About
Hey, welcome to my personal website
Mackenzie (Mac) Van Dam. — Designer, Architect, Inventor — Inspired by life — my work seeks to connect us to the beauty of living things, material things and things that change with time.
Founder of Vertical Grounds Design Lab
A design agency focused on contemporary, highly ecological forms of urban green infrastructure
Find out more at www.vertical-grounds.com
The future of sustainable design will leverage technology to make material connections between our built and natural world.
Design Process
I work with artists, curators and independant clients to turn ideas into reality. I work at a range of scales, from sculpture to set-design to private homes.
For me, process is everything. What are the fundemental questions driving the project? What are the ecological conditions? How sustainable are we willing to go? What is “beautiful” to you?
From then on, it is about listening to what the material wants. How does it want to be cut, formed and put together? I can understand this might sound silly, but I have found this an incredible tool for making healthy design decisions.
Collaboration
I often work in partnership with others. Namely, Parker Heyl, UCL’s Bio Integrated Design Lab, Philip Beesley and the Living Architecture Systems Group in Toronto.
Contact me
Always happy to chat.
Work
Cosmobloom w/ Fourtet @PGJ
2022
On tour w/
Crumb the Band
2021-2023
@Unfold, London
2022
Cosmobloom Silver
2022
In sinusoidal motion it reflects light and colour while transitioning between states of closed and secure to open and vulnerable.
Cosmobloom Silver
2022
Living Lattice @ LDF
2022
Living Lattice @ Lisbon Triennale
2022
Grove, with Philip Beesley
2021
Venice Biennale
2021