'Parameter' Table

The project

To design a multifunctional table that can be easily customised to individual users’ needs (using an online interface as product configurator) and manufactured on demand via local manufacturers, wasteful overproduction will be eliminated, and materials will only be used when products are needed. Following the principles of ‘Design for Disassembly’, the table not only solves logistical transport problems but is also easy to recycle and/or re-manufacture the unnecessary pieces helping to build a new economy based on fair distribution of value (Open manufacturing). 

Storytelling

THE IDEA:

The idea for this table came to me when I had just first moved to Berlin with my girlfriend. We had just moved into her old flat which was on the 4th floor of an 1950’s apartment block in Kreuzberg. As we had been living on my canal boat in London, we didn’t have that much furniture to begin with.
We needed a new table for our living room that would be large enough for us to invite people around to entertain as well as serve as a table from which we could both work. So I decided to take this opportunity to learn a new design software program that utilised parametric design to produce us our own bespoke table that would suit our needs.
We wanted a large table that we could spread out and work from, but it also needed to be flat packable so that I could carry it up by myself 4 flights of stairs. I also didn’t have a workshop or space to build the table so it needed to be able to be cut using local CNC fabricators.

THE BIRTH OF THE PROJECT:

This personal need for a custom bespoke table in conjunction with the need to manufacture it flatpack with local CNC fabricators was how the project was born. More and more people are working from home (especially now after the Corona Virus situation). A cursory look into market research found that:

• The rise of telecommuting is driving the demand for home office furniture.
• Multifunctional, versatile furniture is gaining popularity
• Online is a fast growing channel in developing markets
• Demand for luxury furniture is increasing
• More furniture vendors are choosing to be Green

My interest in the themes of mass customisation, decentralised local manufacture and sustainable design and economic development also coalesced to be embodied in this single project.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS:

After learning the basics of Fusion 360, I realised the value of designing parametrically, which allows one to change parameters of a design easily without having to redraw if a change needs to be made. I then had to figure out how to design a large 2m long table to be flat- packed to carry up 4 flights of stairs single headedly.
This was resolved by splitting the tabletop into 4 quarters, this effectively makes the package to be carried 75% smaller in footprint easing the burden on transport & delivery.
The result is a very customisable and adaptable table that allows for different sizes, shapes and leg configurations.
Tisch 01 is also a table that you can pack and take with you when you move and is also able to be disassembled for recycling after use.

THE COLLABORATION:

After I had come up with the design of the table and made an initial prototype, I then needed to find a partner that could help me with creating an online configurator. I came across Shapediver and found the perfect partner as their platform technology provided exactly this functionality. Without their expertise and knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to take the idea further to develop the configurator component of the project. They were also very keen to help and showcase more use-case scenarios for their platform.

THE FUTURE:

After I had come up with the design of the table and made an initial prototype, I then needed to find a partner that could help me with creating an online configurator. I came across Shapediver and found the perfect partner as their platform technology provided exactly this functionality. Without their expertise and knowledge, I wouldn’t have been able to take the idea further to develop the configurator component of the project. They were also very keen to help and showcase more use-case scenarios for their platform.

THE MESSAGE:

Overall, the collaborations that the Worth Partnership Project has afforded, have been immensely fruitful, and have allowed me to develop ideas that I would not have been able to develop, had it not been for the partnerships created and the funding help from Worth.