-diplom_exhibition-

well, ladies and gentlemen ...i did it, i actually finshed my diplom project and set it up in the exhibition hall 30 min before the deadline. yes, i too am amazed. here are a few photos i took before sleeping for 14 hours.

-plywood_model-

according to my mental time plan, i would have had the plywood prototype finished by the beginning of this week. well, that didn't quite work out. last week was the 'werkstadt woche', which means all the tables and boxes and such were being built for the exhibition ...which means the table saw was constantly being used by different people. so, i was dumb and tried to work during the day while all the people were working. basically i got next to nothing accomplished.

on saturday i decided it was time to switch to night shifts when the workshop would be empty, or near empty. by working nights and sleeping days on saturday and sunday i was able to finish the plywood prototype, but now i still have to get the leather cut and glue that shiat...

as always it will be a close call, but i should be able to get it all done..

-sunday-

-patterns+samples-

today i worked on the leather pattern for the chair and made some sample variations for the wood finish.



from left to right the samples are: white stain, waxed and linseed oil. i think the white stain looks terrible. i like the waxed and the linseed oil, but perhaps the linseed oil is too yellowish... tomorrow the high gloss white version will be done and i can compare that to the rest.

-…no_wait,_there_are_problems-

apparently, there is still a problem with the stability of the chair. when pressure to the seat area is applied away from the wall, the mdf flexes, allowing the chair to pivot over the circled corner. when the chair pivots over that corner, the front of the chair loses contact with the floor, allowing it to move away from the wall. i hope that a slight adjustment in the form, combined with the added strength of the leather will provide enough stiffness to stop this pivoting. unfortunately, i will only know if this works after the first plywood/leather prototype is built.

-the_solution-

i made a test with the 3mm leather to see if it would take bending over multiple angles and miter joints. it held for the initial test, but i'll set it in a bent position over a longer period of time.





as discussed in the last review, i tested out the idea of hanging the chair to the wall give it the additional support it needs. this worked out quite well, but i am really not that keen on the idea of requiring a wall-mounted plate to support what the chair structually can't handle.





after testing wall mount it was clear that it could be a solution, but i still wanted an better, more fitting fix than one which required drilling holes in the wall. a simple way was to join the backrest with the seat (the point where the most instability was at this point) and see where it goes from there. at first i just joined the backrest and seat with a triangle which ran parallel to the wall. surprisingly this was all it needed to hold. however, to be more true to the form i adjusted the new triangle's position to flow into the wall more, like the backrest. this not only solved the stability of the chair, but did it in a way which doesn't require drilling, gives adequate support and improved comfort to the chair.

-mdf_prototype_complete-

for the mdf prototype i glued cloth to the joints instead of leather. obviously the cloth doesn't react in the same way the leather does, but it holds quite well and is much cheaper.





i didn't have time to make the edge connections as i would've liked before the review, so i just used zip ties to connect the edges.

after finishing the mdf prototype my greatest fear turned out to be true. the thin material doesn't have a large enough contact surface where the mitered edges meet.

last friday we also had the final review of our project before the deadline. we came to the conclusion that the best, or perhaps, most fitting way to fix the problem was to "hang" the chair onto the wall. i'm not totally happy with this idea, but i'll see what comes out of it. i need to get the final design finished so i can start on the final prototype next week. this leaves me with one week to finish the prototype and one week to finish the graphics for the exhibition.

-leather tests-

today i got some leather samples from a local leather company and from our material stock in the school. from the leather company i got two styles of furniture leather, which is used just for covering padded furniture. from the school i got some 3mm thick leather used for cantilever-style chairs. i made a view test glueing the leather to birch plywood using wood glue and contact adhesive. the furniture leather, 1mm-1.2mm thick, seems to have too much stretch. while the 3mm thick leather the definately strong enough, but is perhaps so stiff that it won't be able to handle multiple bends at different angles. difference in glue was minimal, but i will test the maximum stress points tomorrow after the glue has had a good 24 hours to cure.



since i find the 3mm leather too thick, i made a second test with some 2mm belt leather that i have. the belt leather seems to be a good comprimise between the furniture and the 3mm. now i just need to find a good/cheap leather supplier in switzerland ...haha ...'cheap in switzerland'.

***edit***
everytime i mentioned 3mm leather, i meant 4mm and everytime i mentioned 2mm, i meant 3mm.

-mdf_prototype…-

the work on the mdf-prototype continues ...slowly, but ...slowly.

-prototype (beta)-

recently i've been working on an mdf prototype that hopefully will stand without the foam support. i just hope i can find a good way to stabilize everything. after making approximate measurements of the angled surfaces of the chair; i continued by testing each measurement on scrap wood before making the final cuts in the 8mm mdf. the first plywood prototype will use 9mm birch plywood (for the mdf-prototype, 8mm was the closest we have in stock at the school). so far some problems arose in the area where many of the mitred edges meet, which i had expected.

-angles!!-

should i take the time to try and round the angles up or down? …i think it might cause more problems and trouble than if i were to just leave it as it is.

-breaking the form-

i decided the best way to get away from the triangular forms is to break it up with another form. since i wanted to integrate padding of some type, it gives me the opportunity to use a different material as a graphic element. here are some of the experiments with patterns with cardboard models.

-workin' ...for the man-

today and the next two days i'll be working at my part-time job in domushaus book store. for me it a great place to work: good pay, not too much stress and access to all the newest books. plus in these summer months it's not that busy and i'm able to check out the tons of books at will.

-grcic made me do it!-

yesterday was the second review of our projects and i presented the 1:1 model of the chair. everything went really well, frédéric (instructor) and jörg boner (expert) found the chair very comfortable and the prinicple of konstruction/folding quite interesting. there was only one problem, and i knew it would come to this; when looking at the form of the chair with all its triangular surfaces one is directly reminded of konstantin grcic and his 'chair one'. during the process of making the form one part of me was saying that this form is too close to the design of grcic and one side was saying that the triangle is the best shape of this asymmetrical folded volume.

basically the concensus is: i need to rethink the shapes of the form and see where i can make changes to 'get the grcic out'. frédéric and jörg said that it wasn't bad that the form reminds one of grcic, but it would be much better when one can look at my chair and think of me, not grcic.

-un_fold-

the process of unfolding has begun. i tried another variation, but that required some parts to over-lap when unfolded, which i don't want.

-the shell-

today was a short one, but i was fairly efficient. i finished making "shell" around the foam form in 4mm mdf (medium denisty fiberboard). the next step is to find the best location to cut it apart the shell and make a small paper model to test the best way to fold it.

-forming…sit…forming…sit…-

the form of the chair is coming along well, i'm starting to like it more now that i connected it to the corner. however, triangular shapes are quite 'fashionable' in the modern design and architecture scene. therefore i'm a bit afraid that the form will come across as trying to fit into the latest trend. for me, the triangle really fits well to the corner ...three converging edges, three converging walls...i guess i'll see how it is received by the instructor and expert at the next presentation.



…leif enjoying some of the asymmetrical comfort the chair has to offer.

-wood>foam>form-

i didn't feel like folding paper to find a form, so i just continued to work 1:1 in the wood workshop. incidentally, this is the only corner that was free in the workshop, or in the school for that manner …actually there were some brooms that i had to move aside. all of the other corners are filled with some crap.

using the sitting-machine (made by boris gratry) i was able to find what i found to be an optimal sitting position for the corner. from these specifications i made a wooden basis for which i had planned to modify for the final form. i soon realized to speed things up a bit and it would be much easier to get the results i want by making a basis form out of styrofoam. then i have the ability to quickly cut and tape to make the changes i want.

-1:1 corner-

today i was determined to try out the idea based upon the pinart thing, but after a bit of cinema 4d experimentation, i quickly dropped that idea. it's sort of what i had in my head, but the changes i need to make for the static function of the chair will cause it to go into a direction which i think will look like crap.

then i went into the wood workshop to make a something that would allow me to sit in the corner in which the corner was supporting my weight. so, i put two boards together and got this:



the main problem when sitting symetrically in the corning is that one's shoulders are smashed together when leaning back into the corner. it is much more comfortable when sitting along one wall, with the back to the other. therefore, i am going to go back the those damned triangles and design a lounge chair that extends along one wall, while using the corner as support. i will return to the paper and cardboard folding tomorrow to find the form i need.



…oh yea, julie made some tasty macaroni with tomato pesto.

-pinart-

i had an idea today to create a seating element for the corner using a similar principle to the 'pinart' toy. this might turn out to be a nice concept considering that the corner itself is being used to create the form for seating ...well, it looks good in my head. tomorrow some models will be made to test out this idea...

-continuation of form examination-

granted, i haven't put as much time into it as i'd like to, but finding a form is proving to be not so productive. i know; form follows function, but since i have yet to decide on a function, perhaps one would come to me as i experiment with forms. so far, no such luck. concerning the function, i think a storage space/lighting element would be ideal for a corner. for the most part one usually doesn't think of a corner as a place where one would like to be. the corner is the stereotypical location in school where a child is sent after having done something 'wrong' …plus a corner is the place where dust and dirt collect. things put in the corner are usually neglected. i guess that is the whole point of this project; to bring life to the most disregarded part of the room. unfortunately i'm going nowhere fast with my ideas...

-triangles-

i finished reading the important part of the book 'foam of the daze'. i didn't read it to the end as it is apparently just shitty after the couple gets married. however, today i finally began to do something productive with my time. i made a few experiements with some forms; mainly triangular. i'm not really sure how i feel about working with such strict symetrical geometric forms ...i mean, i'm all down for obscure isoceleces and scalene, but as i discovered today, the equalaterals just don't do it for me. perhaps tomorrow the surrealism of boris vian's novel lets me wander away from the equiangular polygon.






i also did some very basic forms from an oblong rectangle that leans in the corner. i think this could be more interesting if the rectangle comes back on itself or through itself. i like the idea of having a very simple strip which folds into a complex form being supported my itself and the corner.

-theory essay-

there is definately some changes that could be made, but this is the version that i handed in for the diplom

…it can be viewed here or you can send me an email at micewrkk_at_yahoo_dot_com and i can send a .pdf copy to you.

-not so good-

last friday was the first "zwischenkritik" or review. basically the first milestone in the project where everyone presents what they have done so far and then discuss this with the instructor, expert and students. for the first review we were expected to have a concept for the corner. i however just had the research that i had done so far. so, i wasn't up to par ...but that's how it always is; i always take longer in my concepts. the question that came from mr. boner was, 'do you know what you don't want to do?' i sort of had an answer, but i didn't want to rule anything out yet. i just know i want the object to need the corner at least in terms of static, if not for other reasons as well. i was thinking about a light or a chair ...or something to do with acoustics.

-let the games begin-

today is officially day four of the furniture diplom project. i say officially, because apparently there is a discrepancy concerning how long the practical part of our diplom has been going on. rumor has it, that one of the students talked to the external expert for the interior architecture project and the expert was under the impression that we have been working on the practical part of the diplom project for five weeks now. hopefully the expert for the furniture project doesn't have the same faulty knowledge... oh, for those interested the external expert for the furniture project is jörg boner.

so, it time to get some shit done for the research...

-theory ...done-

…i probably shouldn't post a picture when i don't know what the text content is, oh well. the most important thing is, as of 14:00, friday 29. june 2007, i am done with my theory paper!!!! and since i'm not planning on going for a masters, this was my last theoretical paper …and this makes me happy. that is to say, relieved. i also have a good feeling about the work i did. nathan read almost all of the paper before i turned in the final version and he thought it was much better than the last theory paper i wrote in three days.... now the only thing standing between me and a diploma is the furniture project, and that is something that i enjoy doing. so, it's clear sailing from here on…

for those who would like to read the final version of my theory paper …let me know.

-into the real world-

after going to the mitte on monday i got all sick and it sucked ass. tuesday i didn't write or read anything, totally destroying my "buffer day", which was already long devoured by the fact that i procrastinate in general. so, i didn't really leave my flat tuesday or wednesday and i was starting to go crazy after staring at this screen for hours on end. i've gotten about 11 pages written now, so i'm getting close to the end...soon...soon i shall be done. although i doubt that i will be able to get out of the inevitable all-nighter. luckly, tomorrow at this time i'll be doing something relaxing ...or sleeping.

-another day another page-

today was full of demodivation. i sat, read and made some notes ...but no words came onto the digital paper. after sitting around in the mitte and being frozen by the cold wind of the shitty weather we had today, i was able to write about a page or so. right now i'm working on the object descriptions and trying to squeeze every last drop of descriptive juice out of the objects on to the keyboard so that it may flow into the intergrated juice to binary code converter. the converter (010 juicer) is link via a shareware plug-in to microsoft word.

…

here's a picture of some, what i shall call, readymade architecture.

-workin' it-

the deadline of june 29th is moving closer everyday and, surprise, i'm not as far along as i'd like to be with the paper. behind schedule as always. i have been reading quite a bit though and it seems as though the more i read, the deeper i dig myself into a deep deep dark pit. hopefully i can crawl out of this damn pit before next friday. as one can see from the wonderful picture above, my complete organization of my workspace is quite conducive to a productive working environment. however, for a change of pace i did some writing today in the philosophy library; very quiet and lots of books to boggle the mind. i tried to get into some texts from martin heidegger, a german philosopher, with little success. as i was reading the introduction to his book 'being and time', i came across greek words ...greek! why on earth would someone use greek words in their texts? at first i thought, 'oh, these must be ideas or words which are best described using the greek language' so i looked them up in the fantastic greek dictionary in the back of the book ...nope. some of the words used translated to 'life', 'theory', 'shoe' ...ok, so shoe wasn't one of the words, but it was hardly necessary to use greek words. except when ever you want to prove the size of your philosophical testicles to your readers. otherwise, heidegger has some good thoughts about design and art...

-theory concept accepted-

here is the theory concept which i handed in on monday. today we had the concept feedback. it only took a few minutes because everything was bon. the only question from enderle (the prof) was if the 'bicycle wheel' was the best example that could be chosen for ready-mades in art. however, my reason are well founded and therefore it will not be a problem.

…next step, read read read.

-theory concept-

for the theory concept i want to analyze ready-made furniture. i'm not quite sure of the exact question which i would like to pose, or if i want to pose a question at all …but i would like to compare ready-mades in art to those in design. this analysis will be based upon 'bicycle wheel' from macel duchamp (art) and 'sella' from the castiglioni brothers (design). my professor recommended that i add another example from ready-mades in design. for this i would either choose 'mezzadro', also from the castiglioni bros or 'you can't lay down your memory' aka 'chest of drawers' from tejo remy, droog design. i need to have the concept finished on monday, so it will be posted then.


'bicycle wheel' -duchamp


'sella' -castiglioni


'mezzadro' -castiglioni


'you can't lay down your memory' -remy

i (heart) theory

concerning the theory essay; i was thinking of posting the entire theory assignment as i did with the project assignment, but i decided that i didn't feel like translating the entire text. so i'll summarize:

first, develop a concept by posing a question concerning a visual phanomenon from your chosen subject area. the concept is to have a length of two pages and describe the specific issue as well as the methods which will be used in your solution.

…that is all that i feel like translating.

here is an english translation of the customer profile, spatial context and project description for the diploma. scroll down for the original german text.

-customer profile-

Colin and Chloé are a recently married young couple. Colin is financial supported from a fortune which he inherited from his family. His free time is devoted to culture and friends; modern art and jazz music (esp. Duke Ellington) are his passions. His closest friends Chick and Alise are followers of the existential philosopher Jean Sol Parte (Jean-Paul Sartre). Nicolas, his cultivated cook and butler, also plays an important roll in Colin's life as his "lifestyle consultant". Colin meet Chloé at a party and immediately fell in love with the sensible, picture perfect woman.

-spatial context-

After the wedding Chloé moved into Colin's modern-renovated, upper middle class flat. The minimal furnishings include a stylish mix of heirlooms, design classics and modern designer furniture. Colin's flat, like many others, has a few empty corners. These corners have the potential to be furnished. Based upon the room typology these unused corners can meet different needs.

-project description-

The assignment of the diplom project -furniture- is to design a piece of furniture which can be used for a corner. In the process, the functional aspects of the furniture in combination with the spatial context (corner situation in the hallway, living room, bedroom, bath room, etc.) as well as the customer requirements are to be addressed. An unicum is not sought-after, rather a piece designed for serial production.

(original text)

-kundenprofil-
Colin und Chloé sind ein junges, frisch verheiratetes Paar. Colin hat von seiner Familie ein Vermögen geerbt und muss nicht arbeiten, um seinen Lebenunterhalt zu finanzieren. Seine Zeit widmet er der Kultur und seinen Freunden; zeitgenössisches Kunst und Jazzmusik (ins besondere Duke Ellington) sind seine Leidenschaften. Seine engste Freunde Chick und Alise sind Anhänger des existenzialistischen Philosophen Jean Sol Parte (Jean-Paul Sartre). Eine wichtige Rolle im Leben von Colin spielt auch Nicolas, sein sehr kultivierter Koch und Butler, welcher ihm als "Lifestyle-Berater" beiseite steht. Colin lernte Chloé an einer Party kennen und verliebte sich auf der Stelle in die bildhübsche, sensible Frau.

-räumlicher kontext-
Nach ihrer Hochzeit zieht Chloé in Colins grossbürgerliche, moderne umgebaute Stadtwohnung. Die sparsame Möbelierung besteht aus einem stilvollen Mix von Erbstücken, Designklassikern und zeitgenössischen Designermöbeln. Wie in fast jeder Wohnung gibt es in Colins Wohnung einige leer stehende Ecken. Diese Ecken bergen das Potential, eingerichtet zu werden. Je nach Raumtypologie könnten diese ungenutzten Ecken unterschiedliche Funktionen erfüllen.

-aufgabenstellung-
Aufgabe des Diplomprojektes -Schwerpunkt Möbel- ist es, ein Möberlstück zu entwerfen, welches auf eine Ecksituation Bezug nimmt. Dabei ist sowohl auf die funktionalen Aspekte dieses Möbelstücks in Zussamenhang mit dem räumlichen Kontext (Ecksituation im Entreé, Wohnzimmer, Schalfzimmer, Badezimmer, usw.) wie auch die Bedürfnisse des Kundenprofils einzugehen. Gefragt ist kein Unikat sondern ein Möbelstück, welches sich seriell fertigen lässt.