From research, insights and findings the park bench details are..:
2 Benches: one 4m long and another one 1.8m long
Will be cast with Reconstituted stone with steel rod reinforcing through it due to the long overhang.
The smaller bench will be anchored to the ground through M12 bolts being cast with it.
Will incorporate Xie He's Guhua Pinlu - 6 Principles for critquing art and the magic of Wu Daozi's paintings that come to life during the night.
They form represents a calligraphic form based on 3 sections - similar to the basis of cnostructing Chinese Characters.
It will be "a brushstroke" in the park, in the city, beautifying the transitional space. >> As alot of art from the tang dynasty onwards was calligraphic and landscape based >> emulate that onto the product.
They will have brushstroke details. >> Will be cast with giant brush marks along the sides of it to further convey a brushstroke on the landscape feel.
Will have a slight curvature into the top surface to let water drain towards the plant/tree.
It will be an amalgamate of a Chinese Aesthetic with a Comtemporary European feel. With more of the latter.
It will be great to look at!
Showing posts with label N.P.D. China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label N.P.D. China. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Public Furniture Designer Feedback
I sent an e-mail to a friend and Unitec Graduate who is currently a Public Furniture Designer: here's the great advice/help/tips he gave in regards to my design.
Material- Stone sounds good, although I havent worked with stone to be truthful, I would imagine it would need some kind of reinforcement structure especially with the cut out in your model, also you would need to consider transport- expensive to shift heavy items & there would usually be more than one at a time to install..
If you went with timber, probably something like treated & laminated Macrocarpa (treated meaning with a wax coat which also serves as a graffiti deterrent) as denser woods would cost too much with the volume of your seat, also denser woods you generally buy in lengths not blocks.
Any stainless steel going near seawater should be 316 grade to prevent corrosion, 302 grade for general purposes, or if its Mild Steel it should be galvanised regardless and either powder coated or wet painted (powder coated is cheaper and personally looks nicer)
Anchorage- would certainly have to be fixed to the ground, either buy bolting it down somehow with fairly large bolts M12 or M16?This would allow it to be removable for refurbishing in the future. but then you would need some steel structure to boolt through. Either that or make it permanently fixed or "plant mounted" where you use an anchor to concrete it in on site-could just be some bent steel rods going into a concrete pad or the base of the seat concreted in.
Also you may want to consider skateboard deterrents, as it will prevent damage to the seats, these can just be litle brass or steel knobs sticking out every 1000mm or so on the seat edge.
Anyway I hope this doesnt overwhealm you, its just the basic guidelines our company manufactures by, you can surely just specify alot of this stuff in your final presentation rather than use it to base your design around.
Material- Stone sounds good, although I havent worked with stone to be truthful, I would imagine it would need some kind of reinforcement structure especially with the cut out in your model, also you would need to consider transport- expensive to shift heavy items & there would usually be more than one at a time to install..
If you went with timber, probably something like treated & laminated Macrocarpa (treated meaning with a wax coat which also serves as a graffiti deterrent) as denser woods would cost too much with the volume of your seat, also denser woods you generally buy in lengths not blocks.
Any stainless steel going near seawater should be 316 grade to prevent corrosion, 302 grade for general purposes, or if its Mild Steel it should be galvanised regardless and either powder coated or wet painted (powder coated is cheaper and personally looks nicer)
Anchorage- would certainly have to be fixed to the ground, either buy bolting it down somehow with fairly large bolts M12 or M16?This would allow it to be removable for refurbishing in the future. but then you would need some steel structure to boolt through. Either that or make it permanently fixed or "plant mounted" where you use an anchor to concrete it in on site-could just be some bent steel rods going into a concrete pad or the base of the seat concreted in.
Also you may want to consider skateboard deterrents, as it will prevent damage to the seats, these can just be litle brass or steel knobs sticking out every 1000mm or so on the seat edge.
Anyway I hope this doesnt overwhealm you, its just the basic guidelines our company manufactures by, you can surely just specify alot of this stuff in your final presentation rather than use it to base your design around.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The Model
My first model of the bench made out of plaster with grass used as the plant feature.
Full scale side elevation drawing of the bench with Rob on the side to show scale.
This was one of the later model developments. It is wider all around with enough space for people to sit comfortably back-to-back.
Five models. All variants of the base idea. Compositional form studies.
I shrunk Rob and sat him on the model haha jokes! Photoshop job of Rob sitting on my bench.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Development
Developmental sketches.
Now that i have a more focused idea to work with i played around with the elements of it >> the tree and the form.
Here i was doing thumbnail drawings as compositional studies as well as looking into how it will be placed/elevated from the ground.
Park Benches in China
Examples of park benches found in China. Pictures were collected with thanks to my friend Jessie in Shanghai.
Examples of benches found on the net that are manufactured in China.Nearly all of the benches have none of the design values as seen in european furniture nor do they have a Chinese feel about them.
Parks and the Outdoors
Photos of the outdoors and parks of China. From the constructed parks to the enchanting natural geographical features. My bench will go in these places also.
Escofet: Outdoor Furnishings
Escofet is a Spainish outdoor furniture and outdoor design manufacturer. Their products are quite popular in europe and have a unique spainish design aesthetic to them.As i have taken up the role of being an outdoor furniture designer for this assignment Escofet is a good model to look at and learn from. What i'm attempting to do in a few weeks Escofet has been doing it for over a century!
Concepts!
Concepts!This image was drawn alot earlier in the project when my drawing skills were still warming up! Just a few ideas. The stand out one is the cloud hanging from a tree.
Concepts on brown paper! a personal favourite for substrates. With the idea of transition on my mind towards westernisation Forks came to mind! Why not a fork seat? Unfortunately i was beaten to this well before my time in the 60s by Claus Oldenberg!
Other stand-outs were the accompanying knife and spoon to the fork haha.. and then there was also the boxy turtle park bench. Turtle patterned bench with angled out feet. Funky and interesting form. There's also a few notes regarding public furniture and from my discussion with Roger> main point of discussion: Furniture as a canvas. Combine a simple form with surface patterns/textures.
Simple forms as well as complex forms. The concept on the left of the page is a traditional table with a cropped table top for sitting on.
Straight geometrical based forms. Simple again. Stand-out concept is the combined tree/plant vase with bench. The lower level of the bench is a trench that flows to the base of the vase to water the bench flora.
More concepts, planning notes for the project and presentation.
More concepts.
There were 3 stand-out concepts on this page.
The top left: simple form with a wooden top for seating.
The top right: each bench is different in that it has part of one story inscribed on it. As you seat yourself on the furniture you can look towards other benches to reveal the story.
The bottom right: the images on the benches are slotted on and replaceable. Can be used to create a new story, decorate the city for an event, promote something etc.
On discussion with Roger on the latter idea the concept of instead of creating new plates to slot onto the bench>> interchangeable moulds. Applying the same effects but in the opposite way.
The concept I have chosen to develop is the bench with the integrated vase. It is a simple idea, can be visually captivating, and has room for finer detail development.
Initial workings
My Research wall includes images and information on various ancient Chinese Artifacts and calligraph.
My lecturer was in the paper! Included in the article were products from past students at Unitec.
The matrixing creativity technique based on the words Park and Furniture.
Thoughts on the transitional space.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Ipe Cavalli
The Ipe furniture brand is one of the only brands which i found on the mayde website that i could easily find a homepage for.
From reading the philosophy behind the different product ranges they produce the idea of transition still came to mind.
The following are the philosophies behind the brands which i think sound great! they have great depth and poeticness about it.
The Streamlined Collection is designed for the contemporary house... A design and interior decoration project... that evolves further by creating a big family of the “Sensitive Items”. An abacus of... soft, fascinating, feminine, familar items... made of signs, materials and colours deriving from the variegated book of the living memory, wich traces down to atmospheres of a more or less distant past. These items reflect the complicated and articulated connections existing nowdays among fashion, design and art. In this way the house becomes a place to be interpreted following one's own flair and sensitivity, experiencing different kind of juxtapositions, creating very charming domestic furnishings... The items of the Streamlined Collection represent a “sensible abacus” that let coexist both our memories and dream
The charm of a royal palace, the magical appeal of the night: Visionnaire begins with the dignity of an ancient gate that opens onto an unusual world. The dark inspirations, the esoteric references, and a few decorative elements interpreted in every possible variable recur as the strong elements of the Visionnaire style. Visionnaire is the dream of a world that expresses a nearly-Baroque decorative quest, the excellence of form, and the sophistication of materials. Just as in an ancient residence, the spirit of the environments plays with the hidden, multi-faceted, unconscious side of the individual: the house is the staging of a life full of fascination, and references to a world that is not exhausted by reality.
Black and white close the circle: in the perfection of their symmetry, they explain the attaction of opposites, dark and light, night and day. White Gothic also designs interiors following an absolutely personal, is a dream of the opposite, in wich mystery and the night seem to find some peace in the milky glare of the day... but it's only an impression, this time is not that of reality.
From reading the philosophy behind the different product ranges they produce the idea of transition still came to mind.
The following are the philosophies behind the brands which i think sound great! they have great depth and poeticness about it.
The Streamlined Collection is designed for the contemporary house... A design and interior decoration project... that evolves further by creating a big family of the “Sensitive Items”. An abacus of... soft, fascinating, feminine, familar items... made of signs, materials and colours deriving from the variegated book of the living memory, wich traces down to atmospheres of a more or less distant past. These items reflect the complicated and articulated connections existing nowdays among fashion, design and art. In this way the house becomes a place to be interpreted following one's own flair and sensitivity, experiencing different kind of juxtapositions, creating very charming domestic furnishings... The items of the Streamlined Collection represent a “sensible abacus” that let coexist both our memories and dream
The charm of a royal palace, the magical appeal of the night: Visionnaire begins with the dignity of an ancient gate that opens onto an unusual world. The dark inspirations, the esoteric references, and a few decorative elements interpreted in every possible variable recur as the strong elements of the Visionnaire style. Visionnaire is the dream of a world that expresses a nearly-Baroque decorative quest, the excellence of form, and the sophistication of materials. Just as in an ancient residence, the spirit of the environments plays with the hidden, multi-faceted, unconscious side of the individual: the house is the staging of a life full of fascination, and references to a world that is not exhausted by reality.
Black and white close the circle: in the perfection of their symmetry, they explain the attaction of opposites, dark and light, night and day. White Gothic also designs interiors following an absolutely personal, is a dream of the opposite, in wich mystery and the night seem to find some peace in the milky glare of the day... but it's only an impression, this time is not that of reality.
Monday, May 28, 2007
News, News, News
World Economic Forum on China Business Summit 2006http://www.weforum.org/pdf/SummitReports/china2006/creative.htm
The Creative Imperative in China
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/SummitReports/china2006/sustainable_growth.htm
Sustainable Growth
China Design: How the mainland is becoming a global center for hot products
Sony had a problem in China: The company was seen by many young Chinese as Daddy's brand. So in August the company opened a design center in Shanghai. The three designers there quickly set about trying to understand the lives of young Chinese, giving 50 of them digital cameras and asking them to document their daily lives in photographs...
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_47/b3960003.htm
The Creative Imperative in China
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/SummitReports/china2006/sustainable_growth.htm
Sustainable Growth
China Design: How the mainland is becoming a global center for hot products
Sony had a problem in China: The company was seen by many young Chinese as Daddy's brand. So in August the company opened a design center in Shanghai. The three designers there quickly set about trying to understand the lives of young Chinese, giving 50 of them digital cameras and asking them to document their daily lives in photographs...
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_47/b3960003.htm
Symbol of Happiness
Magpie is a symbol of happiness in Chinese culture. The singing of a magpie foretells happiness and good luck.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa081000a.htm
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa081000a.htm
Unique Letters
People of the Jingpo minority in Yunan Province in south China are well known for their cleverness at writing letters in objects rather than ink.
To show that one misses a relative, or a friend who is far away, one will send a unique letter composed of a root plus a few grains of sesame. The root represents "miss" while the sesame means "very much." If one receives a piece of beef or pork from someone, the sender is saying that, "Someone in the family died the other day, but I am sorry that we did not inform you to attend the funeral because of the long distance."
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa081800a.htm
To show that one misses a relative, or a friend who is far away, one will send a unique letter composed of a root plus a few grains of sesame. The root represents "miss" while the sesame means "very much." If one receives a piece of beef or pork from someone, the sender is saying that, "Someone in the family died the other day, but I am sorry that we did not inform you to attend the funeral because of the long distance."
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa081800a.htm
Live in Style
The Fashionable Life of Beijing Youth
The Chinese youth, especially the white collars in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, now form a fashion of seeking stylish life. To them, grace is something that needs guidance, since it connects with not individuals but social atmosphere. With times' development, the distinction between grace and fashion has been blurred out. Long hair can be graceful, skinniness can be graceful, and acting cool can also be graceful. Grace has actually been nothing but a wish.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa030201a.htm
The Chinese youth, especially the white collars in big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, now form a fashion of seeking stylish life. To them, grace is something that needs guidance, since it connects with not individuals but social atmosphere. With times' development, the distinction between grace and fashion has been blurred out. Long hair can be graceful, skinniness can be graceful, and acting cool can also be graceful. Grace has actually been nothing but a wish.
http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/aa030201a.htm
Favourite Plants of China
Bamboo is one of the four favorite plants along with Chinese plum, orchid and chrysanthemum, the so-called Four Men of Honor (Si4 Jun1 Zi3) by the Chinese. The characters of the four plants are highly admired by the Chinese people so they want to be just like the four plants. In turn, the plants have possessed some human nature. This is an example of the harmony between nature and human being (Tian1 Ren2 He2 Yi1)..
http://chineseculture.about.com/cs/culture/a/bambooculture.htm
http://chineseculture.about.com/cs/culture/a/bambooculture.htm
LCD Screens to Replace Bus Stops' Noisy Bells
Screens to replace bus stops' noisy bells
In Shanghai they're replacing bells that tell bus drivers when to leave> with LCD screens that show them. They're cutting back on the audial pollution perhaps? and as well as that..
Drivers must turn off their vehicles after waiting at a station for more than eight minutes and the third bus that pulls into a line at the station must also cut its engine.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-05/14/content_871875.htm
In Shanghai they're replacing bells that tell bus drivers when to leave> with LCD screens that show them. They're cutting back on the audial pollution perhaps? and as well as that..
Drivers must turn off their vehicles after waiting at a station for more than eight minutes and the third bus that pulls into a line at the station must also cut its engine.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-05/14/content_871875.htm
Urban Adventures
Urban adventure popular
To many people, urban adventures offer a chance of forgetting the hustle and bustle of cities, and of looking at the other side of the cities they live in, behind its luxurious and modern facade.
"Beijing has been the capital of China since hundreds of years ago, and its deep cultural back ground make it a paradise for us adventurers," said Lami (not his real name) . "We appreciate different cultures and styles of different cities in our adventures."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-05/15/content_872908.htm
People are seeking to enjoy more from the environment they live in through experiences they are recently discovering available.
An Urban Playground
Amid wheeler-dealers, an urban playground(New York Times)Updated: 2007-05-14 09:38
..Out and about in Shanghai ..it won't take long for parents to discover that Shanghai, with its many parks, markets and museums, can captivate the younger set.
As early as the 15th century, the heart of Shanghai was the Yu Yuan (Yu Garden) area. This Ming Dynasty walled garden of pavilions, willows and rocks has been overshadowed by its bazaar, a labyrinth of kiosks and specialty shops overhung by swooping, Ming-style tile roofs. There, you can buy chopsticks, silk pajamas, wigs, American fast food, guitars, kites and fermented tofu, among many other items. Merchants demonstrate everything from bubble-blowers to Chinese yo-yos; others beckon passersby to sample tea and gelato.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-05/14/content_871675.htm
Deepening Cultural Reform
Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Li Changchun called for deepening reform of cultural system while attending the 3rd session of the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) on Saturday. .
"ICIF should become a platform to test and boost our cultural industry, promote Chinese culture and enhance cultural exchange with foreign countries," Li said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-05/20/content_876335.htm
what am I trying to promote through my product...?
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