Hospitality Design - August 2014 - 67

products

proﬁle

byron trotter
By Ashleigh VanHouten
Photography courtesy of 3M Architectural Markets; photo of "Hy-Fi" by Kris Graves
and courtesy of the Museum of Modern Art

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BEHIND THE SCENES
Technology and passion create new design solutions

Introduced to the beauty of form and
function by his mother, a designer and
architectural photographer, Byron Trotter
realized early on that the best designs marry
technology with an emotional connection.
"When you add technology and scientific
thinking to the mix of design, a whole new
world opens up, and more things become
possible," he says.
After studying both product and
industrial design, Trotter gained a welltraveled, diverse perspective by cutting
his teeth with office furniture company
Haworth in Berlin and learning about the
"heart, mind, and lifestyle of the American
consumer" during his time with Target.
Now, as global design manager for 3M
Architectural Markets-a relatively new
venture within the larger 3M organization-
his job is to help create products that
better serve the architecture and design
industry, especially in lighting and surfaces.
"Since 3M components are often the secret
ingredient for another product's recipe, our

1. "Hy-Fi" at the
Museum of Modern
Art in New York is a
biodesign installation
that uses 3M reflective
films to create an
outside mirrored effect.

focus is to provide designers with resources
and products that help their projects
succeed," he explains.
In addition to guiding 3M's global design
strategy, Trotter assists with product design,
ranging from sunlight delivery systems
to LED luminaries that are enhanced by
cutting-edge technologies within 3M's
platforms. Take, for example, a recent
collaboration with designer Todd Bracher
on the Vessel light, which is "stripped of all
unnecessary and aging characteristics. That
way the form is more likely to be timeless
and beautiful," Trotter explains. Responding
to a need in the restaurant lighting market,
they created an LED fixture that gives off
the perfect light temperature and provides
balanced illumination without shadow to
enhance the diners and their meals.
Trotter's team also collaborated with
the Living founder David Benjamin on the
installation of his winning project for the
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) PS1's
annual Young Architects Program this

2. DI-NOC architectural
finish is available in
more than 500 different
options.

3. 3M's Fasara
decorative window films
create the look of cut or
texturized glass.

summer. "Hy-Fi" is a biodesign installation
constructed with Ecovative bricks (made
from living, organic material) and 3M
Specular Film, an attempt to create a
structure with materials that require as
little waste, energy, and carbon emissions as
possible. The highly reflective films created
a mirrored effect on the outside of the tower
installation while diverting and bouncing
light through the inside to illuminate the
space. "The ideology behind his project
and the use of smart materials that are
enabled by technology aligns perfectly with
my vision," says Trotter. "The future of the
design world is [about] products that do
more, and effectively, thus enabling better
experiences and allowing them a longer life
in the marketplace." hd
3m .com

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