Rebel Cheesesteak Mobile Food Cart 

Entrepreneur and chef Peter Murphy came to ARCADIA designworks asking if the firm could help him fulfill a “life dream."

The challenge: design a mobile food cart Murphy could tow behind an electric bicycle.

Enter Rebel Cheesesteak's food cart, designed collaboratively with ARCADIA, Murphy, William Bruce, metal fabricator of Tunnelwerks, and seamstress Giselle Larios of Atelier Stitch. The team completed the food cart in time for the start of summer and Murphy will be selling cheesesteak sandwiches from his new cart in Portland, Maine.

Read more about the fabrication of this project, here.

Architecture for Manufacturing

As an update to our Fall 2018 newsletter, ARCADIA is highlighting the construction progress of the Baker company's new 20,000 square foot powder-coating, shipping and receiving building, plus Baker's facilitation of their 3P Workshop - "production, preparation & process." Patric participated in one of three teams to rethink the entire layout and flow of the existing factory.

Baker offers manufacturing facilities in Sanford, Maine and two locations in Europe, selling containment cabinets worldwide for scientific and medical research.

Review more of this project.

Pet Products

This past March, ARCADIA traveled to Florida for the Global Pet Expo, an annual opportunity to grow the successful pet-product sector of the firm's portfolio, and to continue fostering important product design relationships with national companies.

There, Patric and Celeste met with potential clients for future projects, and assisted an ARCADIA client, Elizabeth Herriman, see the dooloop below, with introductions to U.S. manufacturers and product placement opportunities.

Dog Product Design, Prototype and Production 

ARCADIA designworks collaborated with entrepreneur Elizabeth Herriman, owner of Houndswag dog products in the design development and prototype production of the dooloop.
See adjacent image of parametric computer model.
ARCADIA also connected Herriman with G&G Products, a local injection molder to manufacture thedooloop using biodegradable plastic. DesignLab, a graphic design and branding company was introduced to Herriman by ARCADIA for the hang tag design, and ARCADIA also linked Herriman to a national dog-products manufacturer and distributor.
The dooloop was designed for dog owners who walk their dogs and pick up the doo, but want distance from that baggie. The innovation is a leash attachment that enables a one-handed solution for multiple doo-bags.

The simple, elegant design is lightweight and produced in Maine at an affordable cost, and the dooloop is ecologically responsible, made of biodegradable plastic with a recycled paper tag and a simple ball-chain, resulting in no product-waste.

Patent pending and trademarked. Currently sold out in local pet product stores with availability returning this summer! Read more about this project.

Upcycling Ambassador to the Northwest 

Last month, Celeste was pleased to announce she'd been invited to attend the Poised for Growth' conference, hosted by the Cascade Alliance in Eugene, Oregon.

Many of you may be familiar with Celeste's work and invested interest in the re-use and up-cycling of waste materials to be made available as reusable material resources. The Cascade Alliance is a non-profit spun from St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County (SVdP), Oregon who are national and international leaders in creating a model for leveraging material waste to fund a variety of social enterprises which benefit Oregon's most vulnerable populations.

The Cascade Alliance is a spin off of SVdP helping "nonprofits turn discarded items into a stable revenue stream and source of quality jobs for people with barriers." The CA model is effective, replicated and transferable to other organizations and Celeste is looking forward to using what she learned in Oregon to help inform connections and opportunities for similar groups here in Maine and nationally.

You can read more about the work, here.

Environments for Science: The Baker Company

The Baker Company in Sanford, Maine has been engineering and manufacturing air containment cabinets for scientific and medical research for over 60 years.

ARCADIA's team, after successfully facilitating both a space plan study that included an ethnographic survey of key personnel and partial master plan of Baker's corporate office and factory buildings, presented specific areas of concern that in conjunction with a backlog of orders, led Baker to have ARCADIA refocus on the design of a new powder-coating, shipping and receiving building.

Construction is underway with footings being placed and steel erection scheduled for mid November by TPD Construction and completion by Spring 2019.

Read more about this comprehensive project.

Teele Hair Products Quadbowl

Design Innovation in the Hair Stylist Products Market 

ARCADIA designworks is excited to announce that the Maine based Teele Hair Products Company's new QuadBowl, used by professional cosmetologists and stylist for mixing hair-color, is now for sale online at Amazon.

ARCADIA provided the Teele Company with industrial design services. Working from hand sketches, product brief, and user videos, ARCADIA's designers produced and proved Yvonne Teeles' design using parametric modeling software and 3D printed models. In addition, they produced patent drawings and assisted in sourcing injection molding by G&G Products in Kennebunk, Maine.

Check out the new product on Amazon. 

Design Progresses on the Millinocket Memorial Library

ARCADIA's team of architects and engineers, in collaboration with Matt DeLaney, Director and the Building Committee, are fully engaged in the development of documents that will be used by a Contractor in 2019 to construct two major additions and renovate the interior spaces of Millinocket Memorial Library.

The redesign will enhance the libraries presence as a 21st Century community hub, expanding programming and services for members to include:

Greater access to a digital learning lab, modernized children's imagination station, teen fab lab, and expanded annex for seniors and veterans in the memorial porch.

• Broadened membership base to seasonal residents.

• Redefined community resource expanding loan options from books and media to outdoor recreational gear and equipment starting with 20 mountain bikes donated by Outdoor Sports Institute, and the Bicycle Coalition of Maine.

Read Portland Press Herald coverage on the MML director's role in this community revitalization.

The Millinocket Library is closing in on their goal to raise $1.25 million dollars. Donations remain open.

Quick Quips

Product Design Education in Maine

Patric is once again teaching an Industrial Design course offered through the Architectural Engineering program this Fall at Southern Maine Community College.
Through a series of lectures and workshops, students are exposed to a comprehensive overview of what it takes to transform an idea into tangible drawings and prototype, one that could conceivably be manufactured for commercialization.
Student design projects this semester range from personal hygiene and cooking implements to a dog toy and tool for electronics.

And we want you, our clients, colleagues, friends and supporters to learn more about our work, and other compelling design in Maine and beyond.
That is why we've initiated this newsletter
to reach our most important audience.
We'll share our progress, challenges and successes as
we participate in the ever changing areas of
architecture and industrial design.

Remember the Millinocket Bath House?

Well, so do we. ARCADIA has a deep history steeped in Northern Maine, especially the town of Millinocket. Our current endeavor is with Millinocket's Municipal Library in which we assisted in landing a half million dollar NextGen Foundation Grant to be used updating the building and site. Revamp work on this historical institution is currently in development phase, however, you can see latest renderings on the ARCADIA website... View more here.

What else is happening?

A few other projects up our sleeves

ARCADIA designed the ModCast TM stainless steel side latch for Duratherm Windows, manufactured by New England Castings. The side latch is designed as two parallel rectangles and has a stronger pawl configuration, concealed fasteners and a sculpted finger paddle with a curved underside that the user pleasantly discovers when operating the mechanism. See more photos.

In March, ARCADIA met with Naef Toys in Switzerland to share ARCADIA's previous wood toy designs and explore opportunities for design collaborations.

We also conducted a design workshop and presented some of ARCADIA's work to students attending Virginia Tech's architectural study abroad program in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland.

ARCADIA designworks creates architecture and commercial products for manufacture.

This is a unique and multifaceted dynamic, as many firms offer architecture, or industrial design. But rarely both.

As ARCADIA springs into 2018, we present these two categories more distinctly through our updated Portfolio. This is the first evolution of many we'd like to share with you.