The crib symbolizes the hope of a future pairing between humankind and the environment. It is a reminder that one must create products that shape cultural values towards a sustainable future. Through creating this physical and visual relationship with the bees we believe the crib will foster a unique form of sensitivity and understanding of the child’s place within the greater ecological organism that is our planet.

Our bees and bespoke hives are located on the roof of our studio in Dalston, London. These bees forage from the local communities to source the materials needed to embellish, what will become, the Edwardian baby crib. Through interspecies collaboration the crib redefines what is believed to be “community” to include other creatures as co-inhabitants of the earth. The furniture is designed and fabricated to symbolize two as a pair, allowing humankind to recognize and appreciate the commonalities that form humanity.

http://www.built-by.com/

Click HERE to see the process thus far

Chapter 1: Two weeks into the project @ Selfridges Wonder Room

This project is ongoing… stay tuned

The problem: a massive amount of tent waste left in fields at the end of a festival. Few people want to bring good quality tents as they may get ruined so most people opt for the cheap stuff. For less than £20 one can get their hands on a tent that will provide shelter for a weekend but then it gets left behind. Abandoned. Put to landfill. Complete waste.

Since we could not easily change people’s habits, the solution would have to be a tent that could be left at the site, and cost less to buy than the conventional tent found on the market.  With a bit of help from origami expert Mark Bolitho, I designed a cardboard tent (5th prototype) that would fold out like an accordion.  The cardboard was embedded with seeds used by local farmers in order to replenish the site.  In order to keep the tent as dry as possible, the outside of the structure was coated in beeswax and lined with bio-degradable cellophane. And finally, to keep the tent strongly fixed to the ground, I used bio-degradable potato plastic tent pegs (now available to buy on the market).

Over the period of 4 days, the tent was tried and tested at T in the Park (Scotland), a yearly festival that attracts more than 100 000 people.  The purpose of this trip to Scotland was to observe and get feedback from other festival goers, as well as to see how well the tent held up in the hard Scottish weather.

The next task is to take what we’ve learned and make adjustments to the design of the tent…stay tuned for the next version!

To read about the 4 day festival and how it unfolded, please CLICK HERE

To view the process and prototypes from the beginning, please CLICK HERE

Special Thanks to Daniel Weil and Mark Bolitho

Photos by Ross Cairns

“It involved a plot so bizarre that it could only have been dreamed up by a novelist. And indeed it was. That novelist was Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, and an intelligence officer in WW2. Many of Fleming’s most famous characters – “M”, “Q”, Miss Moneypenny, and 007 – are prefigured in the story of Operation Mincemeat.”

One of the key components to the success of the mission was the canister that we were asked to create, capturing all details of the original artifact. This special canister filled with dry ice had housed the body and top secret documents that eventually tricked the Germans.

Operation Mincemeat is produced by Stephen Walker and directed by Russell England and will be broadcast on BBC2 this Christmas.

Continuing with my investigation into existing social tribes, this project looks at the Guerrilla Gardening subculture.  The members of this group secretly meet at night to illegally plant flowers, shrubs and vegetables in neglected urban spaces.  Although their actions seem harmless, they are still viewed by the authorities as illegal and prosecutable.

This project explores the existing instruments involved in this practice. How can they be modified, camouflaged or completely redesigned? From digging to planting, this idea approaches design in a modular fashion. These new objects function as components that combine to facilitate the individual processes in gardening.  The pieces also take inspiration from nature by featuring mechanisms that reference existing natural occurrences such as seed dispersal. In addition to bio-mimicry, this idea looks at various methods of disguising gardening paraphernalia in everyday attire and accessories, drawing on influences from militaria and spy gadgetry.

By exploring the duality of male and female apparel, familiar everyday objects and garments can also function as guerrilla gardening tools, interfacing modern technology with organic products. Secretly dropping seed bombs on their way to work or planting flowers on their way home, these designs allow the guerrilla gardener to integrate their assaults into their everyday routine.

Please follow the continuation of “The Subversive Gardener” HERE

• Project photostream
• User testing footage

Selected Press

• BBC Country File
• UK Wired Blog
• Planet Green
• Design Boom
• Broken City Lab
• Planet Mag
• Inhabitat

Mk II Agent Deployed Field Auger (A.D.F.A.)

demo

2-round Tactical Gravity Planter

demo

Precision Bombing Device I

demo

Precision Bombing Device II

demo

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For more information on Guerrilla Gardening please visit http://guerrillagardening.org

Photos by Roel Paredaens

Diagrams by Sitraka Rakotoniaina

The mouse owners meet on mousematch.org,  a dating website that is structured according to the different genetic strains of mice. Once an owner establishes contact with another owner through their breeding profiles, they can then meet.

A wearable tube-like habitat permits the owner to bring their mouse to dates or events. The social artefacts embedded in this garment serve two purposes.  Firstly they allow the owner to interact with their pet through touch and sight.  And secondly, they promote the interaction between mice and between users.

The intercommunication between the two mice could serve as a test of romantic compatibility as well as an opportunity to engage in a dialogue.  This project offers individuals an alternative way to meet a compatible partner.

• Project photostream
• Research footage

Selected Press

• Design Boom
• Trendhunter
• Likecool
• Gizmodo

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Photos by Jan Voss

This film explores the superstitions involved in the world of sports. Fans perform various practices and rituals, in order to insure or sway the outcome of an event. This piece observes one such fan.

Voodoo Car from vanessa harden on Vimeo.

The gestural interfaces project created a benchmark document of current and next generation developments in the area of immersive communication, gesture recognition and other related, tangible user interfaces. Experientia analysed these developments with a focus on usability, intuitiveness and naturalness of user interaction, and developed a set of recommendations about the use of gesture recognition interfaces.

Experientia then imagined possible applications of gesture interface technology, creating a portfolio of concepts modelled around people’s needs in the areas of communication, organisation and entertainment.

Final deliverables
The team selected the three concepts with the strongest potential and relevance to the realisation of gestural interfaces. These key concepts were described in detail, including flow diagrams and scenario storyboards.

The conclusion of the project highlighted key qualities of immersive communication and offered 9 basic principles to inform the design of all gesture based interfaces.

download PDF

Ignition is a short film that observes the interaction between a man and his car.

This project provides a starting point with which to begin the exploration into the peculiar fetishised relationship that lies between man and car.

How could the intervention of emerging technologies affect the ways he communicates with his vehicle?

Ignition from vanessa harden on Vimeo.

Dynamic Street Lamps from vanessa harden on Vimeo.

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This project is a collaboration with Nicolas Myers

It was awarded thrird prize in the Valpak recycle-more Awards

It can be used for or in a wide range of paper products. As with real paper, the ways in which to maintain and care for it depends ultimately on its use and sentimental value. Skin paper is made of breathable microfibres that allow for temperature regulation. As with animal and human skin, Skinpaper demands a certain level of moisture. This could be introduced into the paper in form of microcapsules containing moisturizers or essential oils. When a skin sample is sent to be manufactured into paper, it is tested to reveal the adequate levels of moisture needed to produce healthy and strong paper. Moisture as well as any other additives such as smell are added to the paper during the finishing process. Depending on the product, the user may wish to keep it in a protective case. Such a case could contain UV protection or have tinting properties to shield from the sun. As well, this case could also allow for adequate air circulation to aid in maintaining a regulated temperature. Skinpaper products can be produced for longevity, or fabricated to be used and easily disposed of. This can be envisioned in numerous ways, such as pages that once ripped from the binding can begin to slowly disintegrate according to a potential expiry date.