Project: Metaproject 15 - Borromean Table
The RIT Metaproject initiative pairs students with industry partners to develop products and solutions consistent with the Design is One philosophy espoused by RIT's Vignelli Center for Design Studies. This year, our partner was Rochester-based luxury furniture manufacturer Icon Design.
The Brief
01
The goal for Metaproject 15 was to develop a unique furniture solution for Icon Design inspired by the Vignelli Archives, and particularly their “Design is One” ethos. We were to study their current offerings and find a space within which they could potentially grow.
Initial Sketches
I approached the brief with my personal brand of storytelling, using narrative themes to inspire my forms. These sketches, for example, come from themes like betrayal and imbalance.
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Ultimately, these representations of narrative felt too shallow. I felt there was another angle I could approach the brief from.
Playing with Rings
02
During a CAD ideation session, I stumbled into the use of rings as a form focal point. The ring is a basic form, but its ability to interact with itself presented many opportunities for narrative. The sculptural outcomes also fit nicely into ICON's catalog, a middle ground between their organic forms and geometric forms.
Form 1
My first attempt used self-supporting rings to create a circle atop which a glass tabletop could sit.
Form 2
My second attempt flipped the first and turned it into a luxury beanbag chair.
Form 3
Many of the comments made toward the first iterations mentioned how busy they felt. This attempt cuts the ring number considerably.
Form 4
My fourth attempt involved the use of the half-rings I imagined would be used to manufacture the above tables. Although I liked the simplicity of this design, it felt too derivative of other pieces I'd seen in the luxury market.
Form 5
My fifth attempt took the idea of self-support to its extreme. It also made me more aware of the limitations of ideating purely in CAD. I needed to make sure my designs were possible to manufacture and use.
3D-Printed Prototypes
03
After creating a handful of designs in CAD, I decided to 3D print around 30 half-rings and test whether any of them were actually self-supporting. Little did I know that this process would cause me to stumble upon my final design.
Borromean Rings
In the process of experimenting with the rings, I accidentally created this interlocking configuration of rings. After some research, I found that a name existed for this layout: The Borromean Rings.
Manufacturing
04
We were expected to produce a half-scale grey model for the final. I was operating on a budget, so large-scale 3D prints were out of the question. I would need to find another suitable material.
01: CNC Foam
First, I CNC'd my half-rings out of foam. Due to the ring shape, the half-rings were cut in halves.
02: Gluing
I then used foam-safe glue to assemble the half-rings.
03: Spackle
Finally, I applied spackle to the foam to protect it from the corrosive spray paint I'd apply later.
Results
05
The final product came out strong and, along with the rest of the class, travelled to NYC for the International Contemporary Furniture Fair... nearly. The foam prototype would stay in Rochester while a new, 3D-printed version would take its place.
