Stool Research

100% design TOKYO - research

'Be4U'

furniture design history

esquisse no. 4

testing out the 1:4 scale

"understanding form"

‘Take a seat’ aims to teach how to use minimal material effectively to create a structure that will support the weight of one person. In groups of two people, design a chair using sketch, scale mock-up and then work to produce a 1:1 outcome.

Using only cardboard, create a:
• 'structural' system that is strengthened under load
• provide a seat and possibly a back support
• works within standard seating proportions

Sissy and I started off brainstorming possible ideas through making small paper 1:5 scale models. We decided to keep the outcome of the chair simple and clean for our aim was to use minimal amount of material as possible. After numerous ideas, we decided to go ahead with simple slit and slot mechanism. Fortunately Sissy had a tv cardboard box available from her garage. Before proceeding onto the final chair, we tested out the design with a 1:4 scale model. With couple of paper cuts here and there on our fingers, it turned out great.

esquisse no. 3

Daniel testing out...

"locking systems"

A locking system is an important part of intellectual property or design.

Using only cardboard (B flute 3.2mm) create a :

· 'locking' system that is strengthened under load (100kg)
· has a minimum height of 200mm
· relies on geometry rather than brute force
· relies on minimal material ie. weight to strength ratio

Through the time in workshop I have realized that triangulation is the key to load bearing. It took a long time to come up with a design which will only utilize 1 600mm x 600mm cardboard.

In the end I decided to keep the height to minimum of 200mm and to construct a stool like object which is a result of many triangles.

The prototype went well, but once I started to make the 1:1 scale things got a little bit dodgy. As a result I kept adding extra locking system, and the stool ended up looking very Gundam/Transformer. Far from simple elegance...

Even though as a result it had a very high tech look, it did its job holding Daniel's weight in class. There are lots to fix on but for now... it's a success?!