Time and motion studies were conducted by Frank & Lilian Gilbreth in the early 1900s in order to increase efficiencies and productivity in the workplace. Sensors would be tied around factory workers wrists to track and analyse their movement paths and motions. This method was also implemented in the domestic environment to make housewives work in the kitchen more efficient.     Motion efficiency study by Frank Gilbreth, c. 1914. Collection: National Museum of American History     Inspired by these studies, below are chronophotographic montages I made to capture s ..read more

Auckland is in the midst of a housing crisis with an increase in housing stock and diversity of typologies required to meet unprecedented demand. Smaller homes, infilling existing urban sections have been proposed as a solution to increase density without contributing to urban sprawl. However, smaller dwellings present their unique challenges such as availability of storage space and limited floor area for furnishings and as a result, clutter can accumulate very quickly. In late 18th Century America, a religious movement called the Shakers designed their dwellings around tidiness. Using design ..read more

Three exhibition apparatus that were designed and built to house the drawings of Rafik Patel. The exhibition took place at the St Paul street gallery and showcased works from Patel's PHD research.                      ..read more

I wanted to use my creativity and skillset to make something useful to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and to lighten the mood in these uncertain times. Using the latest information published about the virus, I’ve translated these into dimensioned drawings and diagrams hoping this would give some perspective (and some humour) into things like what does a 2-meter gap look like between two people or in some of the unusual and selfish behaviour generated by this pandemic e.g. panic buying toilet paper. The graphic style of this blog series is inspired by Ernst Neufert's book, Architect ..read more

The Terraced Concrete Bowl. Photograph, Raimana Jones.   The past can be a great source of inspiration. I was looking at some of the world-renowned historical concrete architecture for inspiration for my new design project. There was a noticeable terraced geometry that I found common in both the Pantheon ceiling (126 AD) and in some of the architecture of Carlo Scarpa. The Pantheon ceiling (source) on the left and a detail of the Bryon cemetery on the right (source). The terraced geometries add detailing and generate a beautiful, rhythmic play of shadows onto the concrete works - q ..read more

After renovating their 1920s bungalow in Mount Eden, a client approached us with an existing totara porch beam she wanted to re-purpose as a mantelpiece. Bellow are a few iterations of its design and the assembly process of the one we ended up making.  Process sketches   Iteration A Iteration B Iteration C   Exploded View of Components     This was a fun design exercise. It pushed me to think about a good compromise between the beam and the brackets.   ..read more

My talented friends Yosop Ryoo, his brother, Yohan Ryoo and myself submitted a proposal that got accepted for the 2019 Art Week's Changing Lanes in Auckland. The project consisted of three pods positioned on Lower Vulcan lane, in Auckland city. Monoculars were fixed to each pod which activated particular moments throughout the lane with small scale wooden mannequins.   Visualisation render of the proposal Bellow is the proposal we submitted (written by Yohan Ryoo): How often do we stop to consider the spaces around us? It appears that we, as passersby, often take our ..read more

  Rimu, also known as ‘red pine’, is one of New Zealand’s most popular native timbers. Māori used this wood to build canoes, tools and weapons and its gum was applied for medical purposes. In the early 20th Century, post-European settlement, rimu trees were extensively milled, valued both in the housing industry for its hardness and density, as well as the furniture industry for its exceptionally beautiful wooden grain. Because of this excessive logging, after housing construction materials shifted in the 1970s, rimu became a protected species.   The crown of an old matur ..read more

  The Designer/Maker: Celebrating the Messiness of Process exhibition featured a range of some of our furniture and objects with key elements of the process involved in the making - from conception to fabrication.  It was important to communicate the key ideas and stages of construction behind the pieces displayed. The main inspiration stemmed from the original exhibitions the Bauhaus would have, back in the early 1900s. A significant characteristic of these exhibits was that the design and fabrication processes were showcased and celebrated. This was a key quality I ..read more

  Pinterest can be a great resource to get inspiration from but used too frequently, it can be detrimental to the creative process. The problem is that Pinterest is saturated with images of perfect finalised products. We scroll through hundreds of highly seductive pictures without knowing much about the background or the process that went behind them. This is intimidating when starting a new project as it generates an expectation of coming up with a perfect solution and can reduce the richness of the creative process. Another thing is that bro ..read more