Keeping customizability and sustainability in mind, this work addresses design issues by creating a universal component that can be stacked and arranged in many different ways to fulfill all of your living space needs. As life and design evolves, consumers can assemble the furniture pieces and storage items they need in the moment using a unique set of universal stackable components.
Using 2007 ACS data, it is estimated that a person in the United States can expect to move 11.7 times in their lifetime based upon the current age structure and average rates and allowing for no more than one move per single year. At age 18, a person can expect to move another 9.1 times in their remaining lifetime. (US Census).
How many times have you moved in the past five years? Oftentimes moving can be a huge hassle.
The last time you moved you broke a side table, had to give away your favorite Lazy Boy recliner, and regretted purchasing a once favorite leather couch because it didn’t fit in the new living room correctly. Sure the furniture was perfectly good in theory, but it was not serving the purpose you wanted it to and there wasn’t much that can be done to change that. This is a first world problem, right?
The bottom line; consumers shouldn’t have to be disgruntled with how their furniture works. The underlying issue is that commercial furniture pieces are not easily and cost effectively customizable. They are not multifunctional and they cannot typically be disassembled to be moved easily.
Commercial furniture pieces and storage systems serve their purpose but they are static and only present one given form. These items often cannot be altered to fit your living space, or appeal to your evolving style.
Keeping customizability and sustainability in mind, this work addresses design issues by creating a universal component that can be stacked and arranged in many different ways to fulfill all of your living space needs. As life and design evolves, consumers can assemble the furniture pieces and storage items they need in the moment using a unique set of universal, stackable components. This concept of modularity is formulated after the childhood use of Legos. The sky is the limit! The history and inventiveness of Legos plays an integral part in modular furniture design.
From a sustainability standpoint, being able to alter items you buy to fit your evolving needs is essential to keeping resources out of the waste-stream. Instead of throwing away or having to procure a new home for an outdated dresser or couch, what if you could alter the item into a slightly different form to refresh the style and use?
Throughout the course of the project, flat packing and ease of shipping were kept in consideration. If a product can be easily assembled and disassembled, it can cut down on packaging materials that will eventually end up in the dump.
In "Modular Product Design: A Life-cycle View.", John K. Gershenson, G. Jagannath Prasad, and Srikanth Allamneni stated, "
Modularization, due to the functional independence it creates, has been called the goal of good design. Industry has made an effort to modularize products to be flexible to the needs of end users. In addition, some modules are created with some aspects of assembly in mind. Life-cycle modularity entails maintaining independence between components and all life-cycle processes in different modules, encouraging similarity in all components and processes in a module, and maintaining interchangeability between modules."
THE PROCESS
Ideation:
Using ergonomic dimentions i theorize that all essential furniture heights and widths can be acheived using a triangular 18" component. It was decided that an eighteen-inch component would be acceptable to meet most standard furniture dimensions. Style can affect the height of furniture items, so there is some flexibility with regards to the dimensions of furniture pieces.
Sketching the components in several forms was essential to envision how the components would work in an environment and with human use.
Simplicity of assembly is key. When bracers and supports are not necessarily involved, sturdiness is acheived by the components fitting together precisely to support each other in distributing the weight evenly throughout the entire system. E.g.: how roofing trusses work to disperse weight.
Next, rudimentary mini-models were constructed using matte board. These mini-models were arranged into several different potential forms. The following images depict a nightstand, bureau, coffee table, and side table.
Preliminary digital renderings were created using Google Sketchup Pro.
Because of the limitations of constructing these components in a wood shop instead of in a computer-aided machining factory, the connection technique chosen for this design could not be accomplished with the tools and materials available. Detailed drawings of the wooden wedge dowel assembly system were done to represent how the pieces are meant to work together.
In Sean M. Aaron's article, "Ikea Introduces Its Fastest, Easiest-to-assemble Furniture Yet." the desired connection system is described.
"The wooden wedge dowel system is a recent discovery of Ikea Furniture designers. The system involves a pre-drilled and installed wooden wedge dowel into one side of a component. Holes are drilled in connecting components. Upon purchase, the user inserts the edge piece with the installed dowel into the correct adjacent edge with predrilled holes. The pieces are snapped together to form a sturdy and simple connection. This allows for ease of assembly and disassembly, and is an innovative new technique."
Simplistic miniture models of the components were created. The mini-models are the solid block equivalent of the intended three-sided equilateral triangles. These representational triangular blocks easily and effectively represent the stacking modular design.
The mini models were sanded and stained with color-tinted stain to experiment with incorporatation of color.
Using the mini-models and the human dimensions mannequin, a stop-motion video was created.
Construction of the full-scale modules was good troubleshooting experience. Accounting for variations in the plywood as a result of occasionally warped portions was necessary. Several additional jigs were designed and built to aid in assembly.
The images below depict three jigs that were used to hold the three-sided components in place while wood glue and a hydraulic nail gun were used to attach the sides.
The below image is a close-up of one of the alternate angle jigs applying pressure to the edge while the glue dries.
A drilling jig was created to allow for identical dowel holes to be inlayed into the sides of the components. Eight holes are set into the face of each side. A piece of medium density fiberboard (aka MDF) was cut to the same dimensions of the assembled triangular component side. Yemm and Hart recycled plastic sheeting was cut and attached to the sides of the MDF to act as a small lip to keep the drilling jig in place on the component side.
Screw and sleeve cabinet fasteners were used to attach modules to adjacent modules. The image below explains how the fasteners work. This type of hardware offers easy attachment and removal Screw and sleeve cabinet fasteners were used to attach modules to adjacent modules. The image below explains how the fasteners work. This type of hardware offers easy attachment and removal
The following image shows two components connected together with the cap and sleeve connection system.
When constructing a couch, loveseat, or wide stance coffee table, component segments can simply sit together side-by-side without the need for adjacent dowel connections throughout the width of the final form. An additional dowel bracket can be used to hold together parallel components if need be. The image below displays a preliminary sketch of an additional construction component that can be ordered if need be.
This is a rudimentary digital rendering of a cushion attachment with built-in dowels to be added on to the modules when used a seating device.
For future consideration, seating cushion attachments, footings, and backings will be available for users to enhance their experience with this modular design system. This component product will be sold as sets of 3 sides, as three sides are required for component assembly. To guide the user, a chart assisting customers by showing how many components are needed to create some basic forms will be available online during purchase.
Being able to disassemble and flat pack items for ease of shipping, cost effectivity, and less packaging waste is essential to renewable design. A stylized instruction manual was created to be included with the components.
Upon completion of the design, the work was on displayed at the Finlandia University Diploma Works Gallery Exhibition held in the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, Michigan. I was interviewed on TV6/Fox UP about the gallery exhibition and work.
Modular design is ultimately a sustainable and innovative option for many consumer needs. It explores user creativity, and encourages thinking outside of the box. This modular component design will revolutionize the furniture and design world because it is all encompassing of furniture forms and storage needs. It can be integrated at home, in corporate spaces, and across other product and industrial design platforms. With a little guidance, whatever you envision can become a reality when you start to create forms using the modular component system. The sky is the limit.
