Augmented Workshop — Computational design & software

The person behind the practice

I’m James Hayward, the independent design technologist behind Augmented Workshop.

I work directly with design and manufacturing teams, bringing an architect’s understanding of physical systems together with hands-on software development. Every engagement stays close and accountable—from framing the problem to prototyping, testing, and delivering the working tool.

Selected work

Ideas made tangible.

Working prototypes that make difficult technical systems easier to see, shape, and trust.

01 / Flagship projectLive system

Lumen

Draw on a surface. Turn intent into parts.

A direct-on-object design environment for parametric lighting. Lumen carries gestures from a live 3D surface through Grasshopper and Rhino.Compute, then returns inspectable, fabrication-ready geometry.

Enter the live studio View source

01Shape in context

Orbit, sculpt, profile, and mark directly on the object.

02Compute the system

Send the deformed mesh through a real Grasshopper definition.

03Inspect the result

Review parts, pipeline timings, and restorable versions.

02 / Interaction prototypeTry the conversation

Cutform

Describe it. Shape it. Get it made.

A conversational design experience for CNC-cut furniture. It turns an everyday idea into a buildable flat-pack concept, then connects the design to local fabrication partners.

Conversational UIParametric furnitureSupplier handoff

Start with an idea

01Start naturally

Describe a need, a space, or even just a rough idea.

02Shape the brief

Useful prompts reveal the constraints that change the design.

03Make it real

Generate CNC-ready parts and match them to a local workshop.

03 / 3D productLive demo

Sustainer IFC

From IFC model to an assembly instruction manual.

A guided 3D product demo that reorganises a designed and engineered timber module by production logic. Isolate building packages, reveal each cumulative assembly step, rotate parts into factory orientation, and connect the IFC to proof of work.

Live IFC modelPackage isolationBuild sequenceProduction proof

Open the live viewer

01Model overview

Understand the complete module and its IFC context.

02Building packages

Isolate floors, columns, roofs, and façades by station.

03Assembly sequence

Step through cumulative stages using the real IFC geometry.

04Production proof

Connect parts, fasteners, and completed work to the build.

04 / Systems prototype

Production Digital Twin

A manufacturing line you can watch think.

A realtime jewellery-production demonstrator connecting parametric geometry, event infrastructure, persistent state, and a live browser interface.

RealtimeGraphQLEvent systems3D

Open the project

Capabilities

From specialist knowledge
to useful software.

I work best on problems where design logic, technical infrastructure, and user experience need to become one coherent product.

Computational design

Parametric systems and geometry workflows that make complex design intent usable, repeatable, and ready to manufacture.

3D product interfaces

Browser-based tools that turn specialist spatial workflows into clear, direct interactions for real users.

Production software

The connective layer between models, data, services, and the people responsible for getting physical things made.

Working approach

Close enough to the material to understand it. Far enough back to redesign the system.

Start with the real constraint

Find the geometry, production, or coordination risk that the interface must make legible.

Prototype the hard part

Prove the interaction and technical pipeline together, before polishing the surrounding product.

Leave a system behind

Deliver maintainable software and a shared model of how it works—not a one-off demonstration.

Have a difficult workflow?

Let’s make it clear,
useful, and real.

Start a conversation

Available for consulting, prototyping, and design-engineering collaborations.

Software for thephysical world.