Reddymade founder Suchi Reddy has joined Dezeen Awards 2024 as a judge. Here she selects five projects that best reflect her studio’s work.
Originally from Chennai, a city in eastern India, Reddy founded her New York-based practice Reddymade based on “a design ethos informed by neuroaesthetics, the study of how the brain responds to the design of its surroundings”.
“I believe design exists in everything – it’s not restricted to architecture or to language,” Reddy told Dezeen. “I like to celebrate its presence in everything I do.”
“The projects we take on and the portfolio of the firm are incredibly diverse, which makes it a rather difficult practice to explain to clients because generally, people want to see you’ve done 30 of the same thing,” she continued. “Doing the first of something is what lights my fire.”
“We build our worlds out of our bodies”
Reddy believes architecture influences emotions and society, with environments reflecting human’s physical selves.
“Architecture and spatial experience have the power to impact both how we feel and how we shape society, and we believe in the positive contribution we can offer through design,” Reddy explained.
“We work towards a larger idea of design justice, where the importance of design is recognised as an asset for the benefit of all,” she continued.
“We build our worlds out of our bodies. We start with our body, our clothes, our homes, our cities, our towns, our countries – those are really important layers that we need to address as people who make place and space.”
Look Here at the National Building Museum, Washington DC, USA, 2023. Photo by Chris Coe
Studio Reddymade is launching new projects in Detroit, Lincoln and Nebraska, alongside recently completed residential interiors in Greenwich Village and Hollywood. Additionally, they have several ongoing construction projects, including retail flagships for furniture brand Humanscale in Chicago and other global locations, as well as three new homes in upstate New York, India and Brazil.
This fall, they will also debut a furniture collection highlighting Indian craft in collaboration with online shopping brand Ekaya at design gallery Les Ateliers Courbet in New York.
Reddy among Dezeen Awards 2024 judges
Dezeen Awards 2024 has launched in partnership with Bentley. This week we announced our seventh set of Dezeen Awards judges, interior designers Nate Berkus and Brigette Romanek, designers Neville Brody and Rio Kobayashi and architect Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen.
The entry deadline for Dezeen Awards 2024 is 30 May. Submit your projects by then to avoid late entry fees.
Read on to find Reddy’s views on the five projects that best represent the work of Reddymade.
Photo by Timothy Schenk
Look Here at the National Building Museum, Washington DC, USA, 2023
“Conceived for the National Building Museum’s annual Summer Block Party installation, Look Here comprised a field of reflective fractals, drawing inspiration from origami fortune-tellers, kaleidoscopes and ancient Japanese magic mirrors.”
“[The fractals] incorporated iconic images of activist gatherings in Washington DC such as the 1964 March on Washington, underscoring the relationship between the country’s democratic ideals and its built fabric.”
“The installation was guided by the belief that architecture, environments, and experiences play an essential role in shaping an understanding of ourselves as humans with agency, equity, and empathy.”
Google Store Chelsea, New York City, USA, 2021
“For Google’s first ever physical retail store, we looked to the core principles of neuroaesthetics.”
“The architecture and interior of the store are a playful and pragmatic expression of our mantra form follows feeling. The space re-awakens visitors to the childlike wonder found in the technology and digital innovation on display.”
“The store was designed according to the highest standards of sustainable and renewable practice and received LEED Platinum certification.”
Photo by Alyssa Schukar
Me + you at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum, Washington DC, USA, 2021
“Me+you is an interactive artificial intelligence and light sculpture, commissioned for the rotunda at the Arts and Industries Building of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, as part of the Futures exhibition.”
“This two-story installation, the first major art commission by Amazon Web Services (AWS), was curated by Isolde Brielmaier.”
“The sculpture invited viewers to speak a word about their future into the cloud based at designated points. Acting as an emotional translator, me + you then reflected back a unique kinetic mandala to each visitor.”
“This process, powered by AI and machine learning technology from AWS, transformed each person’s vision of the future into intricate patterns within a 20-foot-tall totem.”
Salt Point Residence, New York, USA, 2020
“For this weekend home in Salt Point, New York, Reddymade worked closely with artist Ai Weiwei to design a 2,000-square-foot linear extension.”
“Built in the 1980s, the existing residence is composed of a cluster of hexagonal pavilions. For the new structure, we transferred this hexagonal plan to shape the section for the extension.”
“The extension was designed to be strikingly simple and minimal, which is reflected not only in its graphic language but also in its materiality.”
A Space for Being, Salone del Mobile, Milan, Italy, 2019
“A Space for Being was an interactive installation informed by neuroaesthetics developed in collaboration with Google’s Ivy Ross and Muuto’s Christian Grosen, for Salone del Mobile.”
“It explored how thoughtful design impacts us in a myriad of ways, and how it can impact our wellbeing.”
“Visitors were given a Google wristband that measured specific physical and physiological responses. Next, they visited three rooms with a diverse range of stimuli through furnishings, artwork, colours, textures, lighting, and sounds. These were created in consultation with the International Arts + Mind Lab at Johns Hopkins University, Brain Science Institute.”
“Guests received a customised report suggesting in which space they felt ‘most comfortable’ or ‘at ease’ based on their real-time physiological responses. The exhibit showcased our unique responses to the world around us.”
Dezeen Awards 2024 in partnership with Bentley
Dezeen Awards is the ultimate accolade for architects and designers across the globe. The seventh edition of the annual awards programme is in partnership with Bentley as part of a wider collaboration to inspire, support and champion design excellence and showcase innovation that creates a better and more sustainable world. This ambition complements Bentley’s architecture and design business initiatives, including the Bentley Home range of furnishings and real estate projects around the world.
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