As a mechanical engineer trained in renewable energy and sustainability challenges, I’ve worked with hospital units, research laboratories, and offices as they transition to environmentally-friendly and low-waste operations. I’ve seen that the thought of going zero waste or carbon neutral can be overwhelming — which is why I appreciate it…

We visited the Asian Art Museum to see Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan. During the post World-War II era, Isamu Noguchi and Saburo Hasegawa bonded over their mutual interest in the relationship between traditional Japanese culture and a modern aesthetic. Their artworks shed light on…

“There is an apprenticeship system in jazz. You teach the young ones. So even if the musicians weren’t personally that likable, they felt an obligation to help the younger musicians.” — Dave Van Ronk, the ‘Mayor of MacDougal Street’ An Apprenticeship at Panafold Some countries maintain a rich tradition of…

Eager to shape postwar consumer culture, MoMA championed its own brand of Good Design founded on the modernist precepts of functionalism, simplicity, and truth to materials.- MoMA press release. What is Good Design? It was the decade after World War II, and Manhattan’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) was on a mission to shape…

Staprans Design, Garde Hvalsøe and Panafold collaborated across the Atlantic on a project that transformed a 1950’s Bay Area ranch house. The story was picked up by California Homes, a regional magazine renowned internationally for features on design and architecture. We’re delighted with their cover story (Sept/Oct 2018), Transformation in…

Natural, biological growth and decay as design. It was Hironori Yoshida’s talk at TEI 2019 (ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction ) that led to us to musing that Participatory Design — a design stance born in1970’s Scandinavia out of a co-operation between designers and community stakeholders…

Computational feel. We wish all talented architects and designers could attend the futuristic, under-the-radar computer conference called Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interactions. This ten-year old conference takes computers into the realm of fit, feel and function. A Panafold contingent flew to Tempe, Arizona to cover it for you. Kinetic, tactile…

The baby sister to Maison et Objet, Paris Déco Off celebrated its tenth anniversary. It’s free (as in free champagne) and libre (as in free-spirited — imagine a street party that is also one of the best schools around in decor). On a chilly January afternoon, we were lucky to…

It being December, Panafold went down the street for San Francisco food and local craft beer at Magnolia Dogpatch. We exchanged some presents to accompany Magnolia’s seasonal ale and root beer. Although the team agreed on a strict gift budget, hand-woven wrapping paper and 3D printed creations were priceless. …