Antonin Odin
About the Resident
French Resident
April 1st – June 1st 2026
Industrial Designer
Antonin Odin is an independent industrial designer based between Paris and Saint-Étienne, France. Born into a family workshop of traditional barrel-organ makers, he grew up surrounded by mechanics, music, and invention.
His design approach lies at the intersection of engineering, craftsmanship, and research. He designs patented tools for solar-panel installation, experimental machines for mechanical music, and modular systems for upcycled computers. His work questions the relationship between industrial production and manual gestures, between technical innovation and cultural heritage.
A 2026 Villa Albertine resident and finalist for the Agora Design, he explores new ways to create objects that are both repairable, desirable, and meaningful.
As part of Villa Albertine residency program, with the support of Bettencourt Schueller Foundation
Residency Project
During his residency at Villa Albertine in New York, Antonin Odin will pursue ComputerKIT, a research project on the second life of electronic components and the emerging models of refurbishment. He will explore how, within the American contexts of design, hacking, and repair culture, the relationship between users, machines, and obsolescence is being redefined.
The goal is to design a new grammar for durable electronic products — somewhere between a functional tool, a manifesto, and a cultural artifact — through collaborations with designers, fablabs, and reuse communities in New York.
Antonin’s Experience
What drew you to apply for this residency in New York, and what did you hope to gain from the experience?
AO: I have been building new computers from reclaimed components s ince2021, and I was developing that practice in France. New York was the test I needed. The U.S. is described as the capital of throwaway culture, and I wanted to see for myself whether something was shifting underneath that. My goal was to map the American refurbishment and e-waste ecosystem, meet the people inside it, and pressure-test my project against a market that thinks very differently from Europe.
Can you tell us about a day in your life during the residency? What did your research or creative process look like in the city?
AO: No two days looked the same, which was the point. Most began with a coffee meeting somewhere in the city: a designer one morning, an ITAD operator the next, a startup founder, a PhD researcher working on a neighboring subject. Afternoons were for following the threads those conversations opened. I made time for the city itself, the streets and the sun, and kept my evenings for writing, seeing friends, and talking through what the day had changed.
Did you have any memorable encounters that stayed with you or shifted your perspective?
AO: Industry City shifted something for me, old industrial buildings reconverted into hundreds of ateliers, designers and small manufacturers working side by side. But the encounters that stayed with me were the conversations: a founder, a researcher, a refurbisher, each one widening the question. The biggest surprise was human. Many of the people I met wanted a slower, more deliberate relationship to their objects, the opposite of the cliché I expected.
Do you feel this experience helped you move forward in your research or gave you tools for future work?
AO: Yes, decisively. It confirmed that a real ecosystem and a real appetite exist here, and it sharpened how I talk about the work. The idea is simple now: desirable machines made from discarded ones. The residency turned a French project into a transatlantic one.