Design Engineering Sport

DESIGN ENGINEERING

Year 12 Side Table Project

After an almost two-year hiatus from practical work, the Year 12 Design Engineering cohort were tasked with utilising recycled and sustainable materials to create a unique side table. In a short 8-week period from design to fruition, students embraced the Dunstonian vision to aim to be a carbon neutral institution by using the old science benches for timber. The African Hardwood Iroko is known for its rich colour and grain. After some dedicated planning and sanding to remove decades of varnish and wear, the timber was reinvigorated and brought back to its natural decorative state. The tabletops were individually cast from GFRC (or glass fibre reinforced concrete). The material, often viewed as brutal or crude has been elevated to a marbleesque finish through a specialist casting process and subsequent polishing and waxing. The outcomes: although varied in their style, all champion the idea that we must strive to elongate the life cycle of all material through innovation as designers.