What is the role of an industrial designer? An industrial designer is the expert who can methodically plan and conceptualise creative and innovative systems that traverse the constraints of traditional building materials and construction methodologies, to deliver concepts that push the boundaries of design.
As an award-winning industrial design practice, Tilt Industrial Design brings a refreshing perspective in complex design solutions for architecture, public art and landscape projects. Spanning conceptual design and construction, Tilt’s knowledge of the latest materials and manufacturing techniques coupled with their capacity to detail designs for manufacturers is bridging the gap between design concepts and manufacturing to enable complex design outcomes.
Led by managing director Tim Phillips, the Tilt team is proving to be a versatile design asset for project teams pursuing unique and technically creative outcomes in design.
“I believe the big reward for us as designers is that in designing for the built environment, we get to directly experience the concepts that we develop. Often industrial designers develop products for a manufacturer, then it goes to market, and you never see or experience the product. For us, our experience with the outcomes of our design process is very real and very satisfying,” says Phillips.
“Our skills in design and manufacturing allow architects, artists and landscape architects to realise their vision and when they work with us, they realise just how much they love what they do.”
The first design stage explores and develops an architect or designer’s brief, establishing key objectives and aims that need to be fulfilled with creative solutions. Conceptual solutions to the brief will be developed at this time and tender-level design documentation is a typical deliverable during this first stage. In addition, the initial ‘design-only’ service offers an opportunity for large scale project procurement guidelines to be adhered to, providing an option for builders and developers to go to market for pricing if required.
Following this, the practice will most often be engaged to deliver the balance of a project under a design and construct contract. This multi-layered service offering enables Tilt to support clients in achieving their desired outcome, in both a creative and commercial sense.
“For a residential project we might support an architect in designing a relatively small design feature like a door handle or façade screen, and that’s their moment of creativity. For a large-scale project like the Powerhouse Museum in Parramatta, we’re designing a significant series of large format doors approximately ten metres high, which is an example of creativity in a completely different scale,” explains Phillips.
Tilt views seemingly complex projects as an opportunity to utilise existing technologies and reapply them in new ways. This approach helps the firm to manage the risk in innovation and execute complex projects such as the industry-leading sun-tracking Heliostat system at One Central Park, or the sun shading system for University Technology Sydney’s library.
“When we're considering potentially complex projects, we look at the opportunities to utilise existing technologies and reapply them in an innovative way or into a different industry. Our goal is always to mitigate any potential risks and maximise longevity of the project – we don’t always have to invent, rather think creatively about how existing technologies can be repackaged for the built environment,” says Phillips.
Working with some of Australia’s most renowned developers and architects, Tilt Industrial Design is forging a bold niche in the built environment, combining creative and nimble strategic ideation to provide solutions for some of Australia’s most pioneering displays of architectural design.
