End-of-Broadcast

Client
University Project
Year
2020
Program
Furniture

story

We are perpetually subject to the broadcast of information and content through many means of transmission. If we choose, we can be immersed in never ending sights, sounds and connections. It’s understood now that disconnecting from this stream is critical for physical, mental and emotional health. Finding an opportunity to do this today can be difficult. This furniture concept is designed to provide a dedicated space, both at home and in public settings, where one can stop and practice mindfulness meditation. A faceted shell of panels shrouds a simple, stone-like seat at the centre big enough for a single user. When inside the shroud wireless signals are blocked, sound dampened and lines of sight interrupted, allowing for a moment of disconnection.
Formica laminate plays a key role not just as a surfacing, but as a method to solidify each facet and provide rigidity to the entire system. No matter how chaotic the environment the End of Broadcast blurs the line between public and private space.

About

This short project was the first of three in the senior level research studio. The overarching goal of the semester was to tackle multiple, short, real-world competition projects while engaging in research surrounding the ideas of “context-aware generation.”

The End of Broadcast project was based on two primary goals: to develop something that could be submitted to the Formica FORM 2020 Student Innovation Competition; and to have its form determined through some parametric generative process.

The final outcome was submitted to the competition.

Final Boards

form student innovation competition

The competition, run by Formica, was simple:

“Architecture and interior design students are invited to showcase their creativity by designing furniture pieces that correspond to the theme, Blurred Lines: The Intersection of Nature and Technology. These designs must incorporate three different Formica® Laminate products, including at least one from the SurfaceSet® 2020 collection. These designs should be suitable for either a residential or commercial setting.”

With the submission requirement being a colour render of the final design as well as a short project statement.

 

 

Concept

The idea of “Blurred Lines” was taken in a different direction, producing a concept of a piece of furniture that exists within a space only to provide an escape from it. The goal was to design something that could be used for mindfulness meditation in an environment where media and information can bombard you constantly. Something to force you to tune out and re-centre yourself. Something to help you put an end to the constant broadcast we are all subject to.
This lead to the generative concept of using television broadcast signals as the primary parametric input. Initially the focus was on actual end-of-broadcast-day cards displayed on television up until the age of round-the-clock programming. Subsequently the generative process responded best to various corruptions of broadcast information as well as static and noise.

 

 

generative process

The idea of “Blurred Lines” was taken in a different direction, producing a concept of a piece of furniture that exists within a space only to provide an escape from it. The goal was to design something that could be used for mindfulness meditation in an environment where media and information can bombard you constantly. Something to force you to tune out and re-centre yourself. Something to help you put an end to the constant broadcast we are all subject to.
This lead to the generative concept of using television broadcast signals as the primary parametric input. Initially the focus was on actual end-of-broadcast-day cards displayed on television up until the age of round-the-clock programming. Subsequently the generative process responded best to various corruptions of broadcast information as well as static and noise.

 

 

outcome

A faceted shell of panels shrouds a simple, stone-like seat at the centre big enough for a single user. When inside the shroud wireless signals are blocked, sound dampened and lines of sight interrupted, allowing for a moment of disconnection.
Formica laminate plays a key role not just as a surfacing, but as a method to solidify each facet and provide rigidity to the entire system. No matter how chaotic the environment the End of Broadcast blurs the line between public and private space.