Objectified: Response

After watching the documentary Objectified by Gary Hustwit, I was left thinking about why some objects become important to us, and how industrial products can still have that effect even when they are made for millions of other people to enjoy as well. The designer Hella Jongerius spoke about some of her goals as a designer. A goal that stood out to me was that she wanted "to give individual character to something produced industrially." Then she showed a couch she and her studio were working on. It was orange with buttons placed all over it. I liked how this couch was so unique and as an object, it seemed to be able to tell its own story. This got me thinking about how I could do a take on this idea of a couch with individual elements, while also making it modern and functional. I thought about what makes a couch functional, and comfortable. I decided to add rounded armrests, which are always better when laying lengthwise, and I made each seat concave with a separate concave piece for the head. I also added a TV table that folds out from under each seat because I always want to sit on the couch with my laptop, without it actually on my lap. I also added a coffee table that has a fold-out cushion under each half to extend the couch into a bed. For the individualism element, I wanted something that would match with the modern look I wanted to achieve. I decided to add magnetic whiteboards on each side of the couch. (The stars are examples of magnets that could be used). These whiteboards could be used practically or to add a personal element to a couch, which tends to be a focal piece of furniture in whatever room it resides.

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Parametric Furniture: Renders

This week I finished creating my table. I switched from a coffee table to an end table, because I wanted the stem of the table to be longer, to better represent the shape of a plant. This table is a Voronoi patterned end table that is meant for a house plant to be a part of the furniture. The concept came from the question: how can plants become more integrated into our indoor environments? Plants, at least in my house, just sit on top of shelves and tables, this way the plant is fully a part of the furniture, and the growth of the plant determines the final design of the table. The name of this table is Nature Integrated Table. The Voronoi pattern is inspired by the shapes of plant cells, and the overall shape of the table is inspired by a blooming plant. If this table was full size my hope is that the plant would be put in the dirt directly in the centre of the table, without a pot. This way the roots and the plant would start to grow through the Voronoi. The pattern also has na...

Full-Scale Prototype Collab: Week 1

This week I began researching and sketching for my group (group 2)'s full-scale project. Here is some of the work that inspired my thinking: I have my research document with all the sources of these images linked here . Here are the 3 concepts I came up with: Idea 1: mix of the inspiration, taking a similar shape from the last table, and the idea of creating a barrier, or separator out of the pattern - looking through the design and whatever is on the other side Idea 2: Use a slightly spinning shape to create a spinning table base, glass on the top. When you look down through the centre of the base there is an optical illusion - idea 4 is another shape with the same concept - this one doesn’t spin, it just gets smaller. Idea 3: Small interlocking patterned pieces can be built into a bench or wall divider. Team two met on Wednesday and we decided to focus on creating a piece of furniture for the school, either for studying or relaxing. My revised concept sketch is below. W...

Full-Scale Furniture Collab: Final Week

This week the bench was finished! There were some challenges with getting the correct tolerance for a press fit of materials. The seat had to be re-cut, but everything else fit great. I'm glad I have the experience of creating a full-scale piece of furniture. I learned a lot about building, which informs my design practice and gives me a better understanding of what I will design in the future. The shelf is still being finished, but once both are done we hope to paint them both blue and white. Here are some photos of the bench's construction: Here is the completed bench: Thank you to my group members for a great collaboration, and thanks Bryan for helping get our project built! Have a great summer everyone!

Object Design and Fabrication - Nadia

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