About
A Fab Lab is a way to give users around the world the ability to locally conceptualize, design, develop, fabricate and test almost anything.
Short for Fabrication Laboratory, it is a digital workshop with an array of computer controlled tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, and other rapid prototyping and small-scale fabrication tools, which allow users to truly make “almost anything.” The concept of the fabrication laboratory began in MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms under the direction of Neil Gershenfeld. Following their successful program, Fab Labs have been established in many countries and in parts of the United States. We think Albuquerque should be next.
When we say “almost anything” we mean it. Fab Labs have produced custom made violins, designer furniture, fabricated machine parts, kinetic artwork, customized prosthetics, and so much more. For the hobbyist and the inventor, access to a fab lab is like a dream come true.
Providing the community with access to these machines is the core mission of a Fab Lab but it becomes a place of collaboration and education. We realize there are members of the community who would go straight to our Machines page because they already know the possibilities each one represents. For those people we offer monthly memberships that will give them access to the machines and the chance to develop their projects on their own schedule.
We also know there are many people who have ideas of what they would build if they only knew how. Fab Lab abQ will provide project based classes that will familiarize participants with the machines and their potential. See our Classes page for more information.
Finally, if you just want to shop for cool stuff being made in the Fab Lab then check out the Made ABQ section of our website. You’ll find a wide variety of fabricated and lab produced products.
We hope you’ll join us and we are always happy to answer questions that you may have.
Directors
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KENJI KONDO Kenji is a co-founder of NextFab.org and owner of Nextfabstore. He is a partner in the interior and building design firm Mahon/Kondo Studio. With a background in art, architecture and film, he has been making things his entire life and using developing technologies in his design process. He can be found lurking around the Fab Lab in Albuquerque, NM or at the market in Puebla, Mexico looking for something to eat.
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LISA KONDO A self-taught sewer, Lisa is passionate about the fiber-arts. She is interested in working with community groups to create products to take to market and in creating locally printed fabrics for sustainable goods and wearables.
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GRADY JAYNES Grady is the least mathematically inclined member of the Fab Lab Team, but having studied fiction in the MFA program at Indiana University and once being the editor of a pretty good literary magazine, he looks over the copy before we send it out. So you know who to blame. The rest of the time he maintains the inner workings of this very website. Again, now you know who to blame. |
DANIEL WOLFSKEHL With 15 years of experience as an active member of the international architectural and art world, Daniel seeks to establish an alternative learning center for "ambitious" and "at risk" high school students with an emphasis on team building through exploration of ideas through a technologically advanced design studio.
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KAROLE MAZEIKA Karole has been practicing architecture for the last 10 years and has extensive experience with photo editing software, drafting, 3D modeling and graphic layout programs. She has taught architectural, engineering and photography courses at the University of New Mexico and University of California at Davis. Being Venezuelan, she can also teach classes in Spanish. |
Consultants
KATIE RAST has worked for over ten years with community-based organizations and schools to provide creative educational experiences for youth. She was trained in digital fabrication at the MIT Digital Fabrication program intensive in Lyngen, Norway, implemented by the Center for Bits and Atoms at MIT. As the Program Director for the Fab Lab in San Diego, she has developed and implemented a curriculum that brings the concepts of digital media into an accessible and project-based learning environment for students.
3 MONTH FAB LAB INTERNSHIPS
As a FAB LAB intern, you will join a creative community, gain work experience, and learn new skills. Interns work ten hours per week and receive member benefits. Write us an email if you are interested in this program.