Rootlab started in the dust.
In 2012, Troy was invited to build an honorarium sculpture for Burning Man. He needed fabricators to help make it happen and he was introduced to Logan, who was working as a photographer while making art and furniture in a small shared studio space. Logan agreed to help if Troy would teach him how to use his CNC machine.
They, along with a crew of fourteen others, made their way to the desert for three weeks to build the crazy thing. Somehow, everyone came back dusty, alive, and with a deeper respect for what they could accomplish together.
Over the next few years, the collaborations continued. Troy had the CNC machine and the Sawstop, so Logan was always around. In short order, Logan began renting part of Troy’s small shop/ studio, where Troy also lived — with only a thin wall separating his bedroom from the CNC machine.
Around the same time, Logan and Troy also began working together at Paul Bernhard Exhibits on the Houston Museum of Natural Science Weiss Energy Hall, giving them their first real exposure to the world of building museums.
With a steady paycheck secured, Logan and Troy decided to go in on a larger space together. In 2014, “Root Lab LLC” was born — the result of a lot of sweat, a little naivety, and just the right amount of necessity — the root of it all.
Later that year, Logan left PBE to focus on Rootlab full time. Around the same time, Eric Hester joined Rootlab as a partner, bringing a deep knowledge of metal working, design and construction to the company’s early evolution.
Early Rootlab is best understood by its trajectory.
We started separately, making furniture, sculpture, welded objects, and artwork for ourselves and for friends who became our first clients. We hired our first assistants. We began working together on larger, more complex projects. The team grew. Our clients evolved from individuals to small businesses, then to larger companies, cultural institutions, and public agencies. We continued to build our team along the way.
In those early years, we intentionally avoided specializing too narrowly. If a project seemed interesting, challenging, or just barely possible, we would take it on.
We designed and built custom wood and steel furniture for many private clients. We fabricated larger-scale architectural and structural steel projects, including shade structures, steel window systems and massive custom storefront doors. We used parametric design to create unique outdoor seating systems that lived somewhere between sculpture and traditional site furnishings. We built a custom half pipe in 24 hours for a famous rapper. We contributed key custom elements to hospitality concepts, museum exhibitions, public artworks, creative spaces, and shopping centers. We fabricated monumental signage. We designed and built a custom steel and glass jewel box building from the ground up. We collaborated with other artists and engineers on large-scale public art. We designed, permitted and remodeled a seventy-year-old 7500-square-foot warehouse into a high-end cocktail bar and event space.
Every new project taught us something. Every challenge added a new tool, a new process, a new material or a new capability. Our team grew. We learned together how to make things beautiful, practical, durable and real.
Even as Rootlab explored a wide range of project types, museum and exhibition work remained part of our foundation. The work asked us to combine materials, methods, and disciplines in ways few project types do. It demanded a different kind of rigor and challenged us to build objects and environments that could tell stories, withstand public use, and turn complex ideas into physical experiences.
Over time, more and more of our work moved into exhibitions, immersive environments, public art, and cultural spaces. We loved the scale. We loved the complexity. We loved the way these projects asked us to bring together design, storytelling, engineering, fabrication, technology, and installation into one complete experience.
In 2019, we sharpened our focus on these larger exhibition projects.
Today, led by Logan Beck and Troy Stanley, Rootlab brings more than 12 years of hard-earned experience to the creation of exhibitions, architectural projects, public artworks, and unforgettable spaces. We carry forward everything we learned from the strange, ambitious, and often unreasonable projects that shaped us.
Rootlab has never been easy to define. From the beginning, the only constant has been change. We continue to evolve with our clients, collaborators, and team — building the next thing that seems just barely possible.
There are limitless possibilities. Let’s build something unforgettable.
From our 50,000-square-foot facility in the heart of Houston, Texas, we create exhibitions, public artworks, architectural features, and unforgettable spaces that bring complex ideas into physical form.
Logan is a creative problem solver with over 14 years of experience in a wide range of technical and creative fields including custom design and fabrication, furniture & product design, project concept and identity development, and photography. He loves dogs and gardening. He hates losing at chess. He can’t remember much from before rootlab, but according to records he has a B.A. in Visual Arts from Rice University.
Logan is a creative problem solver with over 14 years of experience in a wide range of technical and creative fields including custom design and fabrication, furniture & product design, project concept and identity development, and photography. He loves dogs and gardening. He hates losing at chess. He can’t remember much from before rootlab, but according to records he has a B.A. in Visual Arts from Rice University.
Troy refused to give any bio information so this bio was constructed from information gained from many years of observation and interaction with the subject. Troy is an accomplished visual artist, an avid mountain biker and a deep thinker. Despite what it may seem, he actually really likes you. He has a B.F.A. in Visual Arts from University of Houston.
Troy refused to give any bio information so this bio was constructed from information gained from many years of observation and interaction with the subject. Troy is an accomplished visual artist, an avid mountain biker and a deep thinker. Despite what it may seem, he actually really likes you. He has a B.F.A. in Visual Arts from University of Houston.
Al is an engineer and fabricator with a love for adventure and all things made. In his seven years with rootlab, Al has touched almost every corner of the company. Starting as an assistant fabricator, he now programs a 6-axis robot arm and leads the digital fabrication team. He is passionate and arguably too granular about CNC machining, the built environment, topography, and trees. In his downtime you can find him biking through dense forests and swimming in crisp lakes in Western Washington.
Al is an engineer and fabricator with a love for adventure and all things made. In his seven years with rootlab, Al has touched almost every corner of the company. Starting as an assistant fabricator, he now programs a 6-axis robot arm and leads the digital fabrication team. He is passionate and arguably too granular about CNC machining, the built environment, topography, and trees. In his downtime you can find him biking through dense forests and swimming in crisp lakes in Western Washington.
Andrew is a transplant from California who found rootlab and settled his family in Houston. He loves outdoor activities such as soccer and dirtbike riding and playing music in his spare time.
Andrew is a transplant from California who found rootlab and settled his family in Houston. He loves outdoor activities such as soccer and dirtbike riding and playing music in his spare time.
Wood Gremlin. Prefers tiny beers.
Wood Gremlin. Prefers tiny beers.
Cinthia loves cats, plants, going to thrift stores and gory things. In another life she would been a botanist.
Cinthia loves cats, plants, going to thrift stores and gory things. In another life she would been a botanist.
Michael bought a truck.
Michael bought a truck.
Ryan is an industrial designer with a passion for all things automotive. When he’s not at work you can normally find him out on the trails in a big green jeep.
Ryan is an industrial designer with a passion for all things automotive. When he’s not at work you can normally find him out on the trails in a big green jeep.
Sean is a Mechanical engineer with experience in product design and manufacturing. Enjoys hobbies including photography, camping, and biking.
Sean is a Mechanical engineer with experience in product design and manufacturing. Enjoys hobbies including photography, camping, and biking.
Aidan is from Seattle, WA. Moved to Houston be closer to his daughter. Studied at California College of Arts in Oakland, CA. Side hustle is scrap metal sculptures. Enjoys sourcing metal materials for sculptures at various junkyards/scrapyards, flea markets, second stores, abandoned warehouses, train yards, trash cans, etc.
Aidan is from Seattle, WA. Moved to Houston be closer to his daughter. Studied at California College of Arts in Oakland, CA. Side hustle is scrap metal sculptures. Enjoys sourcing metal materials for sculptures at various junkyards/scrapyards, flea markets, second stores, abandoned warehouses, train yards, trash cans, etc.
Ariana has a B.A. in Corporate Communications focusing on cross-company efficiency, team communication, and policy and process development - which basically means she helps people work real good. Before all of that, she also studied fine art and art history. Her biggest dream is to someday swim next to a whale in the wild.
Ariana has a B.A. in Corporate Communications focusing on cross-company efficiency, team communication, and policy and process development - which basically means she helps people work real good. Before all of that, she also studied fine art and art history. Her biggest dream is to someday swim next to a whale in the wild.
