As you may recall, we did a couple of features on Prototype, a design competition at this year’s IDSwest show featuring new locally-designed products for the home (read Behind the Scenes at Prototype and the Winners of Prototype). The winner of this juried design competition was VanAir Design for their unique ventilated door – a complete stand-out in the competition. It was through covering Prototype that I met Vick Yau, one half of the duo behind VanAir Design. He and his partner James Higgins met through UBC’s New Venture program where they came up with the idea for the VanAir Door. After their win, Vick and James invited me to see the latest iteration of the door in production and to let me pick their brains about how this design came to be.
I understand that the VanAir door was born out of a joint program at UBC between business and engineering students. Tells us about how you two came together and how this project morphed into a business venture?
James: New Venture Design is an entrepreneurship class at UBC that brings engineers and business students together to create a product and a business plan. In September 2012, Vick and I met in this class and formed a group with the intent of developing an architectural or building product. I was in my final year of Mechanical Engineering, and I had specialized in sustainable building science and, more specifically, architectural acoustics.
Vick: We quickly prototyped our first door, got some testing data and went out to industry to talk to architects, designers and engineers to gauge interest and viability. We joined a couple business competitions and got some wins under our belt, as well as our first pilot installation.
James: In January the following year, an architect working in facilities management at UBC contacted us with an installation site in mind. She managed a building that had acoustical and ventilation problems after a recent remodel. We were connected with the faculty of forestry’s wood shop, the Center for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP), and we made the first few finished quality prototypes for this installation.
Vick: By the time we graduated, we had orders to fill and this gave us the confidence to continue on.
This has clearly been a team effort, what do each of you bring to your partnership?
Vick: James breathes life into the door with his technical background. Testing, research and development would not be possible without him leading this part of the business. As the technical lead he handles the design and manufacturing process of the doors. He develops and leads prototyping plans to test new designs or manufacturing methods.
I primarily work on the business side of things, but I like getting my hands dirty. My time is spent on marketing, sales and communication. Presentations, networking and product design is my livelihood. I help James with door production at our shop or testing at the lab space when he needs an extra hand and I always suggest ideas and designs when we are brainstorming.
James: Vick is a well organized business guy who can connect with anyone. He brings some level-headedness to each decision we make, and works in a most efficient manner. He helps me lift heavy doors around the shop, and also looks good in a suit and tie.
I’m learning about wood product manufacturing at the custom, hand-crafted level from the talented woodworkers with whom we share a shop, and in a high production, factory setting from engineers at the manufacturing companies we work with. I handle product design and am becoming more adept to drawing, by hand and on the computer. My degree means I’m also able to read and decipher physics textbooks, and say things like ‘this array of Helmholtz Resonators is tuned to absorb midrange frequencies’.
Can you give us a brief breakdown of the process behind the design of the VanAir door? What has been your favourite part of that process?
Vick: The process involved many rounds of prototyping and reaching out to industry. Every prototype we make we have to test in the lab space for ventilation and acoustics. After the results, we aim to improve the next prototype.
James: Interviewing professionals who work in building development – architects, interior designers, HVAC engineers, and construction contractors – provided us with the information needed to set design requirements and performance metrics. The goal was to get air through a door slab but to block most of the sound. With each round of prototypes, the manufacturing design changed, often quite drastically.
We are currently finalizing the design for higher volume production at a door plant in Washington State. Our first real production run is to be done next week, so this is an exciting time. My favourite part is definitely coming up with the manufacturing designs and assembly processes.
Vick: Taking the next step to manufacturing in a mass production method has been a big challenge. It’s one thing to make doors in a custom batch in our own shop, it’s another to have a big door manufacturer produce it when they push over 7,000 doors a day. There were a lot of challenges we had to overcome.
Sharing our door with people has been my favourite part. Being able to create something and getting people excited about our door has resonated with me. Most people don’t get too excited about doors and turning that around is a great feeling.
What does a typical day-in-the-life-of-James & Vick look like?
James: I only wish I had a typical day to describe. Every day is different, some fairly hectic and some easy and relaxed. I could be creating manufacturing drawings at the home office, building doors or acoustical treatment at the shop, or testing prototypes at our labspace. I am also a musician and can often be found practicing individually, jamming with friends, or rehearsing with my band.
Vick: Most days I spend my time responding to emails, prepping for presentations and going into meetings. Other days I’m in the wood shop or lab space giving James a hand.
Describe your workspace and why it works for you:
Vick: My workspace is anywhere I can find an internet connection. I’m usually out and about and I can do my work wherever I can plug in. Our wood shop and lab space also serve us very well. Each space has its own function. Our wood shop has all the tools and necessary machines for us to produce doors and our lab space meets all the requirements we have to do the necessary tests.
James: Well, I have three workspaces, which can certainly be a stretch, and it’s often hard to remember where my tools are. I work at my desk at home in my bedroom, in a woodshop in Strathcona, and at our labspace/rehearsal space off Victoria Drive. The home office is great because it’s free and very comfortable. The woodshop is a shared space, run and maintained by an incredibly knowledgeable guy named Peter. We are very lucky to have a spot there among some talented woodworkers. And finally, our labspace is a 1200 sqft acoustical facility designed and built by us over the past 4 months. It’s basically two big, empty rooms, between which a product (door, window, or wall) can be mounted to be tested for sound transmission – the details are all very technical. Designing and building this space was a lot of fun and a huge learning experience. It’s also a great place for my band to rehearse!
What item or element of your workspace could you not function without and why?
Vick: My laptop. Without it I wouldn’t able to design logos, marketing material, business proposals, or create presentations!
James: At home, it’s my sketchbook. At the shop it’s the knowledge of everyone around us, who I can turn to for advice. And at the lab it’s this new measurement fan that we just got, it has a touchscreen LCD display, cool.
Do you have any work rituals or habits that help you focus and get down to biz?
James: Listening to music at the start of the day helps me focus, though sometimes I get carried away. I’ve gotten into a habit of writing out weekly and daily plans, and I’m learning it’s important to be realistic about predicting what you can achieve over a specific period of time. Eating delicious food also helps me to stay focused, and looking forward to my next meal/snack break.
Vick: Hitting the gym, going for a run, getting enough sleep and eating the right foods throughout the week is what helps me get focused. Its hard focusing when I know my body isn’t with my mind.
What’s next for you/what are you working on right now?
Vick: Right now I’ve been spending my time prepping for a pitch down in Washington. With the door moving into production, the next challenge is marketing and sales. I’m preparing to get in front of architects, designers, developers, and contractors to educate them about our product and take orders. There are more prototypes that we plan on making and the next big development planned is a fire-rated version of our door.
James: There is still a lot of work to bring the doors to market, but we have started working on a ventilated wall panel system with a similar function to the doors. They will likely be used as part of moveable wall systems for open office plans, and we are hoping to work with a company like Haworth or DIRTT to commercialize that product.
Quick Fire Round! Vick, you’re up first…
The first thing I do in the morning: Get ready and make coffee!
When not at my desk, you can find me: In meetings
Pencil or Pen? Pen for everyday use, pencil for a task I know I will make changes to.
Coffee or tea? Coffee brewed via Chemex
Favourite Vancouver neighbourhood: Olympic Village
What I love about it: The great view and community encompasses all the great things about Vancouver
What I would change about Vancouver: The traffic!
What I’m reading right now: David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell
Media that I read/watch/listen to almost daily: Hip hop & rap music
Vancouver Maker/Designer/Artist that we need to know about: Brad Russell of Hand One, and Nicholas Purcell of Nicholas Purcell Furniture.
…ok James, your turn…
The first thing I do in the morning: Put on a song, something I can brush my teeth to
When not at my desk, you can find me: At the woodshop, at our labspace (testing products or playing drums)
Pencil or Pen? Both
Coffee or tea? Both!
Favorite Vancouver neighborhood: Strathcona
What I love about it: It’s close to everything, and there are so many cool artists and businesses growing there
What I would change about Vancouver: Lower the cost of living
What I’m reading right now: Ham On Rye by Charles Bukowski
Media that I read/watch/listen to almost daily: Soul music on vinyl
Vancouver Maker/Designer/Artist that we need to know about: Jeff Martin of Jeff Martin Joinery, and Kalyca Ryan and Bram Sawatzky of Willow and Stump Furniture Design! All of whom share space with us in the woodshop and at the prototype booth at IDS West.
Many thanks to James & Vick for a great shoot (and for letting me use their compressor to to get all the sawdust out of my camera!). Head over to the VanAir website to learn more about their door design and to follow their future product developments. Together, these guys are a killer combination of innovative design and business strategy, so keep your eyes on em!
If you know of a designer, artist or maker in Vancouver that you’d like to see featured in an upcoming Designer Desk, please let me know in the comment section below.