Bedside Table Start and Progress

 So, like a total fool I forgot to take original photos of the bedside table before I started, however, there are some images here which give you a pretty good idea of what it was like. 

The bedside table was stripped back as much as possible in the time frame I had allotted myself.

After being sanded down the cabinet was varnished give it a nice sheen. At the same time moulds had been used in order to make a concrete front for the drawer and a handle for the cabinet.

 The mould was poured in two layers. The first layer was to ensure a nice finish for the front of the drawer and then a second to secure the drawer in place. This did not work and the concrete crumbled when the mould was taken apart. This process was re-thought and I decided to pour all of the concrete in one go as well as give the drawer a wire interlocking grid to give the concrete more to bond to rather than just the edges of the drawer.

Progress and Direction

After the Business Plan was handed in and out of the way a feedback session was had with Andrew about the People, Design, Technology Boards that were handed in before the Christmas break. This was predominantly good news with some areas to improve on. One of the main areas was my use of graphics and layouts, and finding a striking way to present my work through looking through the work of other designers. This is an area that I know is not my strongest however, I plan to strive at finding my muse when it comes to graphics. 

The best news is that I have found the direction that my project is going to go in and all my focus can be put towards this. I am going to do a ‘live restoration project.’ This will entail restoring broken furniture or altering new furniture that has aspects the user does not like. The medium of these repairs will be recycled materials, focussing on the materials that have been driving my project so far, the recycled concrete and wood. As a very first prototype I have taken a bedside table from my apartment and stripped the paint off, planning to make a concrete drawer with wooden handle, and put a concrete handle on the wooden cabinet. Will have pictures soon!

Brief Relief

So, at long last, I have finished my Design Enterprise Report! 

With the chosen title being Expat Map: An Online Expatriate Service, Business Feasibility Report. It has been a hard slog but with a final push it has been printed and bound and will hopefully give me a good grade towards my degree.

I can now focus full yon my final project which with all its twists and turns looks to be heading towards creating design equipment for designers using recycled building materials namely concrete. A recycled form however using up to 99% recycled material. This will allow me to highlight all of the wasted materials that can be utilised as well as making these materials more accessible to designers. I will keep you all posted on what becomes of this!

The Festive Period

It has  been a while since I have posted but I have news which is always a reason to write. The last few weeks have been filled with exciting events and probably less work getting done than should be but, well, these things happen. For example, I am writing this sitting looking out the window of the Tate Modern in London.

A new mix has been found for my final honours project which incorporates another recycled material, fly ash into the mix and this gives the small amounts of cement more to bind to. Also, working with circular moulds has shown to be a a lot more stronger due to all the stress points facing inwards. 

As far as my business plan is going, it is nearly there and will be handed in on the 15th as planned. 

What else is going on you may ask since I mentioned I had news. In the last week I have been culturally amazed by the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Paris with accordion players on the metro, the Louvre, the Basilique du Sacre Coeur lit up in the night sky and countless amazing foods and wines. The trip topped off by seeing British group the XX in le Centre Centquatre, a contemporary arts centre.  I have then moved down to London and visited various exhibitions before meandering through the bustling streets of this great city. Visiting Christmas trees made of Jack Daniels barrels in Covent Garden, the ever joyous Hamley's Toy Shop as well as eating kangaroo and ostrich in Borough Market. So even though work may have taken a minor back seat it was definitely worth it!

Speak soon folks, and have a Merry Christmas!

People Design Technology

Had a hand-in on Friday called People Design Technology. This was to show how my project was going to relate to People, Design Language and Technology (in my case materials) and by materials I mean recycled building materials, mainly concrete.  These are my boards below:

Concrete Teacups and Mortar Saucers

So progress with testing the versatility of concrete is coming along. So far not only have I been testing different mixes of concrete but also different moulds to put the material in. 

The main mix that I have decided on is using GGBS or Granulated Ground Blast Furnace Slag. This is a by product of steel and iron making. The molten iron slag is quenched in water or steam which gives a glassy, granular product. This is then dried and ground down. It is light in colour which allows me to play around with different colours and finishes knowing they will show up more clearly. (This is will become apparent in the following week) I have also tried using cork but this did not work very well, however, I plan to try a different mix which hopefully will.

I have also been using different materials for moulds including silicone, different plastics, wood and I plan to try laminated wood today. 

The set backs so far have been that even though I can get a great smooth finish the material can be very porous and quite brittle. I think this may be from too many air bubbles becoming trapped and possibly too much water in the mix. Today I will test a mix with bigger bits of recycled aggregate which should help bind the materials more. I also plan to try using hay to bind the materials. Below are some images of what I have managed so far! (With loads more to come I might add!)

Progress

So, apart from being very aware that I need to update this blog more often, there has been quite a lot of progress.

As far as my business module is going, I am halfway through writing my first-draft which is extremely stressful but promising.

The final project, which I'm sure people are more interested in, is moving along more slowly than originally anticipated which means the levels are going to have to be cranked up starting Monday morning. I'm using mortar rather than concrete now, which still allows me to use recycled aggregate and cement replacements. I am also looking at using come ink toners to try some crazy colours so will keep you posted on that!

The main question I have to ask is how would you react to a dining set that was made out of cement, sand and recycled concrete? What if that dining set was magenta or cyan? Guess someone lucky will find out soon enough!