Molo Design Limited, stylized as molo, is a multidisciplinary design and production studio based in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Canada led by Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen. The studio integrates the practices of

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

craft A craft or trade is a pastime or an occupation that requires particular skills and knowledge of skilled work. In a historical sense, particularly the Middle Ages and earlier, the term is usually applied to people occupied in small scale pr ...

, and

product design Product design is the process of creating new Product (business), products for businesses to sell to their customers. It involves the generation and development of ideas through a systematic process that leads to the creation of innovative products ...

. molo products develop from Forsythe and MacAllen's materials research and studies.

History

molo founders, Forsythe and MacAllen met in 1994 while studying architecture at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

.Dunwoody, Catherine (Vol. 10, No. 4, 2007). "A Look Above The Rest". Nuvo, pp. 62-64. The two formed Forsythe + MacAllen Design Associates, and began a series of small projects. In that time they designed and built three houses for private clients, including the Colorado House, which was awarded the inaugural ar+d Award for Emerging Architecture in 1999. In 2001, they moved to Vancouver and continued their material investigations while developing submissions for architecture and design competitions. That year, they were awarded the Grand Prize in the Aomori Northern Style Housing Competition, juried by

Tadao Ando is a self-taught Japanese autodidact architect known for his unique integration of architecture and landscape. Architectural historian Francesco Dal Co described his work as an example of " critical regionalism". Ando received the prestigious ...

and

Jean Nouvel Jean Nouvel (; born 12 August 1945) is a French architect. Nouvel studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and was a founding member of ''Mars 1976'' and ''Syndicat de l'Architecture'', France’s first labor union for architects. He has ob ...

. Over the course of ten years, the designs would develop from a glass housing complex into the completed Aomori Nebuta House, a museum honouring and celebrating the Aomori Nebuta festival. Forsythe and MacAllen designs would continue to win awards, establishing the pair to pursue commercial scale operation. In 2003, Molo was founded to produce and sell Forsythe and MacAllen's product designs. The name change reflects a growing team of support staff, and comes from "middle ones, little ones," referring to the shift from architectural design to product design. MacAllen has since stated that the distinction is no longer necessary, as he and Forsythe feel that they are simply different words for design at various scales.

Design intent

molo's design philosophy reflects extensive material research and consideration to continual improvement. Products are intended to create space, whether physical or experiential. The design process and materials used are evidence of a philosophy "that products should not only be sustainable themselves, but they should also aid in more sustainable practices in the spaces around them". The soft collection, a modular system composed of wall partitions, lighting,

seating Seating may refer to: General plans: * Seating plan In theaters or stadiums: * Bleacher seating * Chanin's seating plan * Club seating * Continental seating * Festival seating * General seating * Home theater seating * Movable seating * Re ...

and table elements, is made with textile or paper. Elements use flexible

honeycomb A honeycomb is a mass of Triangular prismatic honeycomb#Hexagonal prismatic honeycomb, hexagonal prismatic cells built from beeswax by honey bees in their beehive, nests to contain their brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae) and stores of honey and pol ...

geometry to bend, shift, expand, and collapse for ease of storage. The collection is an evolutionary step in Forsythe and MacAllen's designs for softroom and softshelter, concepts which address issues of temporary housing for the

homeless Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

disaster relief Emergency management (also Disaster management) is a science and a system charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actu ...

. Elements of the soft collection have been added to the permanent collection of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, and the

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum is a design museum at the Andrew Carnegie Mansion in Manhattan, New York City, along the Upper East Side's Museum Mile. It is one of 19 Smithsonian Institution museums and one of three Smithsonian facil ...

. They have also been featured in exhibitions at the Centre of Arts Caja de Burgos, the

Museum of Vancouver The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) (formerly the Vancouver Museum and prior to that the Centennial Museum) is a civic history museum located in Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. The MOV is the largest civic museum in Canada and the oldest museu ...

, the

Vancouver Art Gallery The Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG) is an art museum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The museum occupies a adjacent to Robson Square in downtown Vancouver, making it the largest art museum in Western Canada by building size. Designed by Fr ...

and the

Gardiner Museum The George R. Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art (commonly shortened to the Gardiner Museum) is a ceramics museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is situated within University of Toronto's St. George campus, in downtown Toronto. The museum b ...

. In 2005, softwall was also honoured with an INDEX: Design to Improve Life award for the Home Category. Soft is protected by a series of international

patents A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

and design registrations.

Awards

*Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award for Nebuta House (2011) *ar+d Award for Emerging Architecture for Aomori Nebuta House (2011) *

Architectural Record ''Architectural Record'' is a US-based monthly magazine dedicated to architecture and interior design. Its editor in chief is Josephine Minutillo. ''The Record'', as it is sometimes colloquially referred to, is widely-recognized as an important ...

Design Vanguard (2010) *Winner, "Best Exhibit", ICFF Editor's Choice Awards, International Contemporary Furniture Fair (2010) *MIPIM Architectural Review Future Project Award for Aomori Nebuta House (2010) *Winner, "Body of Work", ICFF Editor's Choice Awards, International Contemporary Furniture Fair (2006) *Winner, "Best New Designer", ICFF Editor's Choice Award, International Contemporary Furniture Fair (2004) *Winning Entry, First Step Housing Competition, Organized by Common Ground Community and the

Architectural League of New York The Architectural League of New York is a non-profit organization "for creative and intellectual work in architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construct ...

(2003) *First Prize, LighTouch Competition, Organized by Design Singapore (2003) *Golden Prize, Design Beyond East and West Housing competition (2003) *Winning Entry, Young Architects Forum Competition: "Inhabiting Identity", Architectural League of New York (2003) *ar+d award for Emerging Architecture for float tea lantern (2002) *First prize, Aomori Northern Style Housing Competition (2001) *ar+d Award for Emerging Architecture, for Colorado House (1999)

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.molodesign.com/ Design companies of Canada Companies based in Vancouver 2003 establishments in British Columbia Canadian companies established in 2003