M3 Chair

Beautifully designed by Vienna-based designer Thomas Feichtner. Enjoy :)

Description from the designer :

For Vienna Design Week 2011, Neue Wiener Werkstätte will be showing the M3 Chair developed specifically for this exhibition. This unique object will be juxtaposed with the mass-produced FX10 Lounge Chair, an earlier work by Feichtner which has since become a classic of Austrian design. While these two pieces share a geometric theme, the M3 Chair exhibits an open, wooden cantilever construction that contrasts with the closed body of the Lounge Chair. The installation highlights not only the tension between closed and open, heavy and light, surface and line, and mass-production and the single copy, but also the symbiosis between traditional workmanship and contemporary design. These pieces thus embody Neue Wiener Werkstätte’s ideal of hand-producing technically perfect individual products built to last generations, furniture designed to guarantee historical recognizability—the perfect union of hand-craftsmanship, tradition and design.

Liberated from the demands normally made on a mass-produced item, this design experiments with functionality, structural engineering and material. Both its back and its armrests are mere tangents of the construction, the functions of which are only discovered via actual use. With a seating surface floating within the construction and legs extending far to the sides, the M3 is most assuredly not a chair that saves space—it is much rather one which creates a space. The dimensions of the M3 measure one cubic meter, standing for a conscious way of appropriating one’s own space. Hence the “m3” reference in the name M3 Chair. It is only via the chair that the open space is defined.

The chair is made of one and only one material: oak. This is a conscious choice of materials, harkening back to the woodworking tradition upheld by furniture workshops of yore. The wood renders the chair’s light construction a static experiment which could only succeed in a handmade, unique item. Like many works by Feichtner, the M3 is to be understood as an artistic and experimental examination of design removed from industry and mass-production, as art and design placed in interdisciplinary dialog with one another. The M3 experiment is particularly well-suited to showing that design can free itself from the doctrine of the purely objective and is not automatically obligated to serve industrial utility. It represents a catalyst for the discussion of various positions. The M3 is a contribution to the design festival of the City of Vienna.

ciao!

Bill Moggridge - What is Design?

As the title, Bill Moggridge in his lecture addresses the question of ‘what is design?' and he also mentioned many examples of good design and bad design as well as process and changes that happened around design. One of the main point that he presented is that design is not just about making a beautiful or fancy products but almost everything is designed, almost everything that is used and man made is design. Therefore, it can be said that other professions that we previously think are far different from a designer; like chefs, business people, etc; they are also designers. 

He then points out some examples of good designs in various areas ranging from design for disability, fashion design to architecture. Contrarily, he also points out some bad design as he stated that someone couldn’t recognize good design unless he take a look at the bad one as well. The remote control he used as the bad example simply expresses the fact that sometime simple is better than adding complicated details that might bring confusion to the user and thus become an unpleasurable product.

Human-centered design is again highlighted but this time it is not only interpreted as a design that focuses on the user experience but it is also about the sustainability of it. These days people has become more and more care about environment and thus, we as designers are reminded to think carefully what is the effect of our design on earth.

The issue of sustainability also aroused in this lecture but he didn’t talk only about the disassembly or the process of choosing material but he also highlighted the expanded concept of sustainability as a global aspect. He introduced the profile of Professor Shinichi Takemura who has been learning how the world is connected in an very intimate way, either the connections between people or the connections with the surroundings. The tangible earth demonstration by Professor Shinichi Takemura really caught my attention, not only it is the first interactive globe but it also strongly captures the interconnectedness of our world, how one aspect could affect many other aspects as they connect with each other in so many different ways.

Project 1 - Peer comments

Here is the blogs where I have commented on:
1. Jackson Walker's blog
http://studio3289813.blogspot.com/2011/09/experience-enrichment.html?showComment=1315993097637
2. Clement Yoong's blog
http://clementyoongides1031.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-one-experience-enrichment.html?showComment=1315994161858#c6450951944061786469
3. Rainbow Tam's blog
http://rainbow-tam.blogspot.com/2011/09/product-poster-usage-storyboard-and.html?showComment=1315996586791#c6981646300370024083
4. Oun Vimolpatranon's blog
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=6561537982608082039&postID=2757288373634078349&isPopup=true
5. Camille Kordek's blog
http://camillekordek.blogspot.com/2011/09/project-one-hero-shot.html?showComment=1315998125582

Project 1 Studio 2011 - Mortar & Pestle

Rationale
Besides its unusual shape and the way this mortar and pestle assembled, the main thing that distinguishes this product from the one in the market is the expanding shape of the pestle towards the lid. Not only it has a fitting diameter handle for our handgrip, this shape also prevent our hand slipping over the pestle and at the same time it reduces the power needed to hold the pestle tightly while using it. Furthermore, the concave interior of the mortar aims to avoid the objects being spilled out during pounding and grinding.

I actually put a lot of time sketching and making mock ups to get the best size and shape of these tools. The main difficulty is to make the size of the mortar and the pestle in balance but not to put aside the overall look as they are also stand as one piece. The size and shape of the mortar will affect the size and the shape of the pestle and vice versa. Finally I arrive at this size where the mortar is not as small as the one used in medical place and not as big as the one in the market (those big stone and granite mortar) but big enough to make sauce or paste.

Another main feature of this tool is its material, which is stainless steel. The reason why I choose stainless steel over other material is because it has some technical properties that offer some benefits such as;

• Strong and long lasting 
• Better than stone because it is cohesive and corrosion resistance; small bits of the mortar and pestle won’t get mixed with the objects 
• Better than wood because it is not absorbent and non-porous; won’t absorb/ trap the ingredients being ground and prevent the growth of microorganisms from the food particles that are left in the mortar and pestle surface
• Non-reactive with alkaline or acidic foods so it is safe either for food preparation or medical use
• Easy to clean; dishwasher safe

Technical Drawings in A1 (Click the image to get better resolution)

Feedbacks are more than welcomed :)