Studio NEWO
Studio NEWO is an industrial design practice in Toronto. It makes furniture, lighting, and objects out of raw materials and current technology, built to be opened, repaired, and kept. Working is the minimum. How a thing gets made, fixed, and eventually taken apart is the actual problem.
I came to industrial design from two years of mechanical engineering, and I still think like that. I build things before I model them. I would rather a product be worth the material it is made from than be new.
Spatial prototyping
Design gets resolved in physical space. Interlocks, tolerances, and structure are worked out by hand first. CAD documents a solved problem, it does not go looking for one.
Constraint-driven form
Form follows the way a thing is made. The fabrication method, the material, and the hand using it set the boundaries. When the look fights the mechanics, the mechanics win.
Pragmatism and value
Every part and every line of firmware earns its place. If it does not improve how the thing works or how long it lasts, it comes out. Fewer parts, fewer failures.
Lifecycle
Products are designed for their whole life, not the sale. Mechanical fasteners, raw metal, and sub-assemblies that swap out on their own, so one worn part does not condemn the object.