Across the United States, office buildings are empty, storefronts are boarded up, and the economy is gripped with tariff uncertainties. The post-Covid American downtown needs a new purpose. Vacant buildings can be infused with advanced manufacturing technology, from dimensional knitters and 3D printers to water-free dye and robotics. Design and production merge in the next generation of creative workspaces, where human and machine create a new material intelligence. Materials and advanced manufacturing processes unlock novel design methods, and radically relocalise the supply chain. As buildings are adaptively reused, the production heritage of each city will be rekindled—the bicycles of Dayton, the cameras of Rochester—now expanded with the future of craft. This installation showcases the production potential of buildings through the lens of shoe innovation in Portland, Oregon: the global capital of footwear design and innovation. An integrated design and production experience situated within the Post Office Pod: Working from Everywhere installation, Production Potential is a microcosm of the office building reimagined, and signals the opportunity for every city to embrace its future of production.
Participants
VERSOSTUDIO, ARSENALIA BRESCIA, ITALY Andrea Galanti, Brescia, Italy, 1983. Lives and works in Brescia, Italy.
FIELD STATES PORTLAND, OREGON Matthew Claudel, Monterey, California 1990. Lives and works in Portland, Oregon.
Team
Arsenalia, Versostudio (Design and Project Management): Andrea Galanti; Richard Ceccanti; Margherita Segatta; Giovanna Venturato; Field States (Design, Concept, and Research): Matthew Claudel; Mora Orensanz; Ewan Robertson; Nick Hodge; Damien Webb; Kimberly Smith Claudel
Supporters
Business Oregon; Arsenalia; HILOS; Wacom; Henoto
