Building Bytes from design lab workshop on Vimeo.

FABRIKAAT  (a Dutch word meaning to make by hand)

FABRIKAAT is an exhibition during the 2012 Milan Furniture Fair at the Ventura Lambrate venue which investigated the re-emerging role of the garden through a “research through making” approach to design and craft. In a digitally saturated world, this body of work celebrates and promotes research, ideas and the nuances of making by hand.

The work exhibited was made during an intensive three-month thematic design studio with integrated seminar and media courses, by students in the Master of Interior Architecture & Retail Design program at the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The spirit of FABRIKAAT became an integral part of the culture, programming and deployment of the courses during this period.Master of Interior Architecture & Retail Design (MIARD)

Studio Instructors:

Alex Suarez, Course Director
Brian Peters, Instructor

Brick Biotope – Micaela Nardella & Oana Tudose from MIARD on Vimeo.

Team 1 – BRICK BIOTOPE (Moulding)Micaela Nardella (Italy)
Oana Tudose (Romania)

Brick Biotope is a set of brick typologies designed as a natural living environment for birds. It addresses the disappearance of the House Sparrow in the Netherlands and the need for nature to reclaim the built environment. The design is contextualised in traditional red brick façades synonymous with traditional Dutch architecture.

Undercover – Angelique Etman & Marie Gade-Lundie from MIARD on Vimeo.

Team 2 – UNDERCOVER (Knitting/Weaving)Angelique Etman (Netherlands)
Marie Gade-Lundlie (Norway)

Undercover is a flexible cocoon-like furniture unit for urban domestic gardens, and the technique of crocheting was researched and explored as a means of fabrication.

HERB² – Milda Liubinskaite & Mariann Hildal from MIARD on Vimeo.

Team 3 – HERB² (Folding/Bending)Mariann Hildal (Norway)
Milda Liubinskaite (Lithuania)

HERB² is a flexible partition wall, which functions as an indoor herb garden, allowing users to create separate living spaces and to grow plants year round.

Blindfolded – Anette Backe & Dominika Dyminska from MIARD on Vimeo.

Team 4 – BLINDFOLDED (Cutting/Scoring)Anette Backe (Norway)
Dominika Dyminska (Poland)

Blindfolded is a wooden, layered structure that functions as a partition wall or window blind. The visually playful system provides various optical experiences while acting as a barrier to wind, sun and/or rain, depending on its position.

DesignLabWorkshop was commissioned by Mater (a materials research center in Barcelona, Spain) to create a sample of our unique messaging system for its showroom in Barcelona.  The project involved using Grasshopper to create a custom drilling pattern that allows two different messages to be revealed when illuminated by the showroom’s spotlights.  A 3D print prototype was first designed and fabricated to test the light angles, and then a final acrylic panel was fabricated using a 6-axis robotic arm.

http://www.materio.es/

Winning design for Architecture for Humanity Chicago’s 2012 ACTIVATE! competition.
Chicago, IL, USA

Competition Challenge: Design one or more objects that can activate a vacant site, is universally accessible, and fosters multi-generational community interaction within a budget of $1000.

The Vertical Play Farm blends typical playground equipment with vertical gardening. By combining these two elements, we create a new type of interaction between children and gardening, making gardening fun and learning hands-on. We envision the Vertical Play Farm will create excitement and interest within the local community. Kids, parents and grandparents will visit the Vertical Play Farm together, to not only play but also check on the fruits, vegetables and flowers they planted.  Using classic playground materials and easily-sourced seeds/plants, it creates a learning tool for the next generation of gardeners.  The facade is designed to engage the children, and showcase the plants with a simple, durable, and cost effective system.  The north facade of the Vertical Play Farm will not be planted, and will instead act as the entrance to the farm with a ladder made out of 2×2 wood posts.

1x is an installation that explores themes common in some of the studio’s work, including the challenges and opportunities of utilizing a single material in multiples (in this case 2500 13cm x 20cm postcards), the interplay of graphics and architecture, and the dynamics of user interaction. 1x is also an investigation of temporary building techniques, meant as an experiential installation.

Exhibited:
designlabworkshop studio show, Chicago, Illinois, February 2009
5th Annual Guerilla Truck Show, Chicago, Illinois, June 2009