WHO IS hugh hayden???

Following his childhood obsession with “arts & crafts” in the fall of 2002 Dallas, TX native Hugh Hayden relocated to Ithaca, NY to pursue an undergraduate architecture education at Cornell University. In his 3rd year Hayden became the creative director of AWKWARD, an existing annual 4-color glossy student magazine. During his tenure Hayden reestablished the magazine as a multi-format artistic student lifestyle publication that creatively addresses issues affecting the daily lives of students. On campus Hayden used this public platform to challenge perceptions of the ability of design to heighten a multi-sensual experience through unconventional and functional means, such as a demographically-correct prosthetic cover and a “tactile magazine” for the visually impaired, complete with electrical shock and simulated orifice. In between issues he interned at a larger scale for Visionaire under the direction of Cecilia Dean and Greg Foley where he explored feasibility studies for #53, the Sound issue, and also conceived a future issue that would have images printed on nesting spheres.

At Cornell, dining installations also served as an outlet for Hayden to share his ideas regarding designs ability to sensually enhance everyday interactions. His passion for food originally led him to host dinner parties with themes such as Japanese and blue; however, following a sausage puree over bison at Moto on a culinary/architecture spring break pilgrimage to Chicago, Hayden would attempt to merge dining and architecture. Within weeks of returning to Ithaca Hayden hosted Smooth, a “potluck” event conceived to focus guests on the flavor of familiar foods by eliminating all distractions via relevantly pureeing everything, creating special eating utensils, restricting movement, and inducing a monochromatic environment. This installation’s success led him to further investigate the performative relationships between food and design in the forms of a “wine smelling,” an ergonomic bread chair, and a urinal for appreciating the diuretic effects of asparagus. Ultimately in his senior thesis, the Atmosphere of Consumption, Hayden materialized his culinary design explorations in an experiential dining museum under the council
of Mohsen Mostafavi, currently dean of Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and the advice of food writer Jeffrey Steingarten.

Based on the merit of his thesis investigation, following graduation Hayden was awarded the 2007 Skidmore Owings & Merrill $20,000 Travel Fellowship to further explore intrinsic dining architectures and design elements in the United States, Japan, France, and Spain. This fellowship allowed Hayden to firsthand experience the architectonics of vernacular dining cultures that have greatly influenced American cuisine, yet are often grossly reduced in restaurant interiors stateside. Despite the initial focus towards dining and architecture, Hayden also used this extraordinary travel opportunity to experience, observe, and enrich his understanding of the role of everyday furniture and objects in each culture.

In addition to the fellowship, following graduation from architecture school Hayden simultaneously began applying his attitudes towards design at the more immediate scales of tableware and furniture. The range of products he began developing encompassed his belief that all aspects of design should sensually heighten an experience via a combination of efficient construction and necessary user interaction. Further, Hayden believes this user dialog isn’t only limited to the physical realm, but must also mentally stimulate and excite the mind.