BORI KOVACS ID 8 DANMARKS DESIGNSKOLE 31 MARCH, 2011 TEACHER: SØREN HOLST COMPANY CONTACT: INVENTARRUM
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PROJECT REPORT
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AN OUTDOOR BENCH FOR INVENTARRUM
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION
- Inventarrum
DESIGN BRIEF
- Problem Formulation
RESEARCH
- Iconic Outdoor Furniture - PPS Placemaking - Public Life in Copenhagen - City Semiotics
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
- Initial Sketches - Sketch Model - Structural / Functional Considerations - Hierarchy of Preferences - Shape and Dimensions - Overview of Various Ecological Solutions - Materials Analisys
CONCEPT DETAILING
- Material and Construction - Placement / Potential Sites
PRESENTATION
- Use - Landmark - Technical Drawings
CONCLUSION LIST OF SOURCES
INVENTARRUM The project is about developing a new product / a new set of products that falls within the existing product range of the company called Inventarrum but at the same time significantly increases their selection of products on the market. Having met a representative of Inventarrum, Klaus Tønder Jensen, we gained an insight into type of products they sell and into the methods they use while manufacturing their own products. Inventarrum specializes in manufacturing and delivering outdoor furniture for public spaces. Its clients include municipalities, housing associations, DSB, engineers, landscape architects and architects, developers, contractors and nurserymen. Inventarrum’s furniture are of high quality in a functional and aesthetic design. They have been on the market for 13 years – it is yet a small company that is ready for new adventures and for a new start. The company’s current products have been developed in collaboration with leading architects, landscape architects and designers. For Inventarrum aesthetic quality has proven to be an important factor in customers’ choice. The company’s design philosophy is that function, choice of material and workmanship in conjunction with an original design create the right product. Ecological questions are addressed with care, as Inventarrum is a company certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, their products also make use of recycled materials, moreover, they promote the use of bicycles in urban settings. Inventarrum’s image, thus, can be captured by the keywords of FUNCTION, DESIGN, QUALITY, and ECOLOGY. Their products endorse an elegant and refine taste in line with Scandinavian design characteristics. Inventarrum’s aim according to Klaus Tønder Jensen is “to be more known in the market”, i.e. to gain a competitive advantage with unique products.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Problem Formulation My aim with the project is to design an iconic or emblematic outdoor furniture for the city of Copenhagen which conveys the message of being ecologically sensitive. To design a furniture that can be readily identified by locals and foreigners alike and be associated with ecological Copenhagen in particular. The reasons why I chose that topic to focus on were the followings: An iconic piece that serves sort of as a landmark in the city has the tendency to stick in people’s mind, therefore, any interested person, actors on the market would get to know Inventarrum’s name if the product is successful. According to the Copenhagen X project (see: www.cphx.dk) the city has the aim of becoming the first Carbon Neutral City by 2025, and I think it would be worth having an image for this aim. A successful iconic street furniture that stands for this particular aim would serve as a reminder for people, and would perhaps encourage them to fulfill that aim by promoting itself through an everyday object. Foreigners would also more easily remember this quality of the city after having seen one representative icon. Inventarrum’s clients are locally based, it is advisable to address their needs.
Examples for the currently used rather romantic old-style ’Copenhagen Bench’
The message as well as the raison d’etre of the object is coherent and truthful only if environmentally friendly manufacturing procedures are met during its production. The life-cycle of the product and cradle-to-cradle considerations are therefore of much importance. These considerations include the choice of materials and technologies used, easy assembling and transportation, questions of maintenance and the product’s afterlife.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Iconic Outdoor Furniture ENZO in Museumsquartier Wien
New York’s Iconic bicycle stand
There are several examples for iconic street furniture around the world, I found two of them that were the most interesting from this current project’s point of view. ENZO, Museumsquartier’s iconic furniture in Vienna is a playful, coulrful modular object that has gained much popularity over the past few years. They are freely movable by the users, they can be used in a variety of ways such as a simple bench, a shelter, or a lounge, they also provide a playground for children. They encourage life and creativity on the sqaure merely by being huge colourful building blocks that everyone has an experience with from their childhood due to LEGO. They give an identity to the Museumsquartier, anyone who has been there remembers these inviting and outstanding objects scattered around. It is truely a landmark. New York’s new bicycle stand does not only function as a bench as well as a bicycle stand but it can easily be used as a graphic icon due to its simple form which can be associated with an elongated heart.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
PPS Placemaking
number of women, children & elderly
local business ownership
social networks
land-use patterns fun
volunteerism
diverse
evening use
property values
active
stewardship cooperative
street life
rent levels
vital special
neighborly
Sociability
interactive welcoming
Uses & Activities
Access & Linkages
proximity connected
transit usage
indigenous celebratory
safe clean “green”
Comfort & Image
walkable sittable spiritual
walkable
mode splits
measurements
sustainable
readable traffic data
intangibles
useful
Place
continuity
key attributes
real
pride friendly
retail sales
What Makes a Great Place?
Project for Public Spaces (www.pps.org) is an excellent forum as well as an organization that focuses on the question: What makes a public space work? They provide a chart - see on the left that summarizes their basic considerations about that question. From my point of view, it is interesting becuase a successful furniture should be able to facilitate and support all or some of the qualities listed. It should contribute to the life of its site in an organic way. It should be a coherent part of its environment and should be able to generate activities, social encounters and should also be able to provide comfort.
charming
convenient accessible
crime statistics
attractive historic
sanitation rating
pedestrian activity
building conditions
PPS
parking usage patterns
environmental data
PROJECT for PUBLIC SPACES
© 2003
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Public Life in Copenhagen My personal experience in Copenhagen shows that people do use the city’s natural environments, and they use it freely for their own different personal purposes. Apart from the widespread use of bicycles, people like to run, do different sports in the parks, play on playgrounds, have picnics, walk their dogs, sunbathe on the harbour beach, or just sit an relax, chat with their friends or read. Everyone is keen on looking forward to the good weather, and when it arrives, people just swarm out onto the open air. They do not hasitate to sit on the grass, on the wooden beach, or on the sand, occasionally, some would feel comfortable in just lying down and reade on the bare concrete street. Not much is needed, it seems, for the people of Copenhagen to feel comfortable in the open air once a clean, friendly and open environment is available for their own free use.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
City Semiotics ’a piece of the real world that stands for another piece of the real world’
Having the aim of making an object that would serve as a visual sign while being a bench at the same time, I observed the characteristics of wayfinding signs and other information carriers around the city. I would like to highlight two spots that are most typical in my point of view. One of them is TIETGEN KOLLEGIET, the other is the Black Diamond. Both buildings have been newly built, and both of them have very sophisticated signalling systems. Interestingly enough, although they are fully equipped with information carrying signs, the signs do not ’attack’ the visitor or the tenant. They do not ’shout’ at them. At neither of the two places does one feel as being overloaded by information. They are nicely, and discretely all around, and they integrate very well to their modestly elegant and refined environment. If one needs information, it’s there, but if one does not need any, he/she is not being disturbed by them. As a contrast, functional objects - such as chairs, mailboxes, and washing machines - do stick out from their immediate environments. Merely by displaying bright colours, the potential user easily notices them, and is encouaged to use them. Colours also serve to unconciously play on our momentary mood, and they also help us remember where we sit, where we wash our clothes, and where to look for our mails.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Initial Sketches - Functional Direction When I started to work on my project, initially I had three separate directions. A functional direction, and emotional direction, and a symbolic direction. My functional approach focused on combining the bicycle stand with a bench and on arriving at an icon derived from a functional form. I noticed that poeple prefer to put their bicycles behind benches, therefore, I started to sketch simple shapes, which by way of a linear repetiton of one simple module - much like extrusion - the object could provide a seating surface on one side and a bicycle stand on the other side.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Initial Sketches - Emotional Direction
Being inspired by the sight of animals, especially by different birds living in the city, I decided to focus on the figurative side of the object and address children first of all with my product. My aim was to pick a characteristic figure that would fulfill the functions of being a bench and a bicycle stand in a fun way, and would also be able to stand as a figurative graphic icon. Soon, this direction proved to be too complex for my simple iconic purposes.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Initial Sketches - Symbolic Direction Graphic Icon
Patterns As a third direction, I decided to focus on simple iconic modular shapes first, which can be arranged in various layouts and which can also easily be turned into a 3 dimensional form. Having drawn several small pictogams, I have found a sort of ’V-shape’ which due to its central 60-degree angle becomes a closed ’triangle’ in 3 pieces. It also closely associates with the well-known recycle symbol, therefore, I decided to keep this direction, and chose to work on this piece further.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Sketch Model - The 3D Icon The triangular form and its V-shape component parts have a very playful quality if the Vs’ ends make up an even sided square.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Structural / Functional Considerations I have considered a variety of different structural approaches which all all have their different advantages and disadvantages. Merging of Functions
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
Disassembling / Storage
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
Using IINVENTARRUM’s Facilities: using FSC wood by mounting it on a metal frame
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Hierarchy of Preferences
I want my object to be
1. A SIGN 2. ECOLOGICALLY SOUND 3. AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE 4. OF OPTIMAL WEIGHT 5 PLAYFUL IN USE 6. COLOURFUL 7. COMMUNICATIVE 8. DISASSEMBLABLE
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Shape and Dimensions I decided that the bench will have a tubular shape - open at all three ends, since for seating and support purposes only the top, bottom, left and right sides are neecessary. This way, the construction becomes lighter, easier to grab at if one wants to turn it around, and it could also provide further opportunities for children as well as for dogs to play. The seating surface is 46 cm above ground level, the longest side of the bench is 81 cm.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Overview of Various Ecological Solutions There are various aspects to ecological questions that one should simultaneously keep in mind. In Rebeca Proctor’s book called1000 New Eco Designs and Where to Find Them, I found a good summary of major factors. See on the left.
biodegradable
low energy
recycled
fairtrade
no toxins
low waste
locally sourced
recyclable
well managed resources
Analysis of Materials BAMBOO
CORK
CORIAN
+ hard, good for outdoors + light, no tree is cut down, + produced within reach, strong and static, excellent for making organic good for outdoors -- comes from far away, shapes -- fragile, requires surface expensive, -- very expensive requires maintenance treatment
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
METAL PLATE
HARD WOOD
+ friendly, good + good for outdoors, for oytdoors, easy to manufacture, within close reach -- cold in the winter, -- requires maintanence hot on the sun heavy
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Material and Construction
The Swiss company, ETERNIT AG manufactures this material in an efficient and ecologically sound way. They are able to produce Eternit in excellent quality and they also manufacture beautiful outdoor furniture out of it. Schwitzerland is within train reach to Copenhagen.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Eternit fiber cement is composed of: cement, limetstone powder, fibre, air, and water
42 x 32 cm 42 cm 8.0 kg
(has been completely free of asbestos for about 30 years). Plants like this material as it regulates humicity. There is no toxic off-gasing. The material is coloured all the way through there is no danger of the colour chipping or marking off. Extremerly durable, eventually 100% recyclable.
It has an optimal weight, my bench is about 3 times the size as this small stool, therefore, the weight of the object should be between 24 - 30 kg, which is suitable for an average person to turn around, push or pull. It’s not too light either, so the bench will not move too easily when people lean onto it.
RAL Colour Coding
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Placement / Potential Sites I imagine my bench to be placed in protected city parks, such as Frederiksberg Have Kongens Have FĂŚlledparken. In protected parks the bench is least likely to be stolen, it is taken cared of by the organization responsible for the park, and it will not drop into the sea either.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Use
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
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INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
I apply colour on the benches because I want them to be inviting. At the same time, while it is placed in nature, I also want it to harmonise with the environment, therefore, I would apply only a bit of paint, and leave the majority of the Eternit raw. The colours applied on one leg of the V-shape also echo the dinamic motion represented by the original recycle image.
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
Technical Drawings
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN BRIEF
RESEARCH
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT DETAILING
PRESENTATION
CONCLUSION I consider my project successful in that it manages to represent its own message, i.e. being ecologically sound. It is able to attract attention and provide a playful, colourful and inviting seating place, where one is encouraged to socialize, enjoy nature and to relax. It is able to provide fun for the children as well as for animals - they can enjoy the hollow inside of the bench. If several pieces are placed next to one another, the inside can become an exciting labyrinth. The construction and shape is simple, it is made only by using one material which can be 100% recycled. However, it is not able to be disassembled, and stored in a way that would save space during transportation. For this quality, further developments are needed. Whether the product could become successful, tests, and prototypes are required. And life should have its proof.
LIST OF SOURCES McDonough, William and Michael Braungarth. Cradle-to-Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. New York: North Point Press, 2002. Proctor, Rebecca. 1000 New Eco Designs and Where to Find Them. London, UK: Laurence King Publishing, 2009. Internet www.cphx.dk www.eternit.ch www.pps.org
1: 2 Scale Models I built of MDF