In 2004 Laarman, together with his partner and filmmaker Anita Star, founded a lab in Amsterdam to collaborate with craftspeople, scientists and software engineers. Laarman is interested in how technology can transform design, and uses emerging technology to develop futuristic objects and design processes.
A guiding question for Joris Laarman is whether robots take over all of our work, or will digital fabrication usher in a new era in which craftsmanship, enabled by technology, regains a central position in society. Through his research and design, Joris Laarman investigates these issues while demonstrating that we are on the cusp of great change.
Laarman’s designs are held in the permanent collections and exhibitions in such institutions as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Centre Pompidou, Paris.