Project Five: Functional Construction

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Project Five: Functional Construction

DESCRIPTION

In teams of two or three, design and construct a chair out of a prescribed material that is capable of being assembled un-aided and of supporting my weight. The prescribed material is reclaimed 1/4” Coroplast fluted polypropylene. I will provide two 48” x 96” sheets per team. You may not introduce any other material, with the exception of fasters, packaging and assembly instructions.

The chair must be delivered disassembled and packed flat. You must provide any required packaging, along with instructions that permit another team to assemble your chair without aid. The chair will then be tested for strength and ergonomics by me, and critiqued by the entire class.

Note that the packaging and the instructions are a design opportunity equal to the chair itself.

IKEA furniture provides an obvious precedent for certain aspects of this project, but you are encouraged allow your design to be influenced by the functional, formal and conceptual characteristics of other precedents. Several possibilities will be presented and discussed in class.

There are no specific process requirements for this project. You are responsible for ensuring that your design is progressing adequately and for maximizing your time with me. It is highly recommended that you construct a full-scale mock-up of your design out of a comparable material (such as corrugated carboard) prior to constructing your final artifact.

Part 1: Due Monday, December 7 at 4:30PM

Your Coroplast chair, packaged for distribution to another team to assemble without aid.

Part 2: Due Thursday, December 10 at 4:30PM

A single blog post, containing: a curated selection of process material; three representative photographs of your Coroplast chair, and at least one image each of your packaging and your assembly instructions.

EVALUATION

Part 1:

Functional Construction (load-bearing ability; ease of assembly; quality of construction; ergonomics): /8

Packaging and Instruction (graphic design clarity and style; conceptual consistency and interest): /8

Impact (physical and rhetorical presentation; subjective and transcendental qualities): /6

Part 2:

Blog Post (comprehensiveness and curation): /3

Total: /25