wooden pieces with various shapes and holes, with dust and debris on the surface.

For the Within collection we currently have the help of Holzher Evolution 7405, powered by Pytha, Cut 2D Pro and Opticut. Although this collection carries full nesting optimisation in its design DNA, this industry 4.0 manufacturing process helps us to streamline the making of each part, reducing time and increasing quality and reliability.

Workshop with unfinished wooden furniture, including chairs and a rocking horse, being assembled by two workers in the background.

The humans

A man in a blue jacket assembling wooden furniture in a warehouse with a metal roll-up door and scattered wooden pieces.

A robust combination of old school carpenters, with classical training and a rich experience in hundreds of works, and young motivated folks who want to learn the craft allow us to give each product the hand touch with small, light tools. 

Two people working together on a woodworking project, cutting and assembling wooden pieces on a workbench in a woodworking shop.

Refinement

Various unfinished wooden furniture pieces, including chairs and tables, in a workshop or warehouse with a large metal garage door, ladder, and construction materials in the background.

Each part is visually inspected for its right finish. Each unit is preassembled to test that every part fits fine in the whole.