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Since 1960, furniture waste generated by American households has grown by 450%, totaling 12.1 million tons in 2018. Only .3% of this waste was recycled. (EPA)
This increase is largely driven by the proliferation of fast fashion. Fast Fashion companies use cheap, low quality materials to rapidly create new seasonal product lines.
These low quality materials make repairs difficult to impossible. It makes more economic sense to throw out these items and buy new ones than it does to keep and repair them.
How can I make a product that creates a meaningful relationship between people and their furniture?
Research
I asked 32 college students about their furniture.
“Where was the last place you bought furniture?
Amazon: 8
Thrift/secondhand: 6
Target: 5
Ikea: 3
Other: 4
Design Goals:
“What did you look for when buying furniture?
“Cheapest”
“Just something cheap because I can’t take it when I fly home”
“I chose this desk specifically so I could break it down and fit it in my car”
“What pieces do you feel most attached to?
“I got this stool from my grandpa”
“I like my desk because of all the modifications I’ve done to it”
“I’ve had this couch in every apartment because it just barely fits in my car”
Takeaways:
People felt a connection to:
pieces they’ve had for a long time
pieces they received from family/friends
pieces they built/assembled/modified themselves
Accessible
The final product should not only be affordable but also easily repaired/modified by the user
Overall, most people did not feel particularly connected to most of their furniture
Most people said they couldn’t take their furniture when they moved.
The most common factor in their decisions was by far cost, followed by aesthetics and ease of transportation.
The most frequent pain points were “too big/small” and “not enough storage”
Versatile
The final product will be easily assembled, disassembled, and transported
Sustainbable:
Materials and processes will be chosen based on their carbon impact
Modular
The final product will be configurable into any piece of furniture.
Ideation and Prototyping
The USM Haller line of furniture was one of the primary inspirations of this project. USM Haller provides an modular furniture solution, but unfortunately it is priced out of reach of those who have the most to benefit from such a system.
In my early ideation, I was seeking to emulate USM’s universal system.
In these initial prototypes, I experimented with methods of using a universal set of parts for creating a modular system. From these attempts I learned that the natural properties of wood would make it unfeasible to use for a project with such strict tolerance requirements.
I still wanted to use wood for my primary material, so I decided to move away from a universal connector to dedicated connectors instead. Individual connectors would mean increased manufacturing costs, so I decided to utilize 3D printing as a solution to rapid production that minimized waste. This approach would also allow a much greater range of possibilities because the joints were no longer limited to 90 degree increments.
Final
LS3
An open source system of parts designed to provide for any furniture need you can think of.
Everything in the system is assembled with the same ¼-20 x 1½” machine screw and nut, meaning the only tool required is a screwdriver.
Joinery components (red) rely on tight tolerances to create rigid structures, and therefore are made with PLA at 25% infill
Support pieces, such as the Brace Piece (yellow), or the Seat Piece (clear), undergo different types of stresses, such as tension and torsion. Therefore, these are made out of TPU, which has more flex.
Customers can order prefabricated kits with all necessary parts and hardware online, as well as any individual pieces. However, the plans and STL’s are available to download for free, for those who prefer the DIY route.