About Us
We are a team of engineers and designers who want to make a change.
Our Story
We initially met during the IDE Master’s program at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College in London. This is where Polyfloss was born, back in 2012. For more than 6 years, we developed our technology and used it for educational workshops, exhibitions and tests.
In 2018, we teamed up with several NGOs to explore the potential of the technology in humanitarian and development contexts. From there, we understood the potential of our machine, not only in terms of ecology but also to support livelihood programs and carbon reduction in places that matter most.
Our Team
Dr Emile De Visscher
Research and development Lead
Emile is a trained material science engineer who then pursued a career in design research. Apart from Polyfloss, he is currently Junior Professor at Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris Saclay, part of Université Paris Saclay, where he holds a research Chair on “Design for Ecological Transitions”.
Emile conducted a PhD thesis at ENSAD Paris - PSL University, and 4 years of post-doc research at Humboldt University in Germany. He developed different innovative machines and materials, and published articles and books on the possible relations between technology, society and ecology, based on the field experience from Polyfloss. He currently directs several PhDs and co-directs the Centre de Recherche en Design, a design laboratory in Paris.
Emile’s role in Polyfloss is both practical and theoretical : as a material engineer, he can assess qualities and methods of waste material transformations, observe results and test the resulting products.
But he also writes, presents and develops research partnerships around resilient technologies, situated knowledge and ecological ecosystems.
Audrey Gaulard
Project and operation manager
Audrey trained as a fashion designer in Paris, including working in Haute Couture, at Jean Paul Gaultier and Alexander McQueen, before leaving the fashion industry to pursue the Innovation Design Engineering double masters at ICL and RCA and it is where The Polyfloss Factory started.
Since co-founding Polyfloss in 2011, she has built a uniquely wide-ranging career: from mechanical costumes for Lady Gaga to heading the design team at Random International for large scale art installations in venues such as the Venice Biennale, Yuz Museum in Shanghai or running major retrospective in South Korea.
As a director at Polyfloss, she has developed sharp skills in project management for complex environments, deploying technology in challenging parts of the world and ensuring safe field delivery for her team.
She has been teaching design engineering since 2015 and is now Senior Teaching Fellow at Imperial College London, leading the second year of the IDE joint master Imperial College London & Royal College of Art. She also teaches in various Msc and Meng programs.
Her specialism is design for resilience, drawing directly on fifteen years of Polyfloss fieldwork to bring real experience into the classroom.
Christophe Machet
Technology Lead
Christophe grew up in a French valley known for precision turning, where his grandfather ran a factory. He trained first in production engineering, learning to operate lathes and mills, then completed a Bachelor of Engineering before turning to product design at ECAL in Lausanne. He went on to the Innovation Design Engineering double master at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art, where Polyfloss began. With two complete training paths, he’s fluent in both engineering and design
As CTO and Technology Lead Engineer at Polyfloss, Christophe is the one who makes ideas physical. When it is time to materialise, he designs the machines, builds them in Polyfloss's workshop or works with trusted subcontractors, and supervises construction up to final assembly. He has set up a recycling workshop in Madagascar, developed a machine producing insulation for refugee camps, and co-invented the patented Polyfloss process. A residency in Burkina Faso sparked his interest in local materials, and showed him the necessity of building resilience by making materials from what is available on the spot, whether waste or other local resources.
His parallel work, including screen-free toys produced in over 25,000 units, brings industrial rigour to the team. His specialism is design that is simple, durable and repairable with limited means, shaped by building machines on site with whatever was at hand.