Inside Brooklyn's weirdest design studio

Red Paper Heart chose this open space with the aim of creating an atmosphere of collaboration, of making things, and as a place where we could amass our various creations.

We specialise in installations that combine physical interfaces with digital technology. So the more projects we make, the more strange things populate the studio.

First thing people notice in our space is our bear, which doubles up as a conference table. Marvin, the bear, was part of an installation where people could run up and jump on him, triggering motion-sensitive projection art. But now he’s just a comfy and amusing way to sign on to a video conference.

Racing ahead

For office parties, we like to bring out the bikes. These allow people to race head-to-head through forest, safari and space animations. But during the day they also provide a nice way to get 30 seconds of 'quality' exercise.

We also do work sometimes, and for that we made our own desks. Each desk is a slab of plywood on metal hairpin legs. They are raw, so that people feel comfortable experimenting with electronics right at their desks.

One of the projects we made whilst sat at our desks is the photobooth. This is a flexible piece of technology that records video, pictures, GIFs and so on of different people interacting with our work.

At any given time we have a few projects hanging from the ceiling for testing. It’s inspiring to see active projects happening right in the work area. Pulse is a sculpture that lights up when it detects a heartbeat, and we’re modifying it with new technology.

Lastly we have our projection area which is a dedicated wall that allows anyone to test ideas on a large scale within minutes.

Words: Zander Brimijoin

This article originally appeared in net magazine issue 256.