A conversation with Danel, Head of Programming at Molldi

‍
‍For centuries, furniture design has been about objects - shaping wood, bending metal, stitching fabric. At Molldi, we’re reframing the practice: the designer defines intent, and the programmer translates that intent into design DNA. This DNA is a generative system - part craft, part code - that allows users to co-create bespoke furniture within clear boundaries.

We sat down with Danel, Molldi’s Head of Programming, to discuss his journey into computational design, what it means to write DNA instead of objects, and how programming is transforming the very culture of design.

‍Molld: Can you tell us about your background and how you came into computational design?

Danel: I actually didn’t come from a computer science background. In high school, I was more into art. I loved drawing, sculpture, anything related to space. Architecture was a natural step, and during my third year I discovered Grasshopper. That was a turning point. I fell in love with the process of digital fabrication and parametric design.

I realized the process itself was more exciting than the end product. Very quickly I started teaching Grasshopper, both privately and at the university. From there, I worked in several architecture firms. Then, almost by accident, I joined Molldi. At first it was just a small side project connected to 3D printing and digital fabrication. But it resonated so deeply with my interests that I knew immediately: I’m in.

‍Molld: Your title - Head of Furniture Programming - is new in the design world. What does it mean to program furniture?

Danel: Traditionally, designers create finished objects. My role is different. I take a designer’s intent and translate it into a system - a kind of DNA. That DNA then lives inside Molldi’s platform, where customers interact with it to generate their own unique version of a piece.

It’s not about designing one chair, it’s about designing the possibility of chairs. My job is to set the boundaries, the rules, the logic. Like pouring water into a glass: the glass defines the space, but within it there’s freedom.

Molld: You’ve said you often feel caught in a triangle .What do you mean by that?

Danel: Every system I write has to balance three forces: the designer, the client and the manufacturer. If the system leans too much toward the designer, the customer loses freedom. If it leans too much toward the customer, it risks becoming arbitrary or unbuildable. And if it leans too heavily on manufacturing, it may lose beauty. So my daily craft is balancing this triangle - finding the right amount of freedom, control, and feasibility.

Molld: Furniture has always been tied to craft. Do you see craft in code?

Danel: Absolutely. Code has personality. You can feel it in the way a system behaves. When the code is well-written, it produces coherence instead of noise. That, to me, is beautiful.

At Molldi we’ve developed in-house tools: feasibility tests, cost calculators, even FEA analysis that checks structural integrity. What excites me is how code becomes a bridge - from the first sketch to manufacturability to price - all in one seamless loop. In traditional design, this requires endless back-and-forth between designer and manufacturer. Code eliminates that compromise.

So yes, there’s elegance in code. It’s not visible like woodgrain, but it’s there in the way the system flows.

‍Molld: If furniture is DNA, who gets to shape the outcome?

Danel: That’s the radical shift. We’re giving customers reins they never had before. Instead of just choosing a piece, they co-create it inside the boundaries of the designer’s DNA.

Sometimes even I’m surprised. We test a system and find forms we hadn’t imagined. When customers start interacting, they’ll push the DNA into places no designer alone would think of. That’s the power - the system becomes alive in the hands of many.

‍Molld: Do you think this reduces the role of designers?

Danel: Not at all. If anything, it enhances it. Designers will still create fully finished pieces, but they can also design DNA. Their authorship doesn’t disappear - it shifts. Some people won’t want to customize; they’ll trust the designer’s taste. Others will want to play. Both are valid.

And for architects designing public spaces - walkways, lobbies, retail interiors - DNA systems unlock possibilities. Imagine a bench that grows seamlessly along a curved promenade. That’s where design DNA will really shine.

‍Molld: Molldi is working to integrate AI into this process. How do you see AI changing the relationship between designer and DNA?

Danel: Right now, customization happens through sliders. That’s powerful but overwhelming - there can be dozens of parameters. With AI, it becomes language-based. Instead of moving sliders, you just say: “Make it softer, lower, aquatic.” The AI interprets that into parameters.

It lowers the barrier. A non-designer can create without technical knowledge. At the same time, for designers and professionals, AI becomes a co-pilot - helping test variations, propose alternatives, and expand creativity. In that sense, it gets closer to the metaphor of genes: mixing flavors, mutating traits, evolving new species of design.

‍Molld: If you could program DNA beyond furniture, what would you dream of?

Danel: Buildings, cars, even plants. Imagine walking into a VR space, speaking to an AI co-pilot, and furnishing the environment in real-time. That’s not far off.

We’re still at the beginning - I’d say we’re only using 10%of the technology available to us. But the dream is clear: to become a DNA programmer for the world. To write systems that generate not just furniture, but entire environments.

--

Molld: Favorite Grasshopper component?

Danel: BIP Metrics.

Molld: A bug you ended up loving?

Danel: A shift bug in our timeline models - frustrating at first, but once solved, it opened new possibilities.

Molld: If  your code were a material?

Danel: Metal: fluid yet strong.

--

‍‍Danel calls himself not a designer, but a programmer of design DNA. His craft is invisible, yet essential: writing the rules that let designers and users co-create. In his words, “It’s not about making furniture - it’s about making the systems that make furniture possible.”

‍