Photographs by Organelle Design
Above: Alex Witko and Courtney Hunt, founders of the Vancouver-based firm Organelle DesignLast week, I watched my neighbors haul out a sofa, two armchairs, and a set of dining chairs and set them down by the garbage cans outside of my building. They said that it was easier to junk the old stuff and buy new, rather than move the furniture from place to place. The dining chairs were scooped up pretty quickly, but the sofa and armchairs sat there, like that sad little discarded desk lamp from IKEA advertising fame, rained on and unappreciated, until they were finally taken away to the dump. I understand the temptation to do this all of this, but sometimes you wonder if there is a better solution. There is.
Organelle Design is an independent design studio based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. Their portfolio of work combines architecture, interior and industrial design practices, found/off-the-shelf objects, and community-based projects, to create budget and environmentally conscious pieces that fall somewhere between one-off and mass-produced. Their work operates on the premise that waste is the most abundant local resource that our cities have to offer—and wait until you see what they do with it!
Organelle Design speaks with Ava Living:
Your work falls into a category that combines an artist’s vision with eco-consciousness and industrial design. Can you tell us a bit about your backgrounds and how the platform for your company evolved?
We met while we were working at an architecture firm in 2004 and were instantly drawn together by both our frustrations with normative design practices and our individual passions for the environment.
Alex has two degrees in architecture and Courtney has a degree in environmental design, all of which were flexible enough to allow us to explore and develop our own direction. We joined forces in 2007 and formed our own partnership with the help of a few clients who believed in our ethos, and since then, we have been able to deliver design for less, based on our creative social and material resources (something all clients seem to latch onto). Most importantly, we have always made things, and people connect to this idea more than with just paper architecture.
Whose work do you admire and look to for inspiration?
We draw inspiration from people with colorful backgrounds and who operate in multiple disciplines. Two visionaries worthy of note are Andrea Zittel and Bryan Bell.
Andrea Zittel is a sculpture and installation artist who practices out of the desert next to Joshua Tree Park in California. Her work spans many scales—from architecture, to industrial design, sculpture, and even fashion! Most of her industrial design is about creating domestic environments which help to facilitate the conditions of her lifestyle. In short, she builds everything that she needs. Her methodology is one of making, and she physically adapts to her surroundings by building “hypotheses” to solve spatial problems. At Organelle, we also experiment through creating solutions to our basic domestic needs.
Bryan Bell is the founder of Design Corps, a non-profit organization which provides architectural services to the underprivileged. His hands-on field work approach to design is a huge inspiration for us and our work. Like Bryan Bell, we are also committed to social enterprise work, and seek out opportunities to imbue our work with social and environmental consciousness.
What sparked the interest to harvest waste materials in the city for your projects?
We’ve always been interested in furniture and lighting pieces that are made from reclaimed materials. However, one of the initial turning points came when the beginning of Alex’s thesis coincided with the 2007 garbage strike in Vancouver. During this time, there was no garbage pick up for about six weeks, so whatever people threw into the alley sat around waiting to be picked up.
This strike then allowed us to document the volume of consumer waste that was taking place in our city, and to our amazement and horror, we saw high-quality materials being tossed out at an alarming rate! People were trashing furniture which needed only slight repairs, or were merely worn out (for example, we found a discarded solid oak dresser with only one of its legs loose).
As our society moves away from the physical, and further into the digital realm, we seem to be losing the common sense to make simple repairs to the things that we own, and we would rather buy new than repair or adapt something to our needs.
Also, we were checking links online and when we realized that there were a ton of quality goods being discarded or given away on the Craiglist free page, and we knew that we had to take advantage of these resources. So, we began to collect!
Do you have any fantastic venues or resources for waste collection for your projects in the city, or does it seem to change on a week-to-week basis?
We are constantly scavenging our local neighborhood for good finds. As noted above, we also check the Craigslist free pages daily to see what’s new (it's actually quite competitive).
One of the most interesting aspects to our design methodology is the constant stream of ever-changing resources. We might happen upon ten discarded school chairs one day, and this inspires an idea for a new bench. This flux in our resources helps to add a richness to our designs. The venues and resources are always rotating and always new!
You recently spoke at the Pecha Kucha Vancouver presentation at IDWest in Vancouver where you presented images of your Hangelier lights that were met with resounding applause! Were these originally created as commissioned pieces, or were they purely the result of a collaborative brainstorm for new products?
In previous research, we had discovered that upwards of 10 bike frames are discarded from local bike shops every week because they are un-rideable. So, we started collecting bike frames, rims, and chainrings and decided to use them for this commission.
In the vein of traditional chandeliers, we wanted to use a transparent palette of materials. We had a breakthrough one day when we were shopping at a Salvation Army and saw the racks of clothing hanging on resin hangers; we instantly knew that this was the perfect material for our chandeliers! We arrayed the hangers between a bike rim and chainring, playing with the form, and finally came up with our Hangelier design. After we finished the commission, we got such a positive and encouraging reaction that we created a line of Hangeliers, with both resin and wooden hangers, for individual sale.
Above top: A selection of Hangeliers
Above bottom: The illuminated bottom view of a wooden HangelierYou also discussed the power of multiples in your work during the presentation. How does this fit in with what you do?
I think our fascination with multiples began when we were developing our views on ornamentation. In contemporary design, there is an aversion to ornament, as the function of the object tends to be viewed as beautiful on it's own, and therefore needs no embellishment. For example, Corinthian columns on new building construction would appear decadent and anachronistic. The issue that Organelle Design has with this simple and clean bias that has been made popular by mega-retailers like IKEA, is that it applauds simplicity at the cost of complexity, variation, and depth. When we create objects from a variety of sources or materials, there is inherent complexity and variation built into the design. By combining many of the same or similar objects into one design idea, you transform the multiples into an object which still has depth because of its complexity.
Another example is our 150 Litre Chandelier, where we sourced plastic water bottles from a recycling depot. In this case of the power of multiples, one discarded plastic bottle doesn’t really translate easily to something else, however 200 plastic bottles configured in a certain way can create a beautiful chandelier!
Above top: Raw materials for the 150 Litre Chandelier
Above bottom: The finished 150 Litre Chandelier lights up a storefront window
Can you tell us a bit about your furniture projects like the trusses made from bicycle frames and benches, which are combined with recycled chairs, and a fresh coat of paint?
The idea for this bike frame bed frame truss came as we were trying to think of a way to apply our ideas of re-use to a larger scale: the building. We started with a surplus of discarded bike frames from local bikes shops, and then experimented with the form, and ended up cutting off the rear triangle. We learned that the strength-to-weight ratio of the bike frame geometry is more solid even than the usual members used in truss construction. We are planning to use these frames, which are welded to discarded steel bed frames, as the truss system for two residential projects.
Are there any of these projects in particular that stood out above the rest for you?
We are very excited about the 25’ long bench that we designed for the reception area of Lu’s Pharmacy, as it was a unique marriage of old and new. Over the past few years, we had accumulated different types of discarded chairs and realized that when we painted them similar colors and tied them together with a white datum, the whole thing would act as a continuous bench. In this case, the most interesting aspect of the design which incorporated a variety of chairs, is the range of seating options that it offers the user. This bench has seats of different heights and different materials, which in turn appeal to a variety of body types.
Above: The 25' Long Bench designed for Lu's PharmacyThere is a section of architecture projects on your website as well. Does your approach of minimizing waste and green design apply to this section as well?
Yes! These are themes that we incorporate into all of our designs, from bench, to chandelier, to building design. For example, we are designing a house on Vancouver Island for a friend of ours: the Seabird House. The structure of the house will be built from locally harvested wood with straw/clay cladding. We investigated a number of building techniques, and finally decided on this straw/clay mixture because it can be sourced locally, can be built by unskilled laborers (in this case, the owner), and is also made from natural materials. Additionally, we designed a greenhouse section that incorporated reclaimed windows. With the light passing through them, it forms the most beautiful pattern.
Above: Design plans for the Seabird HouseI was excited to hear you two discuss your Build Your Own _____! Design events that you organize in Vancouver—what a great way to build local community and be creative! Can you tell us a bit about these events and when we can look out for the next one?
Two days! A garage! Skilled craftspeople! Power tools! And JUNK! The idea is that we provide a space where skilled designers, architects, boat builders, carpenters, and welders can mingle with your average Joe to create things from waste materials that we've collected.
Our last BYO_ was wildly successful, and friends who had no idea how to hold a hammer when the event started walked away with their own coffee table or light fixture! The skilled participants were happy to share their knowledge, and I think that everyone felt like they learned something as the weekend drew to a close.
We are happy to say we've received a Mt. Pleasant Neighborhood Grant for our next BYO_ event that will be hosted in November 2009. All skill levels are welcome! Look to our website for more information.
Above: Hard at work at the Build Your Own ____! Design EventSome of your pieces are available for sale on your site through Etsy.com and also through SupermarketHQ.com. Are you also open to commission work?
We are very receptive to commissions! Actually, many of our one-off commissions were transformed into the products that we now sell on Etsy and SupermarketHQ. Only after each commission was designed, did we envision how it could be a standalone product. Our work is most successful when it bridges our expertise/interest in found materials and the interests of a space or client.
Written by Ehren Seeland