Metaproject 01 Course Assignment // Rochester Institute of Technology
Solo Project, Year 4 // Fall 2010 to Spring 2011
Furniture Design
Objective: Design and fabricate a seating device that promotes Wilsonart Laminate material while addressing a specific context and seating typology.
Solution: The Hub is a dynamic seating structure around which groups converge to talk, ponder, work and play together.
The Hub is for social animals.
First round sketching: 36 unique concepts in a weekend. One would be chosen.
Quarter-scale model of a chosen concept. Mini Brians for scale.
I experimented with photography, and the help of some classmates, to elaborate on my design intent.
Presenting with a refined quarter-scale mockette and a big, ugly 1:1 scale functional model.
(Mock it up before you fock it up!)
Trying to make sense of it all...
Smoothing out the freshly welded joints with an angle grinder.
Getting acquainted with the Bridgeport mill in the College of Engineering machine shop.
Being completely irresponsible with my roommate, and welder extraordinaire, Tyler Bigham.
The Hub gets a fresh coat of black powder.
The structure is designed to have a precise fit.
Vinyl numeral decals were a low-cost method for organizing and simplifying assembly.
Poster promoting the metaproject 01 final presentation, held in the Center for Innovation at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, USA.
Each student in the project was tasked with incorporating a Hollyberry red Wilsonart sample chip into his or her piece. I went for functionality by creating a helpful hook for coats, bags and umbrellas.
The Hub is complete!
The Hub promotes diverse perspectives within a collaborative environment. Inspired aesthetically by the likes of Nelson, Calder and Baldessari, its deliberately varied seat heights actively encourage the free flow of ideas from differing viewpoints, making the Hub ideal for any place where problem solving happens.
The bar-height surface acts as a lectern or a ‘pit stop’ for any quick rendezvous, and the six other stools can host countless configurations of social encounters. The center stool can function as a card table, and the Hub 'en masse' is perfect for public spaces and parties.
The Hub can be disassembled for transportation, and provides users a sturdy hook to hold coats, bags and more. The High Pressure Decorative Laminate (HPDL) surfaces are durable enough to survive the coffee spills, wayward pencil marks and other side effects of creativity. The Hub is a true conversation piece!
Want a chip?
