#HTE

Meet the Designers Chosen for the Core77 x A/D/O Residency

After reviewing a number of fantastic submissions from Core77 readers, we’ve finally chosen our design residents who will be spending 3 months in the A/D/O space working on a number of their dream projects. And given the pool of applicants was so great, we couldn’t pick just one!

So without further ado, here are two short chats with our chosen residents: design studio byjimmi, who will be working with a large format 3D printer they’ve recently developed to create a number of different hand tools and products (all the while hoping to collaborate on projects with our A/D/O residents as well), and Casey Doran Lewis, an accomplished designer who just recently took a leap to form his own freelance practice in New York. 

Harrison Tyler & Evan Roche, byjimmi Design Studio

Tell us more about what you’re going to work on during your residency at A/D/O. 

We recently built a large format 3D printer and it has a couple unique features—one is that it has a build area of 1 meter cubed and the other unique feature is that it has a large nozzle size, which is 0.25", so those two things together give us some new tools we can use to explore 3D printing on a slightly more macro scale. During the residency, we’ll be using the printer and exploring different use cases for what can be printed on the machine and then we’ll be working towards a small collection of printed objects that really take advantage of the advantages provided by the machine.

We’re really interested in seeing how the printer can be used in conjunction with other fabrication methods. To get the results we need, it’s not really as simple as just pressing a button and letting it print. It’s more using a 3D printer at the scale as one tool amongst many, so we’d like to see how we can integrate plastic welding, for example, or heat bending around jigs in conjunction with 3D printed parts.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background in design and engineering as well?

Harrison and I both went to school for sculpture at MICA and that’s where we began exploring digital fabrication, so 3D printing and CNC milling, and since then we’ve been working in a variety of capacities also relating to digital fabrication. Initially, we had a series of workshops where people build 3D printers with us and then we got into 3D bio-printing and engineering our own machines for bio-printing reasons. So it’s kind of been a long legacy of different projects and in many ways we’re self taught as engineers although we do have a design education.

What aspects of being in the space at A/D/O are you most excited about?

Lots of stuff. It’s an awesome community there so I"m really excited to be able to work on that project and collaborate with other people. Also having the project be visible I think will be really exciting, just because it is such an exciting thing to watch. It’s funny when you’re printing on a small scale because it’s small and kind of private, but as soon as it becomes larger on a more architectural scale it really just inherently invites a lot of collaboration and engagement. So for me, I’m just super excited to be at A/D/O and meet and collaborate with other people and be able to share what we’re working on.

What are you hoping to get out of this experience?

I think one of things we want to get out of it is an idea of next steps. These first applications [we’ve envisioned for the printer] may be good applications for the machine but it would be cool to leave the residency with even more specific and exciting applications. Originally, we were thinking about creating tools that we could use for ourselves but now I’m thinking it’d be cool to create tools that could be useful in the A/D/O space for other people or maybe that other people could take part in helping to ideate what those tools might be. So I would be excited leaving if maybe someone else had, like if we could find some application that would be valuable for someone else or an idea of a real problem that could be solved.

Casey Lewis

Can you tell us a little bit about your background in design?

I graduated from design school in 2009 and am now an Industrial and Space designer based in New York. Prior to setting up my own freelance practice, I designed under Yves Béhar at fuseproject in San Francisco, trained under Dror Benshetrit in New York, Form Us With Love in Stockholm, and Smart Design in New York and Barcelona.

Why were you interested in applying for this residency?

After nearly 9 years of working under various designers, I decided recently to venture on my own. When designers go solo, you typically don’t have access to the machinery and materials that were once readily available. I was happy that Core77 and A/D/O seemed to be interested in sponsoring this leap that can sometimes be a difficult one.

Lewis worked on the Movado Edge watch under the direction of Yves Béhar at fuseproject 

What aspects of the A/D/O are you most excited about utilizing?

I think the connection with other designers is going to be pretty key for me, being able to collaborate with other people and start hopefully integrating into the New York design scene. I lived here for a couple years from 2009 to 2011, moved to San Francisco and Stockholm and I just moved back. I’ve been out of the New York design scene [for a while] so it’ll be nice to get back in and kind of start collaborating with people. And then also the 3D printer, CNC machine, all of those bigger machinery I don’t have access to I think will be really valuable. Also, if there are new ways to manufacture or create—I saw the work Assemble was doing with clay extrusions at their A/D/O residency and I’d love to explore [processes like that]. 

What do you hope ultimately to get out of this experience?

I’d like to be able to be in a space where I’m able to collaborate with people, make connections, and come up with a good product. And hopefully gain some traction and publicity to be able to sell an idea I come up with in the space to manufacturers. [What I ultimately make] may be a one-off piece but I want to keep it open to being manufacturable as well.

byjimmi and Casey will be working within the A/D/O space through the spring and summer seasons. We’ll be keeping up with both residents to learn more about the projects they’re working on as the months roll by—so stay tuned!

And if you’re interested in learning more about A/D/O and how you yourself could work in this design space, visit their website at a-d-o.com/workspace.