WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

an origami fold pattern that can shade a lamp

to study the diffusion of light through material

WHAT IS DIFFUSION?

The scattering of light by reflection (bouncing) or transmission (penetrating). Diffuse results when light strikes an irregular surface such as a sheet of paper. Diffused light is often referred to as "Soft Light".

SOFT LIGHT ILLUMINATION

HARD LIGHT ILLUMINATION

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Printer Paper

String (optional)

Clear Tape

Scissors

Light Source

- LED or

Light Bulb

ISAMU NOGUCHI

FIRST PRACTICE V PLETES

SECOND PRACTICE HERRINGBONE TESSELATION

Simple Start

Complex Start

SECOND PRACTICE HERRINGBONE TESSELATION

RESEARCH OTHER DESIGNS CREATE YOUR OWN

DISPLAY AND PHOTOGRAPH IN A DARK ROOM

WHAT WE ARE DOING

WHY WE ARE DOING IT

observing our campus to determine what is the best furniture we can design for the school

we want to work as a group to create a piece of furniture that improves the student experience

FIELD OBSERVATION

each student takes notes / sketches what they observe to be opportunities for design

FIELD OBSERVATION

each student takes notes / sketches what they observe to be opportunities for design

Things to Consider :

Size

Materials

Use

Weather

Construction

TIME TO BRAINSTORM!

Form groups of five or less and combine ideas on large butcher paper. Discuss design ideas.

GROUP BRAINSTORMING RULES

Come up with many ideas, do not stop at 1 or 2. This is not a time to decide what your project will be, it is a time to share as many possibilities of what it could be. 

Do not put down other's ideas when they share. Critiquing ideas too soon could cause people to be self-conscious and not want to speak. We want to be judgement free when brainstorming.

Share ideas that you can build & test, not fantasy. Wild ideas are good, but if the wild idea cannot be built in our studio, it is not the right choice. What could you build as a usable piece of furniture?

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

A written description of a room in our dream house

to practice our ability to articulate good design

Articulate (Verb - action word)

Articulate (Adjective - describing word)

Expressing Ideas Clearly:

Articulating involves putting thoughts and feelings into words in a way that is easy to understand.

Example: "She struggled to articulate her thoughts about the situation".

Describes someone who can express thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively, or speech that is clearly expressed

Example: "She is an intelligent and articulate young woman".

A neoclassical colonnade with corinthian columns and arches over a glossy marble floor. The colonnade serves as an entryway to a living room with an ornately decorated plaster ceiling and high-arching windows to the outdoor space. The colors of the room are light with natural stone. The plaster walls are decorated with renaissance paintings. 

A modern log cabin interior with bold, heavy-timber structural roof rafters. The wood ceiling opens to three skylights that match the geometry of the double height window accenting the wood and glass stairway to the second floor loft.

In a paragraph, describe a room in your imaginary dream house.

How is the room shaped? What materials are used? What style is the furniture? Be as descriptive as you can be. Paint the picture of your imagination with words.

Read your essay to a classmate next to you and have them read their essay to you.

Try your best to imagine their dream house space in your mind.

Revise your essay to include any details that you left out.

A neoclassical colonnade with corinthian columns and arches over a glossy marble floor. The colonnade serves as an entryway to a living room with an ornately decorated plaster ceiling and high-arching windows to the outdoor space. The colors of the room are light with natural stone. The plaster walls are decorated with renaissance paintings. 

A modern log cabin interior with bold, heavy-timber structural roof rafters. The wood ceiling opens to three skylights that match the geometry of the double height window accenting the wood and glass stairway to the second floor loft.

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

Pre-cut furniture (3mm plywood)

Paper

Pencil & Markers

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

scale-model furniture from a flat pack patterns

to build our first of many models of furniture

THE CHALLENGE

Assemble the flat-pack furniture patterns to create scale-models of table and chairs without any tape, glue, nails or screws. Everyone should assemble at least one piece of furniture in the next five minutes.

Bring your scale models in the photo booth to learn and practice how to photograph models.

FLAT PACK FURNITURE

Since the use of flat pack furniture, prices of furniture have reached all-time lows in the industry. This method also allows more stocks to be stored in every store. Ease of transport is another benefit, conveniently moving products not only by the consumer but in bulk in between stores. 

What do you think are the greatest benefits of flat pack furniture?

Try to come up with some of the negative downsides of flatpack.

GROUP DISCUSSION

Highlight the words that you do not understand.

While you are reading,

Underline some sentences that you find to be important.

IKEA has used the methods of flat pack furniture and mass production to dominate the furniture industry by making it easier and cheaper to buy their furniture than any competitor.

Our ability to purchase well designed furniture is becoming easier and easier.

Our ability to make a living by crafting well design furniture is becoming more difficult.

WHAT WE ARE MAKING

WHY WE ARE MAKING IT

an LED circuit to illuminate our designed lamps

to understand electricity, voltage, and circuits

ACTIVITY MATERIALS

By pinching the two wires coming out of LED on either side of the 3V button cell battery, we can create a circuit by connecting the + side of the battery to the - side of the battery, which results in the flow of electrons through the wires and the Light Emitting Diode.

THE SIMPLEST CIRCUIT

Electrons jumping from atom to atom in the metal (a conductor material) is the flow of electricity.

An LED circuit requires three basic elements. The light, the wires that create a loop, and a battery. 

A switch can also be added to allow you to open and close the circuit, turning on and off the light. 

+

-

a switch is an electrical drawbridge when the bridge is up the electrons can't go anywhere

the Light Emitting Diode [LED] will provide our light

the battery holds the electrons

LED CIRCUIT BASICS

LEDs

switch

wires

batteries

LED

switch

battery

BUILDING A SIMPLE CIRCUIT

3

Volts

A battery is a device that stores chemical energy and converts it to electrical energy. The chemical reactions in a battery involve the flow of electrons from one material (electrode) to another, through an external circuit. The flow of electrons provides an electric current that can be used to do work.

THE BATTERY

1.8 - 3.3

Volts

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current flows through it. LEDs have positive (+) and negative (-) sides to them. For an LED to work it needs to be connected to a voltage source with the correct side.

THE LED

A switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit. Interrupting the electric current turns the LED off, connecting the current turns it on. 

THE SWITCH

Securing the wires to the switch

Attach the metal ends of wires through holes of switch prongs

Secure each side with tape - make sure the wires aren't touching each other!

Consider how the light of your LED is being directed and diffused in your lamp

Forward Directional Light Beam of an LED

Light Beam bounced and diffused