design portfolio of
STEVEN
BUKOWSKI industrial design
CONTENTS Transplanter
BFA thesis exhibition Blamp Guerillabode Butterdose A.M.P. Sake set Résumé
URBAN FARMING: TRANSPLANTER
PROBLEM STATEMENT
The alienation inherent in modern food production and urban design effects people in a negative way socially, economically, and emotionally. This stems from both environments which do not allow the people to interact with the community and instead remain isolated and disconnected.
RESEARCH BRIEF & CONCLUSION
IDEATION
A thorough survey revealed important information about urban gardening and urban dwellers’ patterns of thought regarding this issue. It was boiled down to these main points:
The product must be... - A tool for interaction. - A tool for creating social space. - A tool for growing food. I began looking into tesselations and patterns in nature for modular solutions that allow for flexability of space.
People would like to re-connect with their community and nature. People would like to save money on food. Most yards have inadequate sunlight or room to grow. Rooftops have potential to support plant life and serve as community space.
Hypothesis A product that uses or creates a social space (rooftop) in which to engage one another through the practice of urban gardening. How can it counter the negative effects of an alien living environment and food production system while also creating an economically viable way of producing one’s own food to reconstruct the lost connections to food and community?
SOLUTION: TRANSPLANTER
A way to connect with community. The means to grow food. A space for interaction.
MULTIPURPOSE & MODULAR
Seat
Planting bed
Arrange to fit needs of community and maximize space.
STACKABILITY & NESTING
STARTER POTS Nests in handles when outdoors. Recycled paper fiber - decomposes when planted in large bed. Simple way to start sprouts indoors or outside.
Easy to transport or store.
Maximizes vertical space.
TRANSPLANTER
MATERIAL PROPERTIES Ceramic foam is a stiff, lightweight, porous material. Manufacturing techniques include impregnating open-cell polymer foams or organic material internally with ceramic slip and then firing in a kiln, leaving only ceramic material. This allows for thinner walls and a lighter, stronger product. It also cuts costs and time because single firings are possible.
5 mm
BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS: THESIS EXHIBITION
URBAN GROWING COLLECTIVE The Urban Growing Collective (UGC) was founded in 2009 by Steven Bukowski, Timothy Skehan and Trevor Marzella. UGC is a collaborative project that is working toward sustainable political and ecological conditions. For my thesis exhibition, I chose to present work I had been doing for the collective. This work included 3 main things: zines, seed sprouts and seed bombs for free distribution. I was interested in giving viewers the means to interact with the exhibition, while providing an extension outside of it through the objects I supply, thus becoming participants in an effort to green the urban landscape. There were two different zines (100 of each) that were designed and assembled by hand: A Basic Guide for Practicing Random Acts of Gardening and Plant Life & Pollutant Remediation. Seed sprouts intended for guerilla gardening were mostly vegetables (30 of each) such as spinach, fennel, scallion, and kale, but also included moss. They were grown and distributed in recycled paper planters. Seed bombs were made from dry soil, spent coffee grounds and fresh seeds that were pressed into a mold. They were molded to look like a chocolate bar for the functional properties — pieces could be broken off one at a time to be tossed. These seed bombs used specific types of seeds: plants that act as phytoremediators, or plants that suck toxins from the soil and ground water. The tables in the space were made from upcycled doors and pallets and the placards used recycled cardboard and paper.
ZINES
Zines shared tips and strategies for guerilla gardening and provided information on plants that can be used to suck toxins from soil and ground water (phytoremediator).
PLANT SPROUTS
Plant sprouts gave visitors an opportunity to start a garden or practice guerilla gardening.
SEED BOMBS
Seed bombing is an easy and cheap way to distribute plants all over the city. Just toss them into an abandoned lot and in a few weeks it’ll be green. These basic seed bombs contained sunflower and pine seeds - two excellent phytoremediators.
OTHER PROJECTS
BLAMP Blamp is constructed so that light is emitted only through the X,Y, and Z axes. Blamp only truly functions in a perfectly dark room because of the shape of light emitted through the axes. It also imposes and simultaneously calls into question the idea and function of a lamp. It is not nearly bright enough to use functionally. This encourages closer inspection of the object and emphasizes the source of light.
GUERILLABODE Guerillabode is a terra cotta birdhouse meant to be installed in the urban environment through guerilla actions. Because it is hollow on the backside it is meant to be applied with construction adhesive for quick installation on a building, wall, bridge, etc. Since terra cotta is a low-fire material, it is breathable and a suitable, tough material for this type of use and application.
BUTTERDOSE Inspired by the French butter crock, Butterdose allows one to keep their butter on the counter without going bad. It is designed to fit a normal stick of butter instead of a dollop, like the French version.
How it works
The bottom piece is filled a little bit with water, while the butter is placed into the top piece. When they are put together the top and bottom form an air-tight seal because of the water, which in turn keeps the butter soft and fresh. Butterdose is made of high-fire cast porcelain.
top butter water bottom
A.M.P.: AUDIO MAGNIFICATION PROJECTOR AMP allows iPhone users to amplify their music without using traditional speakers. By employing natural properties of reverberation, the porcelain dish amplfies the sound up to two times.
AMP also has a small hole near the bottom that lets users connect their cord to charge or sync.
SAKE SET
This sake set features a two-piece tray. It elevates the Tokkuri (sake server) so a tealight can keep the sake warm.
tokkuri ochoko ceramic tray tealight wood base
The set is made of high-fire porcelain and a reclaimed wood base.
STEVEN BUKOWSKI.COM
BUKOWSKI.STEVEN@GMAIL.COM
INDUSTRIALDESIGN
716.907.0515
Objective A position as an industrial designer for a small studio utilizing knowledge and skills in a variety of materials and technologies.
Education May 2010: BFA Industrial Design - Cleveland Institute of Art
Related experience June 2010-Present: Production assistant - Perch! Ceramics, Brooklyn, NY Spring 2009: Sponsored project - Fisher-Price, baby products Summer 2009: freelance, UltraNeedle Eagle Eye, Medical device, Dr. P. Bigeleisen MD 2008: Wood shop assistant
Other experience 2009 - 2010: Gallery Assistant at SPACES Gallery, Cleveland, OH 2009 - 2010: Gallery Assistant at Reinberger Galleries, Cleveland, OH
Software & skills Adobe Illustrator CS4 Adobe InDesign CS4 Adobe Photoshop CS4 Autodesk Showcase 2010 Studio Tools Alias 2011 ceramic/porcelain/plaster mold-making & casting drafting/sketching model building sewing wood bending & lamination
Activities & achievements 2010 - CIA President’s Traveling Scholarship - finalist, 1 of 20 2010 - 64th annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition Co-chair 2010 - 64th annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition - featured work 2010 - Prizm Art Award - Student Independent Exhibiton 64 2009 - Billes Products International Design Contest - finalist, 1 of 10 2009 - 63rd annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition 2009 - CIA Award for Excellence in Industrial Design - featured work 2008 - F.ID industrial design furniture show 2007 - H.T. Greenlee Honorary Scholarship for Excellence in Industrial Design 2006 - CIA portfolio grant 2006 - Community for a Greater Buffalo scholarship
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