Isokon Donkey Ralph Shuttleworth
BRIEF Design and manufacture to a high quality prototype stage, a specific furniture typology - the portable free-standing storage form - as typified by the Penguin Donkey, suitable for current lifestyles. The design must be able to be produced using the technology of CNC routing, although you may choose to make your donkey prototype using gigs, where necessary, and hand-routing machines.
ISOKON Isokon plus are the current manufacturers of the Isokon furniture, in particular the 3 Donkeys. Isokon made their mark in the design world by using laminations in their furniture, and celebrating the flexibility and aesthetics of plywood as a material for fine furniture. Their furniture trypically uses a combination of plywood types, to provide structure and surfaces. The most iconic may be the isokon long chair (pictured) designed by Marcel Breuer in 1936. This design uses thick laminated pieces at each side to form the structure, and thinner
ISOKON DONKEY RANGE The Isokon Donkey was first designed by Egon Riss in 1939 specifically to hold the new paperback Penguin books. A donkey is a small piece of furniture to hold items which can be accessed from both sides. More recent versions have evolved into a small side/ coffee table. In 1963, Ernest Race redesigned the iconic Penguin Donkey introducing solid wood and painted surfaces, which were not in the original 1939 design. Isokon Plus then worked with Shin & Tomoko Azumi in 2003 to create the most recent iteration of the Donkey, updating the design to a simple flat topped book store.
MARKET The Isokon Donkeys have no direct competitors, the closest resemblance would be from coffee tables. Donkeys are best suited to be in the centre of the room, rather than up to a wall. The target market for this would be an affluent user, with an interest in design, possibly living in a smaller city centre house, as donkeys are good for effiencent movable storage.
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY In an attempt to stay true to the path the Isokon Donkey is taking, I wanted to create a relatively universal donkey which could be used to hold various things within a domestic lounge setting. The efficiency of space within the Penguin donkey particularly intrigued me and influenced my initial ideas These initial sketches show the starting point of my design, showing the single homogenous shape, and large feature laminations, that are within my final design.
SKETCHES I used sketching to mark down and develop general ideas, which I could then make scale models of. I would use modelling and sketching simultaniously to further develop my concepts. These show the process by which I arrived at the final sketch model designs.
SKETCH MODELS These 1:10 scale models show the development of my design, establishing my concepts of using a single outer laminated shape, to house the storage in. I used this modelling to also judge the possible weaknesses within the structure, and by adding panels and curves, could eliminate them to form a stable donkey.
MODELLING After deciding on the general design, I continued using card modelling to develop the details of the design, in particular, the joinery and preportions. The 3 models pictured at the front of the lower pictures show the development of an single outer wrap piece, to form a sweeping outline.
1:1 CARDBOARD PROTOTYPE Constructing a 1:1 scale prototype was highly beneficial for assessing material thickness, overall size and structural stability, all of which cannot be easily done using small models or CAD. This is where it became apparent that to have a single large lamination would be difficult to make the prototype and in manufacture, which led me to redesign it to use 2 smaller laminations, to create a single larger shape within the donkey.
CAD MODELLING In order to define the sizes and ensure the design could be manufactured using CNC Machines, I created a 3D model on SolidWorks, which I could manipulate the design easily and quickly, without the need for a physical model to be changed. I also used this modelling stage, alongside more full scale card modelling, to finalise the two laminations. The end result of which is 2 pieces which are made using the same mould, with one inverted vertically to create a rhombus shape within the final design.
FINAL CONCEPT This Donkey has a flat surface which can be used as a coffee table, and possibly as a seat, however this is discouraged by the raised sections at the joins, and the sweeping curves of the ends. The storage space within the shape is efficiently used, with little wasted space, which was a primary factor in the design of the first Penguin Donkey. The open spaces allows the user to fill it with a variety of things, such as books, laptops, magazines, blankets etc. Having the top protrude from the means it is ideal for use next to as it can be pushed close to or making it easy to reach anything Donkey.
main body at one side, an armchair or sofa, against the seating, placed ontop of the
PRODUCING THE PLYWOOD PROTOTYPE Using Birch plywood and Aero-ply, I created a prototype to finalise the deisgn, and test the preposed manufacturing methods, as the piece must be able to be created using CNC machines and mould laminations. My CAD model was used to cut my flat pieces from 9mm and 12mm plywood, using a CNC router.
MANUFACTURING THE PROTOTYPE The manufacturing process is in 2 main parts, the centre assembly, and the outer laminations. The centre is easily assembled using the housing joints cut using the CNC machine, and can be easily glued and clamped due to its parallel surfaces. The side laminations require glueing and claming in a bagpress or jig. When cured, the side pieces can be cut to size, which then distinguishes the two different sides. After shaping, they can be attached to the centre assembly using glue and dowel joinary if necessary, I found strap clamps useful for clamping the angles and curves, however in manufacture this could be done using a simple jig.
FINAL CONCEPT My final prototype shows the sweeping curved outer shape which holds the shelving and legs within. It successfully utilises all the space available, and is unrestrictive enough to allow the user to store a wide variety of things on it. It follows in the footsteps of the previous Isokon Donkeys in its general form, efficiency of space, and panier inspired aesthetic. My aim was to create a donkey sympathetic to the previous designers, while maintaining a contemporary and orignial design, which utilies and celebrates the plywood/CNC construction methods.
EVALUATION I am confident that my deisgn fits the brief in an interesting and sympathetic way. I am pleased by the overall form and structure of my Donkey as it allows for flexible use within the home. I tried to encorporate the panier type design exhibited in the first and second donkey, which I think was successful. I would like to refine the details slightly more, as some aspects, such as the width of the legs and fit of the central divider could be improved. The width of the donkey as a whole, was a well debated aspect, and I would want to produce a variety of width wooden prototypes before moving to production. The laminated pieces in my prototype did not fit properly, and so didnt line up quite as well as intended. This would be easy to rectify for production, as it is the result of an rudimentary mould. Having looked in depth at the current Isokon range, I think my deisgn fits well within it, due to its simple construction (with only 8 components) and smooth curved form.