DESIGN NAME: Ida
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Chair
INSPIRATION: Ida is a do-it-yourself chair inspired by the overwhelming need for alternatives to the traditional mass-production model, like sustainable personal fabrication. The chair integrates the precision of digital fabrication technologies with the finest environmental-friendly materials and craftsmanship. It is designed to empower people and organisations to use sustainable materials and emerging technology to participate in the widespread implementation of sustainable production and consumption.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Ida is the first in a series of DIY circular furniture. It is easy to make, simple, durable and uses a single sustainably sourced material. It can be made of certificated bamboo ply or hardwood plywood with natural oil finishing. It can be customised online, ordered ready-to-assemble, or locally made by anyone, using a web-based platform and digital fabrication technologies. The result is a sustainable chair with only eight parts assembled in seven easy steps without nails, screws or glue.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: A web-based platform with assistive/enabling tools (3D configurators, augmented reality, interactive manuals) and digital assets (CNC files, documentation) allows the design and fabrication process to adapt to users' knowledge, skill level, and needs. Hence, users can customise the chair to fit their personal or home style and easily download it using those digital tools. Alternatively, the chair can be ordered online and shipped flat pack to be assembled in a few easy steps by its new owner without glue, nails or screws. Assisted by interactive online manuals, users can repair, replace parts and upcycle the product.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: The project started in April 2020 in Itajaí (Brazil), with prototyping completed in June 2022 and a web-based platform in development.
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: Users can fabricate the chair using optimised digital files and equipment commonly available in makerspaces or at home, like a hand-held or small-size 3-axis CNC router. The use of materials like certified bamboo ply and circular design principles demonstrates special attention to sustainability. The surfaces are treated with non-toxic natural oil, and some options use HPL Laminated to increase durability. The design adopts parametric modelling and algorithms-aided design to facilitate the digital model analysis, modification and optimisation, thus ensuring greater material efficiency, modularity and adaptability to different CNC machines and local context requirements.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: Height 750mm x Width 410mm x Depth 550mm
TAGS: chair, digital fabrication, bamboo, prosumer, sustainable, circular economy, furniture design, CNC, open design, distributed design
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Fabrication at a personal level is increasing remarkably due to the democratisation of access to digital fabrication technologies, the rise of makerspaces, and the widespread dissemination of the maker culture (do-it-yourself movement) on the internet. As the involvement of lay citizens in product fabrication processes is becoming more commonplace, it is paramount to accelerate the transition to alternatives to traditional centralised mass production. Ida chair and its business model make expensive networks of physical retail stores obsolete by focusing on-demand director-to-consumer sustainable solutions that connect consumers to local resources and production (prosumption).
CHALLENGE: Despite the potential of the DIY market to provide more sustainable living standards via digital fabrication technologies and sustainable production practices, DIY furniture has not been widely implemented, particularly in developing and emerging markets. Ida chair is an easy-to-make, innovative, and sustainable DIY chair optimised for small 3-axis CNC Routers —the most common model available in makerspaces worldwide. It responds to a growing demand for solutions that prevent negative environmental impacts of personal fabrication, allowing for responsible prosumption.
ADDED DATE: 2022-06-30 13:27:35
TEAM MEMBERS (1) : Jairo da Costa
IMAGE CREDITS: Jairo da Costa
PATENTS/COPYRIGHTS: Copyrights belong to Jairo da Costa Junior, 2020-2022.
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