Big Tambour
Reflecting on my final design of last semester, I felt it needed more width. This was to give the appearance of a more stable and stronger piece, as it felt thin and flimsy. To increase the width without spending extra money on thicker material I created hollow blocks from 12mm MDF to see how the tambour reacts and moves.
This experiment worked well and gave the stronger looking aesthetic that I was hoping for. This design would work as a table that can change shape and size depending on the users desire. However, if I was to scale this up the weight would be an issue and a health and safety concern. Although I liked this design, I felt that it was a bit too simple being limited to 90º angles. I decided to create a triangle tambour next to see what different shapes and forms it could create.
Big Triangles
The main factor I liked from this simple design was that when it wasn't in use as a seat it formed into spikes. I feel that this highlighted the dependency that I have been trying to portray through my work the best so far, turning into something unusable when not in use. It also creates a loud bang when the user stands up which personifies my piece, as if its angry when left alone. I plan to create this piece on a 1:1 scale in the future as it may react differently when the weight and size is adjusted. For now I want to experiment more with the forms I can create by making quick smaller models before I commit to making something larger.
Longer Triangle
The smaller triangle tambour I created had potential to create some interesting forms if expanded. Therefore I planned to create one double the size which will also allow it to form a full circle when closed up.
This piece came out well however I would need something to hold each piece in a static position so it wont collapse on itself. These clips will allow me to see all the forms I could create.
Clips
These were the first clips I created. The plan with these was to have the perfect width between the two dowels in order to trap the edged together.
Test
This piece could create multiple different forms that resemble chairs or tables. A slight worry of mine would be the size if I was to scale this into 1:1. This would cause a weight issue as well as it would be double the weight of the previous model. Although, I did like this model I had too many concerns about scaling up to continue with it. I also feel that the previous model displayed dependence better.
These clips did work as planned. However, when I was testing them I realised some were either 1mm too wide or narrow. This meant that some would slip or struggle to be put on. This made me realise I needed some sort of spring tension in the clips to allow them to fit no matter the edge.
Tension Clip
This was my attempt at creating a tension clip, although it was unsuccessful. I realised I would need a thinner and more flexible wood if I was to continue with this design as this one was too thick to flex and bend.
Force Test
As I couldn't force it on by hand, I had a last attempt using a clamp to force it. As expected this snapped the clip. However I was curious to know if it would work using brute force.
Bowtie
As I knew that tension and measurement didn't work as clips, I wanted to try something new. I came up with the idea to use butterfly inlays, which are normally used to strengthen cracks in wood.
This was the most successful of the clips I made. They are easy to remove and strong which is what I needed for this piece. If I continue to use clips these will be the ones I use.
Sketching 1:1 Model
While sketching and planning to make this piece at a 1:1 scale I wanted to try and make it thinner and taller to make it more practical. However, when referring to the technicians they told me the angles weren't achievable to do on that scale because the machines weren't big enough. The only machine that would be able to cut at that size is the table saw but the sharpest angle it can do is 45º which still isn't steep enough.
The technicians advised me that if I wanted to achieve this piece I could make it out of metal because I would be able to create those sharp angles while still having strength to them.
This comment about metal got me thinking about the possibilities metal could allow in my project as I hadn't considered it before. From this conversation I knew I wanted to start experimenting with metal. However, before I jump straight into metal I wanted to at least make a 1:1 scale model of the three triangle tambour out of wood.
Making 1:1 Model
This scale model responded how I had hoped, still holding the same qualities as before such as the spike forming when left while also making a loud bang. The biggest issue with this piece is the size of it. When fold out it takes up 1.5 meters of space which not everyone has for a chair in their home.
This was something I discussed in a tutorial with David Clarke; the context in which my work would belong. I feel as if the context that my work identifies with best has been an ongoing issue for me, with no real answer yet. That is why when David came along I wanted to hear his opinion on the matter. David said he liked my work and thinks public seating would be the ideal context for this piece. However, this is all dependent on what material I make it from. Wood wouldn't last as long overtime outside, metal would but is heavy, which only leaves plastic. Although I could make it from plastic I would prefer to make my piece myself rather than have it printed by a 3D printer. Plastic would solve a lot of issues of mine, such as weight, erosion and health and safety. David also said he would love to see it in a park with children playing with it, exploring different ways in which you can sit and climb its frame. Although this would be a good idea, we discussed the practicalities and health and safety would be too much of a risk, especially when dealing with children.
Moving to Metal
After my talk with David I felt that I needed to take a step back from my project and relook at my question of dependency. I believe I have been trying to display dependency the same way I have previously seen through other people's work, through forms like 'The Body' piece or stability like the beech chair in the 'Inactivité' collection. In order for me to display dependence in my own way I needed to think of a way that I hadn't really seen before.
When thinking of the properties of metal an obvious one that was standing out to me was the warping that occurs overtime. This is something that interests me and I knew had potential; that warping is completely dependent on the user and will only happen if used.
From this I had the idea to create a collection of chairs that highlight the dependency humans have on furniture everyday. This will be highlighted by creating seating that is stable enough to hold somebody's weight, however weak enough to slowly warp and change form overtime. Therefore, the more dependent we are on these chairs the more it will show through their forms changing overtime. The way I intend to do this is by having sheet metal that is strong and stable, but bend and fold it into ways in which it has weak points that are able to move if enough pressure is exerted overtime.
I spoke to the metal technician and booked myself into a welding induction, however this is two weeks away so for the mean time I will be coming up with designs that require no welds.
These were my first two experiments to see how the warping would react. I simplified the design on the left as this was more of a test of strength for now. I think that if these two seats had the bottom of the legs welded into place they would have been a lot more stable while also being able to warp. This is because when sitting down sometimes the legs would spread outwards causing the seat to slide down and collapse.
I will experiment next on how to distribute or contain the pressure being placed in the legs when sat on, in order for them to hold up. I know that this will not be an issue when I can finally weld, however I think experimenting with different ways to strengthen this metal will be a good experience enabling me to understand the material I am using better.
Process Reel
We get set an assignment to create a 'Process' reel for instagram in preparation for the final short film we have to make. Below you can see the requirements for this post.
This was a good experience to start creating content for our social media as this is something we will regularly have to do to advertise our work after university. Just 3 days after posting my reel, it had over 2000 views with 1400 of them being from non-followers of my account. This has motivated me to keep making reels and content for my page as it is clearly an efficient way to get my work out there and bring followers to my account.
After A Week Of Use
After leaving these seats in my studio for a week I returned to them to document any warping. As you can see from the image above, bending in the legs at a sharper angle clearly makes the seat stronger. This tighter bend causes the legs to move inwards rather than splaying outwards. This was a good experiment in testing the angles needed to make a stronger stool and limit warping in free standing legs.
Diagonal Bend
In an attempt to disperse the load I wanted to see how diagonal bends would react to weight being placed on them. Speaking to the technician, he told me it reminds him of ice skaters as they push diagonally as its the most stable.
After I created the first two bends I quite liked the visual indication of the sloped ledge. Making the front edge a more inviting side to sit on rather than the back. This is something I may experiment with further.
This was the final model with the bottom of each leg bent at the same angle to make the top face level. This simple change of angles in each bend completely changed the form and stability of the piece. Because the front edge is wider it has a less stable edge that can still warp, whereas the back edge is solid. However the angles have created it to be unstable and tip up if sat on the back edge. This is where I would implement the sloped seat back into the design as it would persuade people to sit on the front edge.
Back Rest?
Another way of adding a visual indication of where to sit is adding a beck rest. I could most easily do this through welding an extra sheet on, but until I get that induction lesson I could make a small fold on the back edge.
These are some of the places I could add a back rest. Weight would also need consideration to make sure the back rest isn't too heavy to topple the seat over.
However, I could play into this action of toppling over without the user as a point of dependence.
User Engagement Research
For this test, without telling the user anything about the seat, I got them to place the chair whichever way round they felt was right and sit in as many positions as they like. This test was to see how the user would position themself on the seat, whether that was for comfort or from visual queues. This was also a good way to see how much warping occurs after use and which positions warp the most.
This experiment allowed me to see more ways to sit on this seat than I could imagine myself. It was good to see all the potential ways of use incase there were any weak points that I may have not considered. When making this seat I intended for it to be sat on with the wide edge at the front, however the user immediately sat on the narrower edge. This allowed me to visually see how my seat can be interpreted in many different ways.
Compared to my previous models, this seat held up well during use with minimal warping. This is because of its diagonal folds, creating stronger points through a smaller surface area. My intention with these pieces is to allow the warping to happen, so this diagonal piece is a bit too strong. However I have left it in the studio to see if many people throughout the week sitting on it causes any more warping.
Curved Face Test
Without being able to weld I have been struggling to stop the legs from splitting apart. I wanted to create a way of holding the base together.
I created a small base plate as an attempt to pinch in each end of the curved sheet. This test initially worked until I started sitting on it to test the strength. When testing one of the ends started to curl inwards. To prevent this I was going to need to bolt them into place.
These bolts successfully held each end in place and allowed the piece to warp without splitting. The curved edge works well with warping as it starts to wrap around its user gradually, as it is depended on overtime.
As you can see in the images above, the more this seat has been used it has started to become smaller and more curved either side, lifting up the base plate too. I am excited to see how this seat evolves and what curves start appearing are more warping is implemented.
I plan on using this base plate more in my experimentation while I wait to start welding as it works as a substitute. This allows me to see how welded shapes would react before I have created them properly.
User Interaction Research
Seeing as the diagonal folds were too strong I decided to stick with straight folds as they have been giving the results I want. This time I bolted the bottom legs together to avoid them splaying apart when sat on. As I did in the test before, I got the user to sit however they felt comfortable with no incentive from me and how I think a user would interact.
As you can see from the images above, bolting the legs together worked successfully at keeping the piece together and not completely crumbling. Compared to the test before, there weren't as many ways this seat could be sat on because of its simple shape. I liked the fact that it was more of a simple shape as you can easily identity what new shapes have been created by warping.
After the user stood up from this seat it remained extremely warped. I think this is because of how thin the metal is, 1.6mm steel. I am limited to using this sized metal right now as it is the thickest I can use for the press brake. When I get inducted into welding I plan on using thicker sheets of metal and seeing how much stronger they become. I am trying to find the perfect balance between weak enough to warp yet strong enough to withstand multiple uses. I also think the curve is less supportive than a straight 90º fold, and therefore welding 1.6mm sheets may hold up fine when I can weld them at straighter angles.
Taller Curve Seat
With my previous curved piece, I felt that it was too wide and low to the ground. This caused it to touch the floor when it warped. My first thought on how to combat this was to make it taller and narrower as I would like it to not completely fold in on itself.
When planning to make this piece I was slightly worried that the bent edge would be too sharp and not form correctly. However, the base plate managed to hold both pieces in place while I attached the bolt. This is something I need to be careful of when welding as the base plate would be flat. This means it wouldn't hold it in place while I weld so I will need to create a clamping jig to keep it still, or keep the folds on the base.
Sit Test
Like I have with all my other seats, I got someone to sit in as many different ways without any given instructions. This is to see how the user would naturally engage with my seat and how much warping is created.
This seat has a fairly simple structure so there weren't many ways possible to sit. This is something that I could experiment further with, creating more potential seating positions.
Because the curve on this piece was so sharp, it had more resistance to weight and therefore didn't create as much warping. This was a good discovery as before my pieces were warping to the maximum after one use. This seat will last longer before completely collapsing on itself, expanding its lifecycle. I will proceed to get people to sit on it throughout the week to see how much warping occurs and how long it takes to collapse on itself.
Big Square
I wanted to test the strength of simple shapes and how much warping would be caused. For this piece I created a square shape out of 1.6mm thick sheet metal. The idea behind this is once one side has warped you can rotate it and use a flat side, until eventually you have a fully warped piece of furniture, morphing it into a sculptural piece showing how much we affect the furniture we interact with.
Testing
As you can see in the video above, there wasn't enough stability in this piece that stopped it from swaying from side to side. This could be a potential health and safety risk. Going forward I need to create something that supports the base more.
Adding a Slanted Edge
From learning that I need more support on the base piece, this next prototype I made was with a slanted edge to allow the bending to go inwards. This will hopefully stop it from moving side to side and cause it to bend into the middle. I also hope that this piece starts as a flat edge and warps around its user the more it is used.
Testing
As you can see from the video above, this piece had less wobble to it. However, there was still too much that I would feel comfortable to settle on. This means I need to create another piece that either has thicker metal and more splayed out legs to combat this.
As you can see this piece warped more than the previous one. It warped as I had hoped and created more of a seat shape the more it get used. Although this piece was unsuccessful in what I had originally planned, the warping worked well and is something that I may carry onto my next pieces.
Bar Frame
When thinking of how I could create a stronger base, I came up with the idea to create a bar frame with a sheet plate on top. I hoped that this idea would allow the base to stay structurally supportive whilst still allowing some warping where the user sat, creating that uneasy feeling.
Testing
As you can see from the video above, this seat ended up having too much of a bent surface to allow any warping. However, the bar frame held up well and was able to support the user without wobbling from side to side. If I was to create another one of these seats I would have less of an arch on the sheet to make it more flimsy.
The bar frame is something that I will continue to use as it is much more supportive than the sheets.
Wider Frame
Learning from the seat before I have decided to make the bar frame wider and got rid of the curve in the sheet. I am hoping this will allow warping on the top sheet as it will be weaker. I have slight concern that the bar frame may holt any warping as it will be too sturdy but that is something I will discover once the piece is made.
Tutorial Takeaways
In this project I feel that I have done many tests yet I am still struggling to see the direction in which my final piece is heading. During a tutorial we discussed the delicacy of this piece and how I could make it as thin as possible while still supporting someone. This delicacy aesthetic will give the user a feeling of uneasiness when using as it will look too thin to support them. This links back to dependency as they are unsure if they can depend on this seat, allowing them to regain the trust that they once had for furniture.
As weight is an important factor in this piece, I will need to embrace it. This could be achieved by using weight as a locking mechanism in my piece; making it more stable as someone sits on it, locking all the pieces together.
A way in which I could create my piece to look more delicate is by making the bar frame look as thin as possible. This will give the illusion that it is unstable and fragile until the user sits down. An inspiring piece that does this successfully is the 'Cord-Chair' by Nendo. More on this can be found in my research archive.
Thin Bar Frame
After sketching ideas I had after my tutorial I decided to create a thin bar frame seat that will use weight to lock into place. To see how thin I could get the frame I started with 8mm steel bar.
While making the 8mm rod frame I made many mistakes, turning the hooks in the wrong direction and not measuring the lengths correctly. I think these mistakes came about from me rushing my work and not carefully thinking out the creation process before-hand. Learning from this I will be a lot more careful whilst making and make a full plan before on what I intend to do, while taking my time through each process.
Although the frame was made incorrectly, I could still lean on the rod ends and see how much flex they produced. After doing so I realised the 8mm rods were too thin and not strong enough, bending too much to be able to support someone's weight.
From this I will next recreate this model but with a better plan and 10mm rod to see how much stronger it is.
Second Try
As you can see above in the bottom left of the image, I recorded the amount of rotations I did on the bar rolling machine so that the curve was exactly the same on either end, making it symmetrical.
This prototype came out a lot better because of my planning and careful consideration while moving through the making process.
As you can see from the test video above, the seat plate kept sliding down the frame when weight was applied. I realised that I would need to redesign the hook design in order for it to stop the plate from sliding. I would need to either change the angle it sits at or create a second bend to act as a stopper, locking it in place while weight is applied.
Hook Redesign
I sketched a few designs to start with to get a rough idea which shaped hooks would work. I decided the best way to redesign the hook was to experiment with 10mm rods in the workshop to see what I could create with the machines supplied. This was a good decision because a lot of the bending machines had limitations on how sharp the angle of the hooks could be.
After creating a few shapes, the most successful and repeatable hook was a 90º bend aiming upwards. I chose this hook as the upward angle would make it easy to attach the seating plate and I would be able to recreate it consistently.
10mm Bar Frame
The metal frame is made up of bent rods with two bars welded along the bottom to keep the frame together. I needed to be extra careful while welding these bars as they could be potential weak points if the weld isn't strong enough. I plan on grinding these welds down to look smooth and seamless.
