People / Jamie Reed
I am an architect and multidisciplinary designer based in Manchester. My practice intersects between furniture, spatial design, self-build structures, exhibition-making and visual identity, often working through direct building, material testing and improvised construction. Alongside architectural practice, I have developed furniture commissions, scenographic installations and cultural programming connected to Gooseside DIY, a self-built skatepark and community space I championed. My work is interested in how limited means, shared tools and temporary environments can produce objects with presence and character, translating architectural thinking into smaller-scale pieces for everyday use.
ALUM CHAIR 03
My main limitation was the fine balance between making at home and using a shared workshop without having a car. I had access to tools, but not to an easy way of transporting materials, half-made pieces or finished chairs between spaces. This directly shaped the outcome of the furniture. The chairs had to be designed as a kit of parts: aluminium profiles, fixings and foam pieces small enough to carry, store and work on in my bedroom, while still forming a resolved object when assembled. I could not design something welded, oversized or dependent on being moved repeatedly between workshop and home. Instead, the construction became modular, precise and exposed.
The visible junctions, standard lengths and bolted assembly came from this condition. They are not just aesthetic choices, but evidence of a process shaped by transport, domestic storage and limited room to make mistakes. What appears industrial was produced through a very domestic, stop-start way of working.