Collaborative Design Project: Week 2

 

This blogpost is a continuation of last week's post, Collaborative Design Project: Week 1.

Last Friday, our group (Team 2) agreed to make a student workspace for The Nest (AUArts Student Space). We had noticed that a workspace design would allow us to combine elements from most of our individual preliminary concepts. We decided to use Chloe's concept as a base model, since it was simple and had a lot of potential to include new design elements.

Chloe's Concept

A student workspace for The Nest.

This design includes:

• Workspaces for 2 people.
• Temporary student storage spaces
• Space underneath the desk workspace for chairs

The model pictured on the right is being used as a skeleton for our design. 

Once we had agreed on a direction for our project, we assigned ourselves tasks and divided ourselves into subgroups.

Since Friday, Chloe, Jess B., and I have been reworking the workspace design individually. 

All three of us presented our individual concepts to the group during our fourth meeting on Wednesday, March 23rd. 

I have included the designs we made below. 

Jess's Design Concept - A Re-Interpretation of Chloe's Base Model

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"My thoughts were around creating a structure that wasn't too heavy, and would still allow for light to flow through the space as the nest is not a very large space. " - Jess B.

 

Chloe's Re-Interpretation of her Base Model

 

Chloe created four patterned samples using Grasshopper. She was interested in the types of textures that the workspace could have.

 

My Design Concept - A Re-Interpretation of Chloe's Base Model

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This workspace/bookshelf seats up to two people and features an interactive panel design. I chose to incorporate blue accents to match the colours of The Nest's brick walls. It is also more relaxing, contrasting the vibrant reds throughout the rest of the school.

The shelf layout echoes the labyrinth panel design. I chose to place the shelves on the sides of the structure (and not in the front) so that students can better access the shelf contents when they're working. 

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I made many drafts before arriving on this final concept. It was challenging to make a design that incorporated many of the things the different team members wanted. There were moments when I felt restricted but in the end it all helped to create this final concept, which I am pleased with.

 

This is a collage of the drafts I made before arriving to my final design. I didn't show my group any of these because I preferred the maze-inspired design. Looking back, it's interesting to see how my designs evolved.

Recreating The Nest in Rhino

I recreated The Nest in Rhino so that our team could visualize our models in-context. I shared this file with all the group members so that they can use it for their renders.

 

I scaled the standing man to be 6ft tall for reference. The space is designed at a 1:1 scale (I estimated that the ceiling height is 10ft inside the nest and 12 feet in the hallway. I still need to confirm if this is accurate). Other than that, the model's dimensions are accurate enough for our project.

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Something I like about the design I made is that it doesn't disrupt the flow of the environment. It doesn't take up too much space and the colours match the walls.

The workspace is hidden from view when standing at the front of The Nest. I like how it doesn't block the entrance or distract the viewer.

Rectractable Desk Design

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I proposed a retractable design that would allow users to fold both desks into the bookshelf. I was inspired by Chandler and Liro's ideas of making furniture that could drastically change size or fold into itself. This feature would be useful for transporting the bookshelf because it would prevent you from having to disassemble it to get it through doors and elevators. The workspace/bookshelf is 10ft wide when unfolded and 2ft wide when folded. 

This is a worthwhile feature to explore because it will improve mobility and give users the freedom to compact it when more space is needed in The Nest.  In the past, The Nest has been used to host events such as artist receptions for the Fridge Gallery (which is next door). For these types of events, when the workspace is not needed, it can be folded up and placed in a corner. It will not only open up more space, but it will look like an inconspicuous decorative piece.

Additionally, this retractable feature increases the chance that our proposal will get accepted by AUArts Administration and the Student Association. Bryan and Peter had mentioned that the school is more likely to accept furniture that is easy to move and does not take up much space. 

I already have a folding system in mind which involves piano hinges and latches (such as the ball catch or the magnetic latch). I would just have to include them into my 3D models and prototype with a few small wooden pieces. The hinges and latches are all very affordable ($2-4) and readily available at Home Depot.

I had planned to show the team a detailed proposal of a folding system (sometime next week) but two team members said it is not worth the effort and that it will complicate the project too much. The other group members did not express their opinions on this topic. So for now, we will focus on other parts of the design. 

Chair Designs

After Jess, Chloe, and I presented our designs, we looked at the chair designs made by Lesley, Erica, and Nadia.

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After seeing so many great designs, it was challenging to choose one workspace and one chair. The group members put a lot of work into their concepts, which all had individual strengths.

As a group, we chose to go ahead with Nadia's chair design with some modifications. One of the things the group wanted to include was a backrest and a decorative panel design that matches the workspace/bookshelf. 

The group also liked my workspace design so we decided to go ahead with that design along with some modifications. Jess made the great suggestion to fillet all the corners in the maze design to prevent it from chipping and to make it more compatible with the CNC. Chloe suggested blocking off the shelves on the top to prevent accidents (people trying to reach things that are high up and getting hurt). We will make other versions of the workspace to see how this would affect the aesthetic and function of the design. And as mentioned earlier, the retractable aspect might be discarded. 

Our Next Steps

On Friday, our class will receive the first CNC milling demo in the woodshop. If we have time, our team might prototype a portion of the maze panel in wood. We agreed to make a 1x1ft sample to give us an idea of what our final design will look like.

So far, the group has been working well and I'm really excited to continue developing this project! :)

- Daniela