Furniture in Use!

Here we have some photoshopped pictures showing what our furniture would look like in real life. Its amazing how well they fit in, isn't it. Can't you just see youself playing cards in the atrium or chatting in the screened off area!

More Pictures!

Here are a few more pictures of or miniture furniture models so you can see how they interact with each othermore clearly. Not only are the individual pieces of furniture modular, they are also designed to fit together perfectly. However, this wouldn't be possible without the teamwork displayed by our design team. It wouldn't have worked this well without excellent communication of ideas.

These pictures also show our chaisse-lounge which we couldn't make a model of without a bandsaw. It is ergonomically designed to fit the curve of the body and only becomes more comfortable as it gets more used. This piece is also designed with a modular theme in mind,shown in the final picture. These relaxing chairs can easily be slotted together to form curved layouts perfect for social interaction and discussion.

The chaisse-lounge is also very flexible, as it can fill many other roles. They can slot together to form a backdrop to a stage. They can be used in conjunction with the screen to form a more complete barrier. It also has all the advantages that come with being made of cardboard. They are strong and caneasily be disposed of when they become too worn.

We have started work on the model of the chaisse lounge, and cannot wait to see the finished results

PICTURES

Here are some pictures of the downsized models we created!

The chair created, was designed by Adam Keilthy and is modular in a way that a few of these chairs are stack able and will store neatly in a room.

The space itself is very flexible. For example, the space can be set up anywhere, anytime. Also, the screen can be bent and flexed to suit the area you are in.

This furniture is very ecologically friendly as it is all made from a recyclable material. This material is cardboard which is extremely hard wearing and strong if placed together the correct way.Once the chairs become worn or tatty the waste Product can simply be recycled.

The design of the desk was thought up by Rob Newman and Harry Spain and the Screen by Sarah Twaddell, but the designs wouldn't have been modified into what they are now without a great deal of teamwork.

The team was proud of their weeks work on the project and we look forward to gathering all our work and condensing it onto the final presentation sheet!

YIPEE!

VIDEO :P

Solid Stuff

Tuesday 9th February: Solid works

Today after yesterdays inspiration playing with K'nex and other building materials we created chairs on solid works. We came up with some interesting, hard wearing designs which we will begin to make on a smaller scale from cardboard tomorrow! It helps to draw what you are going to make to scale first so that the measurements on your finished product are correct!

We used the Metric Design book to get the measurements the chairs should be. In the end we came up with some really interesting yet simple designs and got positive feed back from Grainne.

Some of the 'Dead Areas' in the School

Watch this space for a brief explanation, to be done tomorrow

Pupils Plunge into Project Preparation

Monday 8th February : Brainstorming Begins ...again ;) As the class is out undertaking two weeks of work experience, not everyone is working on the project at present. However, we are keeping in contact with everyone via text, e-mail etc. Currently, four students are working with our two architects during this week and our first meeting was today.

The main subject of conversation was narrowing our ideas down. This was surprisingly easy considering we had so many ideas originally! We broke the design down into materials, furniture and technology.

On the concept of materials we seem to have one prominent 'textile' which is affordable, light weight and recyclable. The principal idea with the furniture is to have it modular and adaptable to any area or space, and the primary ideas for technology are having computers easily accessible for both teachers and students.

We have decided on creating our learning space as a zone used during break time or between classes as these are the times when students are not in a class room. It has been proven in our school that there is few places for the students to go during break time which have suitable seating, insulation and entertainment. However, there are some 'dead spaces' we have located which would be perfect for transforming into an interactive area.

Our wonder material is cardboard! Light weight, low cost, easy to work with. Our team of four, with the help of Mr Timmins, have collected loads of scrap card board which we will be cutting and forming into small scale sized pieces of furniture.

Harry and Adam are experimenting with 3d shapes on solid works and Rob is creating shapes from K'nex and other building materials, Sarah is sketching ideas for furniture and updating the blog. We will also be making a video of us making the carboard furniture and playing it double speed, so look out for that as it will be up soon!

IDEAS!

Some ideas:

A moving learning space: A bus or tram designed for studying? A moving library?
A building in the shape of letters?
A boat that is designed for studying?
An underwater pod that runs on a circuit...for single use to study?

Mood Board

SolidWorks Table

What are the mood boards for?

We were all required to create a mood board on something that we thought we could acquire inspiration from. People made all different types of mood boards from ones on water, to ones on robots.
After making these boards, we used them in the initial brainstorm for our group projects. We all found them suprisingly helpful...

People are now putting them up.

Mood Board... Can people please use capital when they post?!

click to see full mood board

A Solidworks drawing of a possible future workstation

Team ADAN

We met today with Nicola and Grainne to present our concept for a space for learning. We took our idea from an image of a decagonal coke can we found

Our building was to be shaped like the image of the coke can we found. It had three floors and was made of alternating panels of solid walls and glass.

The ground floor was a display area to showcase students' work. It was a wide oden area with panels for mounting work on and screens for showing slideshows of models and digital work. It had wide stairs going round the room up to the next floor. theses stairs also had book cases along the walls for storage.

The next floor up was a classroom area. It was split into two areas. One area was laid out like a lecture theatre with a circle of screens at the centre. This area is for presentations and lectures.The other area was a semicirular tiered arrangement of desks for practical work. The desks were made of crushed cans coated with glass with a storage compartment at the side.

The next floor was a relaxation area. This area has desks made of recycled road signeds and chair made of cardboard and shaped to your body. It also has hanging lighting with multicoloured glass bottles covering the bulbs. The glass walls on this floor and the ground floor are also made of broken glass bottles to create coloured effects.

The roof is also accesible by coming up through the "hole in the can". The tab of the can was a viewing platform and the roof could also be used as a relaxation space.

We managed to fill a board with illustrations and I think ours was the most interesting.

Mood Board :)

As part of brainstorming our ideas, we created mood boards of certain colours, shapes, objects and lighting that inspired us.

Team Flog

Today Grainne and Nicola came into our class today to look at the stuff we had been designing. We learned that our furniture should be modular and should have space to be stored. Natural light is also important to have in a classroom. They were impressed with our solidworks drawing of the table. Harry also did some sketches of the building. there was plan views of bothe the interior and exterior. there was a bi window in the roof

team Harry, Katie, Niamh and Conor

we presented our design today to Grainne and Nicola and the class. we talked about how we got our concept from the wave and how we tied it into our design. we put together a poster showing our ideas for our possible work space. from our mood board on water we explored the idea of the wave and we tried to incorporate into as much of our design as possible. we also wanted an open plan space with different spaces for varius activities. we all talked obout the different aspects of our design. we really like this project because it gives us a chance to work as a team, explore achitecture as a career and have fun with different ideas.

Team S.S.S

Today we presented our ideas on the optimum space for learning to Nicola and Grainne. Our idea came from the concept of a semi circle. Basically it's a moduler semi circle where the walls fold back and forth and the storage is a take on the game of tetris, meaning you can assemble and disassemble it to your liking. By having our room adaptable it allows for multi purpose use.

We split into three different sections leaving Stephen in charge of furniture, Simon in charge of technology and Sarah in charge of form. The presentation went well and we and the architects were impressed with the other groups ideas, eventhough ours was the best. ;D

Team ADAN - Solidworks Table

An idea for a table: crushed cans and glass with storage for TD equipment

Survey Results

Things to include

In your space, think about the following things:
-Who will be using it? roughly 10-15 people
- What activities will it be used for?
- Is it an IT area?
-What size is it? Can that change to include more people?
- Where is is located? On school grounds?
- Is it a new structure or an extension?
-Would the seafront or a park help create the spaces atmosphere?
-How do you access it?
-How do the daylight affect it? Which way does the sun shine on it?
-If their were screens, is there a way of blocking out light?
- What is their a view of? Is this distracting?
-What intersting materials can you use? recyclable? How will it look?
- What way will the furniture be laid out?
- Is it sustainable?
-Would plants help create a good atmosphere? In a tree? Underground?
- Is it accessible to everybody? Wheelchair? Visually impaired?

Wednesday 20th Jan

today we met with Grainne and Nicola again. We discussed our mood boards and the results of our suvey. We heard about the guidlines of what we have to submit in more detail. We were split into 3 groups with people interested in IT, form and furniture design in each group. Each group will come up with a series of ideas which involves each of the details above to present next wednesday.
The groups are as follows:
Group 1: Conor(IT), Niamh(form), Harry (furniture and interior), Katie (furniture and interior)
Group 2: Sarah(furniture and interior), Stephen (form), Simon(IT)

Group 3: Rob(IT), Harry Spain(form), Don(furniture and interior)
Group 4: Darragh(IT), Adam(Form), Nicola,Aoife(Furniture and Interior.)

Survey

1. The layout of the desks in the classroom contributes to my learning
2. Moving between classrooms should be free flowing and easy access
3. The colours on the walls stimulate my learning
4. Having lots of windows in a class room can lead to distraction
5. Comfort is an important factor in a classroom
6. Dimmer switches on lights would create a better learning environment
7. Durable carpet is the best flooring material for a classroom
8. Learning environments should rely only on natural light
9. Being relaxed is more important than being alert in a learning environment
10. Classroom furniture should be more comfortable than durable
11. Technology is a very important factor in a learning environment
12. A good learning environment should be flexible and allow for multi purposes
13. Acoustics are important in a learning environment
14. I find listening to music improves my learning
15. A warm temperature rather than a cold one promotes my intake of information

Participants were asked to circle a number from 1-5 for each question, 1 meaning they strongly disagree with the statement and 5 meaning they strongly agree with it.

Contacts

Please keep in contact to keep project from stagnating and continue please post ideas on this blog!

petertimmins2002@yahoo.co.uk

niamhlowney246@hotmail.com
stevob321@gmail.com
conorscully@hotmail.com
awk7@eircom.net

Work Timetable

Wednesday 20th January:
Meet with Grainne and Nicola to discuss ideas and direction. Decide on a brief for project.

Wednesday 27th January:
Pool design ideas and discuss. Decide on final direction.

1st to 5th February:
Grainne and Nicola will work on design proposal

8th to 12th February:
Students not on work experience will assist design team by producing models of design. 8th February, meet at office to discuss and design presentation. Friday 12th, G and N will review work and get it ready for submission.
*G and N would like students to work from school as they will not be able to accomodate them.

15th to 19th February:
G and N will carry out final presentation

Friday 26th February:
Submission of project

Project Overview

On Wednesday the 13th, we had an initial meeting about the project with our resident architechts, Grainne and Nicola. Out of the neeting, we decided that the buzzwords to consider when designing a space for learning were:
1. Views
2. Light
3. Colour
4. Durability
5. Layout
6. Materiels
7. Temperature
8. Mood
9. Layout
10. Location
11. Circulation
12. Form