Portfolio

Challenge:

The max was created as part of a project to upcycle a large space at the SFSU School of Design from a storage room to a student collaboration and study area. 

My concept was to flex the room's purpose by making all of the furniture mobile. 

Constraints:

• Team of one

• Two month schedule

• Budget TBD

Research:

The entire space, which consisted of four rooms, was measured by hand and re-created digitally in Sketchup.

Students and faculty were interviewed to determine both the history of the space, and the needs of the students independent of the space.

Findings:

• Graduate students have no designated space to work

• Students do not have a space to collaborate

• Currently, students and student organizations use vacant classroom space to collaborate, but are frequently kicked out by faculty

• Currently, the area in question is under-utilized because:

  • it is not a finished space

  • it must accommodate loading dock deliveries which require a clear run from exterior dock to interior door

Ideation and prototyping:​

Rapid listing was used to brainstorm potential solutions, which quickly lead to the concepts of mobile furniture that matched the aesthetic of the other furniture produced by the lab director for SFSU.

• Forms were geometric, with a slightly modern feel

• High-grade plywood finish

• Personal inspiration was to follow hourglass shapes

Rapid sketch ideation focused on the following:

• Each desk needs to be storage and work-space for two people

• The entire room in which the desk exists must be easily transformed to move large objects through at a moment's notice

• Desks need to combine to form a conference table for student meetings

  • Magnets were incorporated for this purpose​

  • The desk shapes create cable runs when connected in a conference table

"Client" feedback narrowed the forms, which were then refined in Fusion360.​