A Parametric furniture piece
FOAID Design Competition, 2019
Group Project
Theme: Movement
Concept: Corals
Project name: Kinaesthesia
Maximum dimensions: 4ft x 4ft x 7ft
A coral is a polyp, a marine life form that live in colonies and have hard calcium skeletons. Each polyp is a sac-like animal with a set of tentacles surrounding a central mouth opening. An exoskeleton is excreted near the base. As coral colonies grow, expand and die, other coral colonies grow on top of them until a large polyp of hard calcium develops. As this layering process is repeated over and over, the coral reef expands and "moves." The movement of the coral polyps helps it catch food, thus nourishing the reef. This wave like motion will be captured in this furniture piece, we have tried to emulate the form through cantilevered projections, a tapering base and a structural system of cross frames. Water flow through the corals is driven by many factors, including current, wind-induced, or tide-induced water level differences, and the reef is hydraulically very heterogeneous .With bulk flow occurring through high permeability zones to less permeable zones, the grids created by the frame express the change in density of the reef.
Concept sheet
Design sheet
We wanted our model to give the perception of movement even when it is stationary. We designed the form in such a way that as you walk around it, the form constantly appears to change and hence, 'move'.
The model viewed from different directions
Frame mechanism
Mechanism behind the motion of the fin
Model build up: Process
The final installation
