Prototyping: Part 1

Getting Inspired
This past week, I took a couple trips to the Art Library to browse through many "chair" books. From these I learned about how chairs were made, and what kind of form I am looking for in my chair. I'm still going with the concept of a chair being able to split into 3 different chairs, and I've been trying to explore many modes of connection between the chair pieces. They could fit side by side, stacked, interwoven, puzzled, etc. Some questions I am asking myself: How can I make my pieces interlock, yet still maintain a simple design? Do I need bolts? What about steal? Do all the chairs have to be the same size? Can I have a stool, chair, and comfy chair all in one? Would wood be best fit for the design I want to pursue?

Hans J. Wegner PP58-3 Chair

Arne Jacobsen

Fritz H

Prototyping

Paper
Paper is very good for getting a fell for what plywood can do, and it's a cheap prototyping material! I played around with construction paper to get a feel for what kind of shapes made what kind of forms.

Here is my first iteration with a larger small scale model for my chair. I used cardboard and paper clips to get the cardboard to stay in the form that I wanted it to. This was the best way that I could implement and get a feel for what plywood might feel and look like.

I tried to explore what kind of cushion chair shape I wanted with construction paper. I'm thinking that the base of my cushion chair will also be plywood. I want it rock a little bit, but also be able to sit in a stable upright position. In the pictures you can see that I cut out a tab that might be able to hold the chair in place. I'll have to play around with this idea to see if I can get a slight rocking feature and then a stable position.

What I've learned
I think it's very possible to make my pieces fit together without any extra connections. I've learned a little bit more about my form, and what I want my chair to look like, but I think I should do a couple iterations on this design. I like the simplicity of this concept, and that all three pieces can fit together with one or two other pieces. Cardboard and wire is a great way to imitate plywood. Stacking things together is a good way to get a general full scale size feel. Sitting in chairs to figure out what height my chair should be also helps.

Next Steps

• start working with plywood to see how I can actually make this chair. 
• start playing with materials for the cushion chair
• make small plywood models?
• keep playing with cushion chair shape
• figure out proportions
• make a full scale cardboard model
• figure out if connections will work
• ask Edmark for help/advice for learning about plywood
• get a feel for how fixturing and clamps will work

I want to create a chair that is inviting and multi-functional. I want this to look like one chair, but also be able to be taken apart into separate functional pieces.

Constraints:

Plywood

Upholstery/cushions

Modular – 3 separate pieces

Chair Inspiration

What makes you want to sit in a chair? (quote segments)

Support, cushy, definitely not wooden, nice to have it spin/wobble, lean a little bit, I look at the angle of the back, something that matches the shape of your back, cradling body, leather is less appealing, Patagonia soft, but not too furry, has to support me, bean bags don’t have enough support. Fun at first, but not for a long time. I don’t want to have to work hard to stay in it. I might slip off a wooden chair

Concept Sketches

 

Progress Update

Research 

I’ve been spending a lot of my time googling chair. I've searched keywords like comfortable, modular, stackable, and “most” whatevers. I’ve tried to see which chairs I've liked and disliked and why, but that only got me so far. I talked with John Edmark yesterday, and he gave me some insight to guide the direction of my chair.  John showed me some chair projects from the chair class last year and also gave me many chair references. I went to the art library yesterday and spent an hour or two browsing some of the suggested readings which included how-to’s of wood bending, chair inspirations, chair history, and chair designs. I will be going back sometime soon to check out some of the other reading materials. I find that looking at books with a lot of pictures and design relevance is very inspiring and useful for me.

Material

I've decided to make veneer plywood and upholstery techniques for my technique of choice. I was struggling with the form of my chair, and I think that choosing a chair making technique will help guide my form. I didn't want to limit my material of choice, but since I’ve never made a chair before, choosing a method will inform my design process. Working with plywood will be difficult in the sense that I've never used it, and I will have to learn how to fixture and clamp, but at least I know the general process, and I know that I will have to set aside a good chunk of time to practice. I’ve been informed that veneer plywood is pretty price which I am aware of, but I will probably be fine with spending the money on my final product. One good thing is that I can prototype my shapes with construction paper, which is quick and not costly. In addition, I may not have to use screws or extra connection pieces to hold my chair together if I design my chair well.

Concept

My ideal vision is two have 3 different pieces that come together to form one chair, and come apart and still be used as a chair. One will be a large cushion chair, and the other two will be support pieces that fit together in some way. They could both support, or one could support and the other could attach in some way. I think that the connection points of these pieces are very important for usability and structural support. The easiest modes of connection that I can think of are stacking and sliding together. Because I want to use plywood, I can take advantage of the form of plywood and pieces sliding perfectly together. I imagine that my two plywood support pieces will complement each other and fit together in some way, while the cushion chair will be able to fit on top somehow.

Projects from the Chair Class

Reference Books

Prototyping I spent some time prototyping mini chair ideas which helped turn my sketches into a physical form, and told me that tons of things I need to work on for my design.

1)      Proportions: I did a rapid prototype, but my proportions were all off. I will have to do a lot more sketching and modeling to get the proportions of my chair right. In addition, I need to keep in mind the full scale proportion of my chair. How high is it? How wide is it? How big does the cushion need to be?

2)      Connections: I did simple slit connections for my prototypes, but I know that for the full scale model, I have a lot of questions to answer: How do the pieces fit together? Do I need screws? Can pieces slide together? How will the pieces be removable? How do the legs hold the chair up? How is the back rest supported? How does the cushion fit with the wood?

3)      Material: I like the idea of using veneer wood. I’m still not sure what would be an appropriate material for the cushion.

Next Steps:

Play with construction paper to see what forms I can create for the plywood parts. These will be small models. (by wed)

Make a full scale (cardboard?) model to test proportions. This will be for form and not function. (by thus b/c I have a midterm on Wed)

Initial Proposal

I have my own room for the first time since coming to college, and I don’t have any seating for guests to sit on when they visit my room. This is not just my problem, but a thought that crosses anyone’s mind when they want to invite people to hangout in their room. People are more likely to stay and relax if a chair invites them into the room. If no seating exists, they feel like they don’t belong and usually shortly leave. I’m interested in the social psychology of what makes a chair “inviting” and exploring many kinds of seating arrangements that can stand alone or be connected to create a large seating arrangement. In addition, in your early twenties, you are constantly moving from dorm to dorm, from apartment to apartment and rooms are generally small. I’d like to create a seating arrangement that can be easily built and taken apart and that has a space efficient form.

I am inspired by nomadic furniture, and I want to create a wooden seating structure that can be easily transported, space efficient when taken apart and very functional. I’m interested in exploring wooden furniture made from pieces that are connected by slits. My medium of choice is wood because I love how wood feels like and looks like. My vision is having a modular seating arrangement a person can take apart one piece to sit on separately, or can connect a bunch of pieces to create something more like a bench arrangement.

Here are some links that inspired me:

http://playatech.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Nomadic-Furniture-Victor-Papanek/dp/039470228X

More Chair Inspiration

Idea 1: seating arrangement, modular stools, bench, etc.

Where? Bedroom, dorm room

Function? Easy to transport/take apart/build, seats multiple people, multiple sizes/formations

Who? People who live in tight spaces or move a lot or like to be space efficient

Plan of Action (not in any particular order)

·        Talk to people about: what makes a chair inviting, what features are important to people for let’s say a “dorm room” chair, how do people choose where to sit when they enter a room? Social rooms vs. not social rooms

·        Explore woodworking, find woodworking resources

·        Do research about types of wood

·        Prototyping probably in foam core or cardboard

·        go from here.

Hello World!

Hello World! I have decided to make a chair for an independent study, and I'm going to use this space to document my progress!