Matthijs Siljee
Senior Lecturer and Assistant Head of School, Ngā Pae Māhutonga Wellington School of Design
Matthijs Siljee joined the College of Creative Arts, Toi Rauwharangi in 1998. He supervises MDes candidates, lectures in design business and practice and industrial design studio. His current roles include Assistant Head of School of Design, Nga Pae Mahutonga, Associate Chair of the Pasifika Achievement Committee and student recruitment co-ordinator.
Siljee moved to New Zealand in 1994 to work on the Museum of New Zealand project and continue design research and teaching. He has practiced in spatial and industrial design throughout Europe, USA and since 1994 in New Zealand, mostly in partnership with Hanne van Beek. In Europe his projects have included corporate, public and private assignments in interiors, exhibitions, museums, urban design and architecture. In the USA Siljee has worked with R. Artschwager and completed stage design for Broadway and Las Vegas productions.
Siljee has an interest in cultural aspects and design of consumer food products.
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Expertise
Industrial design; material culture studies; museum studies; drawing; public design; urban design; exhibition design; design for the food industry; art; manufacturing; material technology; craft; Pasifika; maritime; studio practice.
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Research Highlights
The Mechanical Postcard (2013)
Part of a collaborative project "The First Encounter", this work is part of the research activities of the College of Creative Arts ‘Properties’ research group in collaboration with the Material Worlds Lab, University College, London. As a response to an 'orphaned ethnographic collection item' at UCL, the Mechanical Postcard consists of a small mechanism. It was primed in Wellington and sent to London for a two second performance during a video conference, resulting in a small drawing.
2062 (2012)
Lead designer and co-chair with Kingsley Baird of the College of Creative Arts Time capsule committee. At the 2012 opening of Te Ara Hihiko, the new Creative Arts Building at Massey University, this work was placed in conspicuous obscurity and is awaiting its opening after 50 years.
Old School New School (2011) In collaboration with Nick Kapica and Luit Bieringa
This exhibition was mounted for the 125th anniversary of the College of Creative Arts. It displayed a collection of historical artifacts and narratives in the Old Museum Building surveying the design school’s history and critical influence. It was a finalist in the 2012 Museums Aotearoa Awards.
eye-bin (2008)
This project involved a street furniture system design for the Wellington City Council and the Christchurch City Council. It was grounded in research into ergonomics, sustainable use of materials and processes, and the signifying and gestural role of street furniture in urban settings.
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Qualifications
Industrieel Vormgeving, Diploma (equivalent MDes) (Design Academy Eindhoven)
Certificate in Tertiary Teaching (Wellington Polytechnic)
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Professional Affiliations
Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ)
