Fatwall 2

This is an alternate of a theme, see pre-furnathon 08 post of Australia inspiration. It is the idea of compressing all furniture into one space, sort of a Fifth Element space travel / sleeping in your chest of drawers concept.

Closet Puzzle

Closet puzzle: A sheet triplay pine 4'x8 '(3 / 4 ") again under the principle of zero waste.

By Inigo Ortiz Monasterio
iomonasterio@yahoo.com.mx

Picnic Puzzle

Picnic puzzle: In a piece of wood 3 / 4 "(4'x8 ') gives a picnic table under the principle of zero waste. The production is economic and simple.

By: Inigo Ortiz Monasterio iomonasterio@yahoo.com.mx

Dining Puzzle

Dining puzzle: From a sheet of triplay 3 / 4 "(4'x8 ') yields a full dining room (1 table + 4 chairs ) under the principle of zero waste.

The production is economic and simple.

By: Inigo Ortiz Monasterio iomonasterio@yahoo.com.mx

SOF Turtle Shell

SOF (Skin-on-Frame) Turtle Shell:

Multi-use, light weight; never leave home without your shell!
(click on image for higher resolution)

-The Big "O",
PDX

The Coffee Table

The Coffee Table:
Not a whole lot to say about it. I just like the "tapered structure" concept as well as the potential for a nice exposed joint there all the horizontal wood meets the vertical piece. Enjoy,

The Big "O",
PDX

Modular Chair

The Concept:
The Design:
Basically you could mass produce this module many times over. People can use them as a chair (2), love seat (4), or couch (6), or just an ottoman (1). If not against a wall the back can be used as shelves and under the seat you can store "stuff" as well.

Sorry for the late start; my sketchbook didn't have access to a scanner.

Alias: The Big "O"
City: PDX

Dinnerware & Furniture, Ideas about BioPlastics.

I had another thought today about how to deal with the overcrowding in landfills (as it relates to furniture). The idea came to me as I was eating dinner. I bought food from a place nearby and I noticed that they had that nifty to go box that wasn’t just recyclable, it was biodegrable as well. Basically if my dinnerware ended up in the landfill it would biodegrade within a few months. It's strong stuff, microwave safe, just as good as the normal paper junk. I also noticed that it was pretty strong and I could imagine if you had enough of the material it would be just as strong as plastic.

I found this online which explains about the material:

Bioplastics are a new generation of biodegradable & compostable plastics, derived from renewable raw materials such as starch (e.g. corn, potato, tapioca etc), cellulose, soy protein, lactic acid etc., that are not hazardous in production and decompose back to carbon dioxide, water, biomass etc. in the environment when discarded. Cornstarch is currently the main raw material being used in the manufacture of bioplastic resins. Mater-Bi (main component corn-starch), and PolyActide (PLA) (made from corn-starch as well) are currently the 2 main resins (raw materials), being used today in the production of compostable & biodegradable plastics and are certified for compostability under standards set by international organizations. However, other resins are coming into the market made from potato starch, soybean protein, cellulose etc. Most of these are currently not certified for compostability, though some are for biodegradability. The field of bioplastics is constantly evolving with new materials and technologies being worked on and being brought to market.

So why not use this stuff for furniture? Especially the types of furniture that tends to be thrown away. Maybe things like childrens furniture? Shelving? Maybe its best suited for smaller objects, I don’t know.

here's what the dinnerware looks like
and here's my well-designed couch after being left outside for a few months. Super comfy.

Letterscape

I was listening to Nina Simone the other day and thinking about words and letters. I thought there were some interesting shapes and combinations. I have just limited myself to English but Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, etc. might make some great combinations.

Note: at this point we here at Furniture Gang are unsure of who is posting. If you don't give some indication, then the opportunity to post on here is defunct. Name or alias, and city might be helpful for everyone. Thanks

Don't build another piece of furniture

The Original
San Francisco (ork)
Public Transport (Copenhagen, London, New York tube)

I have had this thought for some time now and Ive done a bit of research on old furniture. It turns out that a good chunk of our landfills are filled with furniture and appliances.

It's clearly a problem. It's really interesting that people discard well built furniture for new pieces made of particle board, that are of a lesser quality. There are many reasons for this, like the older stuff looks like hell, or the upholstery is worn, or you get bored with it, etc. So I thought about how one could reuse older furniture. More particularly, how to keep it out of the landfill.

For one, I think we could stop accepting furniture at the dump. Garbage collectors should refuse to take it. Right now, I think its part of their collection duty if you leave it near the trash bin. Or we could start a supplementary collection, kind of like the recycling, or the once a month yard waste collection. There are probably more ideas floating around the internet machine. The opportunities for reuse are endless.

I've explored one solution. The main idea is that it's possible to tie together different structural differences with an common element. In this case, the upholstery. Whole living rm/ dining rm/ bedroom sets could be developed using this method.

This is one of those ideas that seems ridiculous or obvious, and maybe it is.

Structural Storage Wall

Our walls have been lazy far too long. This approach serves the double duty of providing storage and support/division. The lattice structure could be doubled to allow for a gap for vision and sound blockage or a panel on the back face. A whole range could be developed with alternate shapes to cater towards an individuals geometric preference. Shigeru Ban had a similar idea with full height cabinets making up the structural support.

Concept Development, Branding, Initial Thoughts

Day one:

What is furniture? Who is furniture? When is furniture? Where is furniture? Why is Furniture? I've tried to address some of these important issues in my submission.

What is furniture? It is everything around us. It is your bicycle, it is your bus ride to work, it is car, it is your plane ride.

Who is furniture? It is you and me.

When is furniture? It is NOW!

Where is furniture? Mostly at IKEA as far as I can tell.

Why is furniture? Because... Humans can't stand up for their entire lives.

Your friend-

double J

Let's Get Small!

Los Sillones

The ARMCHAIR: A simple solution with multiple alternatives

By: Iñigo Ortiz Monasterio - iomonasterio@yahoo.com.mx

Tree Hugger

I'm going with the delightfully playful for the start of this designathon. I have been thinking about treehouses lately and this is a precursor to the furniture gang modern tree house competition to follow. The bands would be adjustable clamps that latch onto the tree without any permanent fasteners. with this system there could be any number of crazy combinations. I went with the simple tree couch form, access to the tree couch is via a rope ladder.

Furnathon 2008: Furniture & design Marathon

Why:
Exchange of ideas and for the fun of exercising creative expression.

Specifics:
7 days of design on June 23-29. One idea a day submitted via the blog. Submissions can be sketches, models, renderings, video, whatever. Don't feel like running the full race? It doesn't matter, send us any ideas and take part in the event anyway you want.

Submit:

Send us your stuff at furnituregang@gmail.com. We will post it here on the blog.

Prizes:
Custom Puma track suit with furnathon 08 logo to people's choice winner. Runners up get furnituregang t's. Maybe.

Legal Stuff:
This is about creative expression and sharing ideas about design, you retain any rights of ownership. We're not posting this stuff to make money off you.

Want to join furniture gang?:
We believe in strength in numbers, shared knowledge and skills. We would be glad to talk to you about your ideas and provide you with a venue for feedback and exposure. We are currently transitioning from garage manufacturing to online sales and distribution.

Joining Requirements:
Come up with your own version of the furniture gang logo. Do a self styled gang tat (just kididng) and send info to furnituregang@gmail.com

Furnathon 07 Highlights

From the responsible to the realistic to the outlandish and playful. This is the mix from last year's furnathon. We look forward to this kind of inventiveness and creativity in the weeks ahead.



Greg's Post - Exploration of what we might do with all the useless car parts in the not-so-distant future. How can the wasteful excesses of our past be put to good use in the future?

Shane's post - Has any one else become tired of having to walk all the way to the kitchen to pour yourself a draft beer. I know I have. Thats where the beer chair comes into play. All you have to do is reach over to the arm rest to get a refill. It has two taps and you can store a couple mini kegs as well as a CO2 tank right there in the chair. And of course it does recline, complete with a leg rest.


Ben's post - Forget a plaid couch and standard table sizes, this is the fantastical to be enjoyed as a part of everyday life. The animals would be rendered in any number of materials suited to the function-foam, wood, metal, plastic. The idea is meant to challenge our understanding of standard furniture design and to incorporate a symbolic note of the natural. Why can't we climb up to sit on 20' giraffe couch?

Chris's post - I needed a computer chair and I needed somewhere to put my records. My space and budget are limited so I devised this. It will be made from cardboard salvaged from Costco. These could potentially be stackable units made from other materials, I suppose.

Backyard bunker, for those seeking the kind of solitude only 10' of dirt can provide. Bonuses include a space for reading and natural light.
The Mary Rasure chair series

Logo Number 3, WEST SIDE!

I went with the West Side Story knife fight for this series. If you don't know what that is, then you're not a Jet all the way. The images are the progression of the graphic. Comments on which is best?

Australian Inspiration

Here's a link to some of the design work I have done in Australia, aka Oz. Riding the train across country gave me plenty of time to model some of the drawings that plague my sketchbook.

The Pixel Cowboy