Affidavit from Stephanie Forsythe
`
`Affidavit of Stephanie Forsythe
`Re: Creation of Softwalls and Softblocks without influence from Charles Kaisin
`
`I, Stephanie Forsythe of the address 1470 Venables Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
`V5L 2G7, MAKE OATH AND AFFIRM THAT:
`
`(i)
`
`I am a designer with the following education:
`• Master of Architecture, completed under scholarship and awarded the Adjeleian
`Award in the Aesthetics of Structure - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada,
`2000
`• Advanced Printmaking and Ceramics - Nova Scotia College of Art and Design,
`Halifax, Canada, 1999 to 2000
`• Building Construction onsite apprenticeship training - carpentry and timber
`woodworking, stonework, concrete 1998 - 1999
`• Printmaking - Cooper Union, New York, USA, 1998
`• Bachelor of Environmental Design, Completed Under L.E. Shaw Scholarship -
`Technical University of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canada, 1996
`• Furniture, Jewelry and Glass Design (working in the mediums of Glass blowing,
`Metal and Wood) - The University of Industrial Arts, Helsinki, Finland, 1993 to
`1994 (now named Aalto University)
`• Architecture - Otaniemi Technical University, Otaniemi, Finland, 1993 to 1994
`(now named Aalto University)
`• Glass Blowing, Casting and Design, Fine Woodworking and Furniture Design,
`Metalwork - Sheridan College, School of Craft and Design, Oakville, Canada,
`1992 to 1993
`• Architecture - Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto, Canada, 1989 to
`1991 (now named Ryerson University)
`
`(ii)
`
`I met Todd MacAllen (“MacAllen”) in 1994 during my undergraduate Architecture
`program in Halifax, Canada. More particularly, in 1994, MacAllen and I were invited to
`travel to a remote part of Colombia to take part in a large-scale architecture project. It is in
`Colombia I began working closely with MacAllen as we studied villagers’ houses, mostly
`fishers living over the water.
`
`(iii) During the Colombia architecture project in 1994, MacAllen and I observed that the
`villagers built their houses in a simple construction and open plan - flexible and
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`responsive to the climate. We also noticed how the family structure changed as a couple
`married and moved into the wife's parents' home or had children. Partition walls would be
`added to the living area - light in construction and not reaching the ceiling. These walls
`allowed privacy and accommodated airflow through the space. As the family structure
`changed, these partition walls could be added and removed.
`
`(iv)
`
`Between 1995 and 1998,1 took time between school semesters to further my
`understanding between design and building. I worked as an intern Architect for Steven
`Holl Architects for five months and James Carpenter Design Associates for eighteen
`months, both in New York. I completed a printmaking course and a construction
`apprenticeship. I also worked with MacAllen to design and build three houses for three
`clients.
`
`(v)
`
`In 1999,1 returned to the Master of Architecture program at Dalhousie University.
`During this time, I remained in Halifax, Canada, continuing my thesis studies and teaching
`design studio at Dalhousie University School of Architecture.
`
`(vi) After I graduated from the Master of Architecture program, in 2000, MacAllen and I setup
`our first studio as a hybrid work and live space at Unit 206 - 869 Beatty Street,
`Vancouver, Canada. Inspired by our experiences in Colombia, MacAllen’s experience in
`Gambia, and the limited amount of space in our studio in 2000, we began a long study of
`how to partition space in a light and flexible way.
`
`(vii)
`
`In 2001, MacAllen and I entered the International Design Competition: Northern Style
`Housing Complex in Aomori (Japan), herein called “Aomori Housing Competition”. The
`objective of this competition was to mitigate suburban sprawl by designing two hundred
`apartments on a typical city block in a way that, and together with other aspects of
`community living, would make it desirable for people to live in the city centre again.
`
`(viii) MacAllen and I understood that most housing in cities all over the world is challenged by
`the economics of having to make do with small spaces. With this understanding,
`MacAllen and I developed designs through drawings and study models for the Aomori
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`Housing Competition with expandible/compressible private spaces within the home that
`could borrow from and give back to a more generous gathering space for the family than
`would otherwise be possible. We realized that if bedrooms or rooms for private study and
`work could fold away when not in use an otherwise small apartment could feel quite
`spacious. This work is the genesis for our “soft” concept of flexible interior architecture
`and furniture.
`
`(ix) MacAllen and I, developed the models and drawings of the expandable/compressible
`private spaces with translucent flexible walls and ceiling, images of which are shown
`below and were submitted for the Aomori Housing Competition:
`
`(x)
`
`(xi)
`
`On February 5, 2002, the final judging of the Aomori Housing Competition took place in
`Tokyo, Japan. MacAllen and I were awarded the Grand Prize and the Commission to
`develop the design for a building site. Judges for the Aomori Housing Competition
`included Tadao Ando (Japan) and Jean Nouvel (France), who are considered by many to
`be the most famous living architects from Japan and France.
`
`In 2002, MacAllen and I further developed the “soft” concept for interior spaces, creating
`drawing, models, and prototypes. The “soft” concept included ideas related to softhouse,
`softroom, softwall, softblock, lighting, seating and tables formed from flexible translucent
`honeycomb. Some of these early prototypes of the softwall and softblock modular system,
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`which were never sold, offered for sale, or made commercially available, are shown
`below. In the photo on the left, I am shown expanding a softwall prototype. Another
`softwall prototype, already expanded, and two softblock prototypes are shown in the
`background. The photo on the right shown one softwall and one softblock. These early
`prototypes did not have folding end panels or supports, which we only developed later. As
`a results, these prototypes were not self-supporting or vertically stable standing on their
`own, rendering them prone to collapse.
`
`Photo taken 2003
`
`Photo taken 2002
`
`(xii)
`
`In 2003, Mac Allen and I used our “soft” concept for interior architecture to enter three
`competitions, the 2003 First Step Housing Competition (New York, USA), the 2003
`Design Beyond East and West Competition (Korea and China), and the 2003 LighTouch
`Competition (Italy and Singapore).
`
`(xiii) By May 27, 2003, MacAllen and I registered for the 2003 First Step Housing Competition
`(New York, USA), a competition sponsored by The Architectural League of New York
`and Common Ground Community. We submitted our design to the competition by August
`25, 2003. The organizers of the competition recognized the value of Single Room
`Occupancy (SRO) housing in reducing homelessness, but that the quality of space, light,
`air and materials suffered from the challenges of making 19 small apartments per floor in
`the typical five story walk up building of New York’s Bowery neighbourhood. The
`competition brief specifically asked for ways of making the rooms not feel institutional as
`many homeless people have negative associations with institutional living situations.
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`(xiv) For the 2003 First Step Housing Competition, MacAllen and I submitted our softhousing
`concept that included the ideas and prototypes for flexible honeycomb rooms with integral
`seating, beds, walls and ceilings along with independent flexible honeycomb benches that
`could be taken into the common areas or used anywhere. The independent flexible
`benches shown do not have the folding end panels. Models and plan view drawings of the
`softhousing concept that I made with MacAllen are shown below.
`
`19 Unit Floor Plan - Each unit is prefabricated as an individual unit, then installed in an existing building.
`
`ggPP 'k/ * *
`
`«**#*««<
`/ u 111.' .’ll.1*”.' ‘ t!! i
`
`19 Unit Floor Plan with some of the units contracted
`Each unit is made from a flexible honeycomb structure and so can contribute space to transform the shared/public place of the hallway.
`
`(xv) On October 28, 2003, in New York, MacAllen and I were announced as one of five (5)
`winners of the First Step Housing Competition. The judges for this competition included:
`Toshiko Mori (Architect and Chair of Architecture Department at Harvard University),
`Steven Holl (Architect and Professor Columbia University), Michael Bell (Architect and
`Professor Columbia University), Julie Eizenberg (Architect), Andrew Freear (Director,
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`Rural Studio, Auburn University), Rosalie Genevro (Executive Director of the
`Architectural League) and Rosanne Haggerty (Founder and President of Common Ground
`Community) (USA)
`
`(xvi) By September 17, 2003, MacAllen and I entered the 2003 Design Beyond East and West
`Competition (Korea and China). The objective of this competition was to rethink the
`modem industrial paradigm of how we build and live, to think beyond the contemporary
`models in the Eastern and Western hemispheres, and to build in a sustainable way that
`protects the health of our environment. The typical dimensions of a single child family
`apartment in Korea were given as part of the starting point for the competition.
`
`(xvii) For the 2003 Design Beyond East and West Competition, MacAllen and I submitted
`prototypes of our softrooms and softwalls, which at the time did not have folding end
`panels or supports. These prototypes were not self-supporting or vertically stable standing
`on their own, rendering them prone to collapse. We presented our “soft” concept for
`flexible use of space and efficient use of material. Our submission stated, “The
`combination of an open plan together with the Soft Walls and Soft Rooms, allows for
`making the most of space, energy and material resources.” A photo submitted for this
`competition is below, which shows me extending a prototoype that is secured to the wall
`for support. In the foreground is a softroom. In the background is another softwall that is
`secured to a wall for support on one end, and has fallen over or collapsed on the other end,
`which creates a fan design. Our submission showed the dynamic sculptural expression of
`the soft collection.
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`(xviii) On October 15-16, 2003, the judging process for the 2003 Design Beyond East and West
`Competition took place. MacAllen and I were awarded the Golden Prize. The award
`ceremony and exhibition took place in January 2004 in Beijing, China. The judges for this
`competition included: Alessandro Mendini (Italy), Kazuyo Sejima (Japan), Seok-chul Kim
`(Korea), Shi-Li Zhang (China).
`
`(xix) For the 2003 LighTouch (“Light Touch”) Design Competition, hosted by Design
`Singapore and FLOS, MacAllen and I submitted our “soft” concept prototypes, including
`our softrooms, and softwall and softblock modular system, which at the time did not have
`folding end panels or supports. The softwall prototypes were not self-supporting or
`vertically stable standing on their own, rendering them prone to collapse. We presented
`our “soft” concept for flexible use of space and interaction with light. In the photos below,
`we placed a light bulb behind our prototypes, which were translucent, to create a backlit
`effect. At the time, we did not have integrated lighting.
`
`*
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`(xx) On November 6, 2003, Design Singapore and FLOS announced that MacAllen and I were
`first prize winners of the 2003 LighTouch Design Competition. The judges included:
`Antonio Citterio, Designer (Italy), Piero Gandini, President, FLOS (Italy), Edmund
`Cheng, Chairman, DesignSingapore Council (Singapore), Patrick Chia, Designer,
`Designer (Singapore). Piero Gandini, the President of FLOS, said about our entry: “The
`jury intended, at a time when technology appears to be the only way to manage our lives,
`to award this elegant attitude and interaction with light that is able to create a varied and
`poetic atmosphere in the environment.”
`
`(xxi) On December 23, 2003, MacAllen and I incorporated MOLO DESIGN, LTD., hereinafter
`called “MOLO”, to commercialize our softwall, softblock, and other “soft” concept
`works.
`
`(xxii) In May 2004, at The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York,
`USA, MacAllen and I presented an early softwall prototype, which was not commercially
`ready or available. An image from 2004 ICFF, below, shows me standing in front of a
`softwall prototype with the float tea lantern and teacups in a niche. The softwall prototype
`presented at ICFF in 2004 did not have folding end panels or supports and, as a result, was
`not self-supporting or vertically stable standing on its own. Accordingly, to resist collapse,
`the prototype and was taped to the rigid screen structure shown in the background for
`support. The prototype shown at ICFF in 2004 also did not have integrated lighting, and
`instead was backlit.
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`(xxiii) For the 2004 ICFF tradeshow, MacAllen and I were awarded the ICFF Editor’s Award -
`Best New Designer. The judges for the 2004 ICFF awards included the editors of many of
`the world’s best Architecture and design magazines: Silvia Latis of Abitare (Italy), Rita
`Catinella of Architectural Record (USA), Kelly Rude of Canadian Interiors (CA), Stefano
`Casciani of Domus (Italy), Allison Arieff of Dwell (USA), Robert Thiemann of Frame
`(Netherlands), Doretta Sperduto of House Beautiful (USA), Julie Lasky of ID (USA),
`Karen Singh of Interior Design (USA), Gilda Bojardi of Interni (France), Chantal
`Hamaide of Intramuros (France), Susan Szenasy of Metropolis (USA), Arlene Hirst of
`Metropolitan Home (USA), and Suzanne Trocme of Wallpaper (UK).
`
`(xxiv) Towards the end of 2004, MacAllen and I had developed a version of softwall and
`softblock with folding end panels and supports. At that time, the folding end panels
`included wool and Velcro to hold the end panels in the folded position. A photo of these
`folding end panels is below, taken between February and May of 2005 in a vacant suite at
`869 Beatty Street Vancouver (the same building our design studio was located in at the
`time), where I am shown amongst two softwalls.
`■1
`
`Photo taken 2005
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`(xxv) On February 1, 2005, MacAllen and I, through MOLO, sent out a press release and started
`advertising the sale of softwalls with folding end panels and supports as available to
`purchase, intended to be the first member of MOLO’s soft collection that was
`commercially available and to be followed by the commercial release of softblocks with
`folding end panels and supports.
`
`(xxvi) In February 2005, MacAllen and I visited the Museum of Modem Art (MoMA) in New
`York, USA as part MoMA’s PS1 Young Architects Program and Competition. During our
`visit, we brought our softwall with folding end panels and supports to show Paola
`Antonelli.
`
`(xxvii) On February 15, 2005, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) acquisitions committee
`agreed to include paper softwall into their permanent collection and they sent MacAllen
`and I a letter of their decision to acquire our softwall.
`
`(xxviii) On May 18, 2005, MacAllen and I filed a US provisional patent application no.
`60/681,972 for a partition with folding end panels and integrated fasteners.
`
`(xxix) On September 23, 2005, MacAllen and I attended the Index Award ceremony in
`Copenhagen, Denmark, where we were awarded the Index Award for softwall. In 2005
`MacAllen and I had entered our softwall with the folding end panels into the Index design
`competition, which is considered the world’s biggest design award.
`
`(xxx) The judges for the Index Award included: Paola Antonelli (Curator of Design and
`Architecture, MoMA New York), Hella Jongerius (Designer, Netherlands), Dominique
`Perrault (Architect, France), Nanna Ditzel (Designer, Denmark), Pontus Wahlgren
`(Designer IDEO, USA), Arnold Wasserman (Executive Chairman of the Idea Factory,
`USA), John Heskett (Chair Professor of Design Hong Kong Polytechnic), John Adam
`Linneballe (Designer, Denmark), Alex Blanch (Headmaster PUC Design University
`CHL), Nille Juuel Sorensen (Assistant Director Arup UK), Dr. Robert Blaich (USA), Ufle
`Elbaek (Headmaster Kaos Pilots, Denmark). A quote from the judges said:
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`“softwall is an example of excellent contemporary design, building on tradition
`and holding the promise to renew the way we think about established definitions of
`space by offering flexible partitioning within our homes, offices or public spaces.
`The INDEX: AWARD jury also wishes to compliment the members of the recently
`established design company molo for being role models to young designers. Their
`entrepreneurship has enabled them to bring their unique design ideas to life.”
`
`(xxxi) Throughout this entire development process of the softwall and softblock modular system,
`I had no knowledge of Charles Kaisin nor of his work for Newspaper Bench, Extendible
`Bench, and K-Bench. For further clarity, I was not influenced by Charles Kaisin, nor
`Newspaper Bench, nor Extendible Bench, nor K-Bench in developing the softwall and
`softblock modular system.
`
`(xxxii) MacAllen and I continued to make refinements to the softwall and softblock modular
`system.
`
`(xxxiii)By early 2007, MacAllen and I had developed integrated fasteners in the folding end
`panels that included magnets. We filed US patent application no. 11/742,984 on May 1,
`2007, which describes this integrated magnet feature.
`
`(xxxiv)By late 2008, MacAllen and I developed internal passages that extend through the core of
`the softwalls and softblocks with LED ribbons passing through, to provide internal
`illumination. We filed US patent application no. 12/343,042 on December 23, 2008 for
`this internal passage and LED ribbon feature.
`
`(xxxv) In 2009, MacAllen and I finished developing a softwall and softblock modular system
`with monochrome folding end panels with concealed magnetic fasteners and including the
`internal passages and LED ribbon for commercial production. In March 2009, MOLO
`issued its press release to its customers introducing this softwall and softblock modular
`system with monochrome folding end panels, including the internal passages and LED
`ribbon.
`
`(xxxvi) I, with MacAllen, created these further refinements of the softwall and softblock modular
`system with monochrome folding end panels, including the internal passages and LED
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`ribbon, without any influence from Charles Kaisin nor his work for Newspaper Bench,
`Extendible Bench, and K-Bench.
`
`(xxxvii) MacAllen and I founded MOLO with a small loan (in addition to our substantial
`student loan debt) and a passionate belief that design can improve the way people live.
`The early success and critical recognition of the design competition awards we received
`between 2001 - 2003, gave MacAllen and I confidence that our designs for softwall and
`softblock were worthy of being put into production. At that time we saw the potential of
`our ideas for flexible space making, including softwall and softblock, to be an
`environmentally responsible way of providing furniture, lighting and partition systems
`that empowered people to shape and adapt their spaces over time. With all the idealism of
`youth, we envisioned softwall and softblock as a form of equitable space-making with
`visually poetic and highly practical attributes that would make them equally suitable for a
`homeless shelter or luxury retail environment. We started our company small and grew it
`incrementally, always investing our time and money back into making each idea and
`product the best it could be. We resisted financial investors so that we could maintain
`creative and ethical control over how our products are made. MOLO is now almost
`eighteen years old and MacAllen and I are proud of the company we have built. We
`continue to invest in design development with the primary goals of being good to the
`planet while fostering imagination and well-being through space making. Copies of
`softwall and softblock undermine all that our MOLO products stand for and the
`responsible business model we have built. We are fighting to protect our ability to
`continue our life's work.
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`Affidavit from Stephanie Forsythe
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`SWORN OR AFFIRMED BEFORE )
`ME at the City of Vancouver, in the )
`Province of British Columbia,
`)
`this 22nd day of November, 2021 )
`
`For Oaths in and for the Province )
`of British Columbia
`
`) )
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`I, Stephanie Forsythe, declare as follows:
`
`1.
`
`On November 22, 2021, I executed the attached Affidavit of Stephanie
`
`Forsythe Re: Creation of Softwalls and Softblocks without influence from Charles
`
`Kaisin (“Affidavit”).
`
`2.
`
`I hereby reaffirm, restate, and incorporate the entirety of my Affidavit
`
`as though fully set forth herein.
`
`3.
`
`I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the United States
`
`of America that all statements made in my Affidavit, which I hereby reaffirm,
`
`restate, and incorporate in its entirety, are true and correct. I further declare that all
`
`statements made in my Affidavit, which I hereby reaffirm, restate, and incorporate
`
`in its entirety, of my own knowledge are true and that all statements made on
`
`information and belief are believed to be true, and further that these statements were
`
`made with the knowledge that willful false statements and the like so made are
`
`punishable by fine or imprisonment, or both, under Section 1001 of Title 18 of the
`
`United States Code.
`
`Dated: May 18, 2022
`
`_________________________
`
`Stephanie Forsythe
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