Exhibition Research

Be4U- Furniture Design History

NGV Visit

Exemplar- Shigeru Ban

The Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban is infamous for his use of paper where many of his works primarily rely on this inherently weak material to form the structure of the building. The paper can be manipulated into a variety of shapes such as tubes, honeycomb panels and membranes to create sturdy well-developed structures. In doing so Ban overtly challenges the relationship between strength and sustainability where he explores the innate characteristics of specific materials.

Emergency Shelters in Rwanda

-       Ban designed three prototype shelters that primarily used paper tubes as the frame and a plastic overhead sheet for weather protection. This design was not only ethical in principle as it was inexpensive and easy to transport but it also solved an important environmental issue as refugees had

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previously been forced to cut down trees to build their shelters creating massive deforestation problems.

The Japan Pavilion for the Hannover Exhibition

-       Was constructed from a grid-shell structure of three-dimensional curves that were constructed from paper tubes. A recyclable paper membrane was constructed for the roof. Unlike the common membranes that incorporated the substance PVC that emits toxins when burnt, Ban invented unique water resistant and fire retardant paper roofing, which could be correctly disposed of.

Esquisse Four- Understanding Form

This week’s task was a lot of fun! Having formed groups in class we endeavoured to find a solution to the task at hand, which was to create a structure that would support the weight of a person. Having created a locking system in the previous weeks task I had an idea in my head as to what I wanted to achieve. Though this time it was not as simple, as the scale was a lot larger and ideally we wanted to create a back to our chair. We started off doing some sketches where we experimented with the idea of a grid system, but I soon moved on the paper as I found it an easier tool to work with.

The paper ended up being simply easier to configure in comparison to the cardboard, as I found the thin material was more flexible at a small scale. About half way into the class I began to construct a square pattern that solely relied on the concept of folding. I found the fold to be very sturdy and as I played around with the squares it turned out to be quite effective. Back at home after class I came up with a pattern that was derived from squares and triangle that folded together to create a chair with a back and arms, which took a similar form to the standard ‘sofa’. The pattern was then transformed into a 1:1 scale where the squares were 400mm x 400mm.

Materials which helped me along the way was the masking tape which proved to be a saviour in disguise, as it allowed me whilst I was designing with paper to stick squares together where a fold was needed instead of having to cut out the entire pattern again. The metal ruler was fantastic for scoring the cardboard to create a fold and the measuring tape proved to be handy when ruling lines at a large scale. Though when trying to shove bicycle boxes into my sisters Nissan, I could have done with a larger car!

All in all, I thought it was a successful project and a comfortable chair! 

Esquisse Two- Understanding Form

I found this task quite challenging and in the end had to surrender to a “not so perfect” design. At the beginning I tried to create a system that only relied on one join as I could foresee that the locking system being trailed around me was not going to hold the four sides together. Although it is wise to put “pen to paper” before “knife to card”, I found that a little too much thinking was simply a good waste of time and that sometimes it is best to just make the mistake and then subsequently learn from it.

After looking at the clock and realizing that two hours had passed and I had absolutely nothing to show except for a few lines and numbers that were of little use, I subsided to the four sided joining system. Frustrated and annoyed mixed in with a rapid loss of concentration I decided to talk to “the friendly man sitting in the corner” who was completing his masters (sorry, can’t remember his name). He suggested that perhaps I should tackle it from the inside rather than the outside.

After leaving class I experimented with a few locking systems that worked from the centre of the pyramid rather than the four sides. Finally I came up with a two-piece triangle that interlocked and mounted to the base of the pyramid. Once in place the mini triangle had four “keys” that individually locked into the “keyholes” on the four sides of the pyramid.

In theory the locking system worked but in the end what let me down was a “not so perfect” pyramid design, which I think was perhaps a result of slighting off measurements or untidy cutting.  

Esquisse One: Understanding Material

This week’s task was all about PRACTISE, PRACTISE, PRACTISE! The task at hand was to create a cube using four different folds. A concept I had originally thought to be rather easy turned out to be more time consuming than I’d thought. After hacking away at the cardboard for a good hour, I soon realised that precision and neatness was the key, as 1mm out could be the difference between a 90degree angle and an 80degree angle. After testing the more “difficult” folds several times I decided to take the plunge and use my last piece of cardboard.

My final cube in the end was quite successful, not quite perfect as one of the sides ended up being a few mm longer than the other three, but none the less a good start! 

Esquisse Three- Locking Systems

I really enjoyed this week’s task and it was the quickest one I’ve completed to date! I originally started off creating a triangular corrugated system that interlocked. I then realised that a complex design was really not necessary and that a simple join created a sturdy lock. From here I expanded my idea by encapsulating this join within a box, to then realise that the join itself made the box weaker as it meant that slits had to be cut in the centre of the object. Having done a full circle in the span of 1hr I scrapped the joining system and focused on the method of folding to create a sturdy box.

Having achieved a simple folding system all that was needed now was something to hold it together. Having made two semi-circles on either side I cut a strip of cardboard to create a band that wrapped around half the box and folded over both the holes. The band worked really well in that the band was held in place by the tight fold of the box.

All in all I thought this weeks design was quite successful and all though I may not weigh 100kg, it was pretty damn strong!