It’s not every day that a load of slime arrives at the David R. School of Architecture. But for Professor Jefferson Ellinger, nationally recognized for his work in the computational design and manufacturing of complex geometric forms, it was just research as usual.
Ellinger had been tapped to create furniture and other set pieces for Sloomoo Institute, an amusement center where kids (and the young at heart) can play with slime. Launched in New York City in 2019, Sloomoo Institutes can now be found in nine cities across the country. The Charlotte branch opened in July.
Ellinger was hired in 2022 by Sloomoo architect Demetrios Comodromos of Method Design, who had been one of Ellinger’s students years ago at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is now a good friend.
“I’ve developed a process of going from computation to manufacturing that is known in the northeast,” Ellinger said.
Working with the manufacturer Windsor Fiberglass in Burgaw, North Carolina, he has created exterior cladding for homes and buildings and plant walls for interior architecture.
It may sound silly, but when Sloomoo sent Ellinger a crate of slime, it provided him and his graduate research assistant, Sharaa Norouzi, the chance to engage in sophisticated computational design and manufacturing research.
“The desire was to reflect slime – its materiality – in the pieces,” Ellinger said. “We put it into different shapes and then 3D scanned it. Then we refined the geometry in the computer using a new technique that had just come out.”
The results include a giant “selfie” chair and a slime slingshot, both cast fiberglass, which can be found in Sloomoo locations from Chicago to Charlotte.
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The Sloomoo Institute slime "selfie" chair, designed by Jefferson Ellinger.
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Ellinger's slime slingshots at Sloomoo Institute.
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Sloomoo Institute cofounder Sara Schiller says that Ellinger understands "the seriousness of play."
“The slingshot is certainly a highlight of anyone’s visit to Sloomoo,” said Sara Schiller, cofounder and co-CEO of Sloomoo Institute.
Schiller praised Ellinger for “participating in recreational architecture.”
“His tools and approach are way beyond my skillset, but if you look at what he’s created, he’s actually invoking the quality of slime. I know the adults feel the sophistication that he was able to give us. He really understood the seriousness of play.”
Written by Meg Whalen. Photos courtesy of Jefferson Ellinger.