Bunk-Bed for College
Reception Table
Innovative, imaginative and ergonomically designed 'non-fussy' furnitures can delight young minds and enhance their educational experience.
- Furniture for school children has to be durable. Children might sit or jump on the table so it has to be strong and stable.
- Clear melanine polish in place of edge-bending, will added aesthetic detail to ply edge or ends and reduce cost.
- Board position and table adjust have been tried with real students.
- The table front design has also factored in the modesty of students wearing skirts or shorts.
- It is also a low-cost, mass producible furniture.
The modern person stresses his/her body more than the body can tolerate. Whether its watching TV or having a conversation over tea, more time is spent sitting than sleeping in a regular day. The human body is not built to handle prolonged physical stress. Unfortunately, static chairs rarely allow postural convenience and comfort. |
Dynamic, two-position Chair Prototype
No furniture shall include as filling any foam in crumb form. Note: PU-foam is commonly used in contract furniture, however, its not environmentally friendly and contains the toxic chemicals methyloxirane (i.e. propylene oxide). Memory foam is also petroleum-based. Another option was natural latex foam cushions but it was also created by mixing with chemical components. I would have liked to use flat-knitted 3D woven fabrics (or spacer) fibre yarns solutions that increase comfort and allow for tremendous breath-ability (also varying elongation and stability) of the yarns. Moreover, Steel Roll Splice Felts Cushioning is a secondary layer (1/16 to 1⁄2 inch) that prevents blemishes between layers at welded or other seams.
- A 2-in-1 modular chair combines a lounge chair with a single-seater couch. I have tried to push the envelope on what "seating" is really considered without trying to be funky or impractical. I also has stain-resistant and anti-microbial upholstery.
- I had opted to use low-technology to balance the two-position chair, without using any electronics: motion sensors (accelerometers) or rotation sensors (gyroscopes). Structurally, I used the concept of stability when in the rear position and non-stability when in the front position. Without power consuming electronics, the orientation and velocity has to be self controlled, manually, by the user (actively in the front position). The rear position, just needs a push to return to its position. This was done by 3mm wire models of the structure and shifting the centre of gravity to get the stability at the two pivot points and avoid tumbling.
- The rapid knee-jerk while shifting between the positions and reduction of the work load from user was planned to be achieved using shock-absorbers but it never materialised due to time shortage. Hence, this problem is there in my first prototype.
- Aesthetically, it is still a work in progress, but it was created with the idea of the brutish geometry of large exposed rocks surrounding Bangalore City. I wanted to combine it with thin, clean lines and sweeping elegance. The manufacturing detailing has yet to come together, for the product to look better. It was a very risky decision to make something that not typically pretty looking.
Once chairs were symbols of the ruler's ostentatious claim to authority, as exemplified by the head of a board being called a 'chairman', yet since industrialization at the latest the cultural history of chairs has changed. As of 1859, the Thonet works started rolling out bentwood chairs in large numbers, and these were shipped globally in parts. The Bauhaus' methods of industrial production then blazed the trail for the idea of a new life and a new human being. Tubular steel cantilever chairs such as that by Mart Stam and sculptural seats such as Marcel Breuer's "Wassily Chair" are milestones that have endured.
The Indian food cart is reminiscent of the makeshift farm cart turned into temporary shops during village "mela" or fair. In today's urban context, if we don't want baked or roasted food, which Indian food doesn't require, we need only to focus on having large hot plates.
Rethinking, Roadside Food-Vendor's Cart
Incidentally, after two years I found these Micro Urban-combat Armoured "Anti- Terrorist Assault Cart (ATAC)" that are bullet-proof can resist grenade blasts.