False Mirror Office developed the project Archipelago, which consists of a series of floating structures called totems, combining naval seafaring instruments with human utilities. The Echo totem merges a warning light usually found on buoys with a parabolic antenna, storage space and a floating platform where swimmers can rest. Everything is encased in an anonymous structure, painted with a clothing-related mimetic pattern that honours the naval military fashion and simultaneously creates a second identity for the project, by creating a clear distinction between the inside and the outside of the object.
Giardino Pensile
Chiara Pinzan
Student
Chiara Pinzan Academic staff
Roberto Gigliotti Davide Tommaso Ferrando Course
Superfurniture Program
BA Major Design Semester
2023/24 WS The Superfurniture "Giardino Pensile" aims to merge the outside world with the indoor one, by creating a small elevated garden inside a room.
The structure is composed of three main elements:
The Platform is the main element: it engages the space with its sinuous curves and straight lines, creating walkable paths both on its surface and on the floor. It is 45cm high and doubles as a seating unit.
The Vases are another key feature: at 90cm high they are akin to desks, therefore allowing the creation of a garden without the imposition of bending down. The two larger flat surfaces provide other seats, making it possible to be closer to the plants.
The Shelving Unit is the last component: with four rows of shelves it can store all the necessary equipment to care for the garden, as well as host other small flowers. On its top, there is a vase for cascading plants while the side presents a slideable ladder, that allows ease of reach to the higher section and to other nearby trees.
As certified information regarding the measurements was lacking, the model dimensions were deduced by comparing the size of the people in the picture with the object itself. These were then inputted in Rhinoceros to create a digital 3D model, which was then used as a reference to create the physical model with the white cardboard. All relevant technical information, such as orthogonal views, dimensions, and sections, was gathered in a booklet.
scale 1:20
white cardboard: 2mm
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"Giardino Pensile" is made of three materials: plywood, wood and aluminium. The first is used to create the platform, as it needs to be solid yet light, and the inner structure that supports it. The second is used for the ladder. Beechwood is one of the options, as it is both economical and sturdy. The third is for the vases, which have often sinuous shapes. In fact, aluminium can be easily bent, on top of being light and a poor conductor of heat.
A project made in the course
Superfurniture
With Superfurniture we intend dispositives in the domestic environment that are too big to be considered a piece of furniture and too small to be considered a building. A piece of superfurniture contains simultaneously more of the functions that enable us to inhabit our homes. Could we imagine an interior containing a single object characterising the space surrounding it as a building does on its plot, instead of a series of items scattered within its volume? After having analysed a series of projects following such an approach in terms of occupation of the space, we started imagining our own personal piece of superfurniture…
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