tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/furniture-design-11986/articlesFurniture design – The Conversation2022-12-26T20:52:15Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1955682022-12-26T20:52:15Z2022-12-26T20:52:15ZRethinking the big spring clean chuck-out frenzy: how keeping old things away from the landfill can ‘spark joy’ in its own way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499484/original/file-20221207-26-gh9dy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C43%2C5790%2C3692&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Driving home recently, I encountered a familiar sight: four dining chairs on the kerb waiting for some sucker to rescue them. Loading them into the car (sucker!) I wondered: how long were these chairs in shed limbo-land before finally getting kicked to the kerb? </p>
<p>When a wooden chair goes a bit wonky, it feels counter-intuitive to throw it away when it’s mostly OK. It’s often demoted to the shed, with the optimistic thought: “The wood is still good. Maybe it could be fixed.” </p>
<p>But will you really fix it? Sell it? Give it? Keep it? Nah. Chuck it.</p>
<p>Chucking has become easy – and socially acceptable. The pressure to de-clutter, galvanised by the <a href="https://konmari.com/about-marie-kondo/">Marie Kondo</a> tidying-up craze, can feel moralistic. “Just chuck it already!” we say to ourselves, or our partners.</p>
<p>Kondo’s books (more than <a href="https://konmari.com/about-marie-kondo/">13 million sold</a>) implore us to discard ruthlessly any item that doesn’t immediately “spark joy”, with Kondo <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/41711738-jinsei-ga-tokimeku-katazuke-no-maho?fbclid=IwAR2lOCN38fT-LzljeqBFd1KAV1q5t_qci9r7kS23fLXAmbYWUDqc0N0ZEEw&page=14">urging</a> us to:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>not be distracted by thoughts of being wasteful […] to get rid of what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful […] so, arm yourself with plenty of garbage bags and prepare to have fun!</p>
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<p>Kondo promotes throwing things “away” or “out” without addressing where exactly that nebulous place is. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chairs pile up in landfill" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499485/original/file-20221207-20-dszd97.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Where do chucked-out things go?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-a-tree-dies-dont-waste-your-breath-rescue-the-wood-to-honour-its-memory-125137">When a tree dies, don't waste your breath. Rescue the wood to honour its memory</a>
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<h2>Where do chucked-out things go?</h2>
<p>These items do not disappear when flung into the ether. They land quite concretely in expanding landfills that degrade landscapes and ecosystems, taint water supplies, and pump out methane as carbon is released during decomposition.</p>
<p>In a world of unbridled consumerism, we are experiencing a waste crisis. We dispose of tremendous amounts of furniture while consuming masses of new furniture, all in the midst of global <a href="https://theconversation.com/timber-shortages-look-set-to-delay-home-building-into-2023-these-4-graphs-show-why-185197">timber supply shortages</a>. </p>
<p>Even buying well-crafted, locally made “green” furnishings from sustainably harvested timber doesn’t stop our chucked-out things from rotting in landfill.</p>
<p>In my <a href="https://soad.cass.anu.edu.au/people/ashley-eriksmoen">research</a>, I have spoken to craftspeople, academics, community organisers, and environmental activists about furniture waste. The message is consistent: try to keep what already exists circulating in the world. </p>
<h2>Waste as a cultural construct</h2>
<p>Waste is often described as “matter out of place”. What we define as rubbish is a matter of perspective. It’s a <a href="https://axonjournal.com.au/issues/11-2/breakingun-breaking-un-makingmaking">cultural construct</a>.</p>
<p>A wonky chair may be only negligibly different to its original state. But even if still functioning, or easily repaired, it becomes worthless once worn or wobbly.</p>
<p>This loss of value is reflected in waste collection policies and op-shops. It’s simple to book a council pickup collection or donate to an op-shop. It’s just so easy to get rid of things.</p>
<p>But either that chair is in good serviceable condition and is diverted from the waste stream for reuse, or it’s deemed rubbish and sent to the pit. There is no middle ground for easily repairable items. </p>
<p>If a chair is an antique, finely crafted, or of sentimental value, people tend to make the effort and spend money on expert restoration work. </p>
<p>But it can be hard to justify that for an ordinary chair. </p>
<p>Sandie Parkes, founder and owner of the Canberra Green Sheds, is awash in chairs to the point where they intermittently need to cull them, saying:</p>
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<p>Every day we are offered about ten times more chairs than we can possibly sell.</p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Broken chairs lie on the street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=456&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499722/original/file-20221208-21-qh64s7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=573&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Few people know where to begin with fixing a wooden chair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ashley Eriksmoen</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
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<h2>Learning to repair</h2>
<p>Few people know where to begin with fixing a wooden chair. But many community groups teach such skills. <a href="https://twoshedsworkshops.com.au/">Two Sheds Workshops</a> in Canberra and Bega has woodworking and upholstery classes for women and children to learn basic skills and boost confidence.</p>
<p>Jess Semler, Two Sheds Workshop’s Canberra manager, told me, told me repair “doesn’t have to be a convoluted or long process. There is no one right way to fix something.” Once the process is demystified, students can work out how to fix other things, bringing creativity and playfulness to the process.</p>
<p>Greg Peters, key conservator of <a href="http://www.patinations.com.au/">Patinations Conservation Service</a> in Canberra, reiterated that for everyday, mass-produced furniture with no inherent historical or financial value, most repairs are actually relatively simple if you just “give it a go”, learn from the internet and remember there’s usually nothing to lose in trying.</p>
<p>Don’t have the tools? Ask around. Dr Niklavs Rubenis, a senior lecturer in object design at the University of Tasmania, suggests tapping into the collective knowledge of communities by asking neighbours for advice, or to borrow and share tools. </p>
<p>One positive global trend is the proliferation of repair cafes, where volunteers and clients can drop-in to pop-up repair events. </p>
<p>Griffith University’s Professor Leanne Wiseman researches the international <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-07-10/act-right-to-repair-movement-growing-in-australia/100283348">Right to Repair</a> movement, and is part of the <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/law-futures-centre/our-research/australian-repair-network">Australian Repair Network</a>. Wiseman counts about 100 repair cafes in Australia, most of which are listed <a href="https://www.griffith.edu.au/law-futures-centre/our-research/australian-repair-network">here</a>, operated mostly by volunteers bringing their own equipment.</p>
<p>And there are at least <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=tool+library+australia&rlz=1C5GCEM_enAU963AU965&biw=1440&bih=769&tbm=lcl&ei=EBiQY-zkCtKphwOO84PAAg&oq=Tool+Library&gs_lcp=Cg1nd3Mtd2l6LWxvY2FsEAEYAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDIFCAAQgARQAFgAYLgWaABwAHgAgAGqAYgBqgGSAQMwLjGYAQDAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz-local#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:%5B%5B-27.7448986052003,155.93609047581103%5D,%5B-38.97913985445452,133.52398110081103%5D,null,%5B-33.54423302832462,144.73003578831103%5D,6">11</a> <a href="https://www.1millionwomen.com.au/blog/i-dont-need-power-drill-i-only-use-it-once-year-how-i-started-community-tool-library/">tool libraries</a> across Australia.</p>
<h2>Finding a good home for broken furniture</h2>
<p>Time poor or not keen to repair? Try posting on Facebook Marketplace or your local Facebook Buy Nothing group. You might connect your old chair to someone keen to fix it or harvest its usable timber for creative reuse.</p>
<p>My practice as an artist involves re-purposing abandoned chairs into works of critical design, which provokes viewers to rethink everyday objects. </p>
<p>My work <a href="https://www.habitusliving.com/design-hunters/people/ashley-eriksmoen-afda-winner">The Dream, or The view from here is both bleak and resplendent</a> is made from discarded chairs and has 47 legs touching the floor and a tangled canopy cresting over the seat. It raises questions about consumption and reuse.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499724/original/file-20221208-22-4pofku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=646&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">My work: The Dream, or The view from here is both bleak and resplendent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">David Paterson of Dorian Photographics</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The chairs I rescued recently were made from dark stained wood. The look was dated, and the white seats were stained, but structurally, the chairs were in good nick. I will be deconstructing them and shaping parts into leafy stems to make new sculptural works that return the wood to plant and tree-like forms, like I did in my recent work for <a href="https://sculpturebythesea.com/gallery/?filter=artist:ashley-eriksmoen">Sculpture by the Sea</a> in Bondi. Another chair set saved from the pit.</p>
<p>I get it. Holidays and new year’s resolutions often mean big clean-ups. But before you chuck out good or almost-good things for the sake of decluttering, ask yourself if there’s a less wasteful option. (And if you really must get new chairs, consider finding quality second-hand chairs that will last). </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Discarded furniture lies on a street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499673/original/file-20221207-11-8qggl5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Think before you chuck.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>Nobody is saying you should become a hoarder. But not everything needs to be Marie Kondo-ed just because it doesn’t “spark joy”. Make peace with old items, even if they’re a bit dated. They can often be spruced up with a bit of glue, paint or fresh upholstery. Think carefully before you throw out something good or fixable as part of a furious spring clean.</p>
<p>When I bring furniture into my house, I think of it like a pet – something that should be cared for and not discarded on a whim. Furniture can last for generations if we just let it. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/design-and-repair-must-work-together-to-undo-our-legacy-of-waste-119932">Design and repair must work together to undo our legacy of waste</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashley Jameson Eriksmoen has received funding from Australia Council for the Arts, ArtsACT, Melbourne Art Foundation, Transport Canberra and City Services. She is a board member of the non-profit Greenwood Global.</span></em></p>Not everything needs to be Marie Kondo-ed just because it doesn’t ‘spark joy’. Ask yourself if there’s a less wasteful option.Ashley Jameson Eriksmoen, Senior Lecturer, School of Art & Design, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1574242021-06-22T20:01:46Z2021-06-22T20:01:46ZSmart street furniture in Australia: a public service or surveillance and advertising tool?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407173/original/file-20210618-17-15ai7v7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4896%2C3239&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A smart light pole in the UK can also recognise faces and numberplates and detect speeding.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ekin_Spotter.jpg">Nazlika/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Smart street furniture – powered and digitally networked furniture that collects and generates data – is arriving in Australia. It comes in a variety of forms, including benches, kiosks, <a href="https://competition.adesignaward.com/design.php?ID=61809">light poles</a> and bus stops. Early examples in Australia include <a href="https://www.georgesriver.nsw.gov.au/Council/About-Your-Council/Smart-Cities/Smart-ChillOUT-Hubs">ChillOUT Hubs</a> installed by Georges River Council in the Sydney suburbs of Kogarah, Hurstville and Mortdale, and information kiosks and smart light poles in the City of Newcastle as part of its <a href="https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/smarter-living">Smart City Strategy</a>. </p>
<p>The “smartness” of this street furniture comes from its new data and connectivity capabilities. The idea is that these can generate new products and services, and support real-time planning decisions in cities. Most offer free wi-fi in combination with other functions like advertising, <a href="https://segd.org/what-wayfinding#:%7E:text=Wayfindingrefers%20to%20information%20systems,educational%20campuses%2Cand%20transportationfacilities.">wayfinding</a>, emergency buttons, phone calling and device charging via USB. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sensors-in-public-spaces-can-help-create-cities-that-are-both-smart-and-sociable-93473">Sensors in public spaces can help create cities that are both smart and sociable</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=763&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=959&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=959&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404954/original/file-20210607-130403-puzf88.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=959&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A ChillOUT Hub installed in Timothy Reserve, Hurstville, by St Georges River Council.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Chris Chesher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>Smart, but controversial</h2>
<p>The promise of smart street furniture is that it will enhance public spaces and revitalise ageing infrastructure. By providing vulnerable and disadvantaged citizens with access to free connectivity services it can also bridge digital barriers. </p>
<p>Despite these benefits, some aspects of smart street furniture are controversial. In particular, its data collection and impact on public space have created concerns. </p>
<p>In New York City, the replacement of phone booths by <a href="https://www.link.nyc/">LinkNYC</a> digital kiosks has given rise to protest about <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/03/nyclu-raises-linknyc-privacy-concerns.html">data ownership and sharing</a> and <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/yes-linknyc-kiosks-are-giant-data-harvesting-surveillance-cameras-obviously">surveillance through built-in security cameras</a>. Other sources of tension are the kiosks’ physical footprint, visual impact and use for outdoor advertising with its double-sided 140cm digital displays.</p>
<p>In Australia, Telstra has been fighting a <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/telstra-loses-battle-to-install-supersized-phone-booths-across-major-cities-20210416-p57jri.html">long court case</a> against the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane over plans to convert its phone booths into smart hubs equipped with digital advertising. Councils objected to these on the basis that they required local planning approval. Telstra argued the hubs were exempt as “<a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2020C00305">low-impact facilities</a>”, but has had to delay installation. </p>
<h2>What can we learn from early adopters overseas?</h2>
<p>We don’t yet understand the public impact and value of smart street furniture, what service model is to be adopted at scale, or what kind of future it offers. To what extent are these facilities offering public services, or are they just enablers of more advertising and surveillance? </p>
<p>Australia can learn from the early examples of smart street furniture in other countries. Our <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/our-research/research-areas/literature-art-and-media/smart-publics.html">Smart Publics research project</a> investigated the design, use and governance of InLinkUK kiosks in Glasgow and Strawberry Energy smart benches in London with a <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/research/projects/smartpublics/">research team</a> at the University of Glasgow. (The final report is <a href="https://www.sydney.edu.au/content/dam/corporate/documents/faculty-of-arts-and-social-sciences/research/research-areas/literature-art-and-media/smart-publics-research-report.pdf">here</a>.)</p>
<p>We found the main users were those who were living rough, young people, students and gig workers. Smart furniture enabled these groups to stay digitally connected. They used these facilities to charge their phones and make free calls, which were especially valuable for those who didn’t own phones or lacked the credit to use them. (The InLinkUK kiosks offered free calls to any mobile or landline in the UK.)</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-we-stop-people-falling-through-the-gaps-in-a-digitally-connected-city-53810">How do we stop people falling through the gaps in a digitally connected city?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/407366/original/file-20210621-35174-j5yk5g.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An InLinkUK kiosk in Glasgow city centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Smart Publics researchers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who is funding these facilities?</h2>
<p>Even though kiosks and smart benches could be used for community service information, we found it was commercial advertising that drove private investment in this infrastructure. Advertising revenue paid for the services offered by the InLinkUK kiosks and sponsorship for the Strawberry Energy benches. Advertising agency Primesight was one of the three main partners in InLinkUK (with <a href="https://www.bt.com/">British Telecom</a> and <a href="https://www.intersection.com/success-story/link/">Intersection</a>, the company responsible for LinkNYC). </p>
<p>Because advertising was so prominent in their design, many people were unaware of their other functions. Asked if they’d noticed the InLinks, one person replied: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Er no, I haven’t […] what’s it for? Is it to make free calls to anywhere in the UK? […] I just thought it was like an advertising board, I guess!”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>People recognised the wide public value of free wi-fi, device charging and phone calls. But we found the public as a whole didn’t understand the data-collection aspects. The marginalised groups who relied on these services were more exposed to corporate advertising, data collection and surveillance in public spaces.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-friendly-furniture-in-public-places-matters-more-than-ever-in-todays-city-83568">People-friendly furniture in public places matters more than ever in today's city</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Councils were also limited in their ability to leverage the benefits that came from the data. The Strawberry Energy benches, for example, collected environmental data such as temperature, noise level and air quality from inbuilt sensors. However, these data weren’t being used to inform planning or policy. </p>
<p>Reliability of the data was another issue. We found inaccuracies when we tested the environmental data.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404957/original/file-20210607-121132-1w1293v.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Strawberry Energy smart bench in Southwark, South London.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Smart Publics researchers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Where to now in Australia?</h2>
<p>These issues highlight some of the challenges councils encounter when embarking on smart street furniture initiatives with private companies. These include data-sharing contract arrangements as well as the need to upskill council staff to manage new kinds of data capabilities and systems.</p>
<p>The examples we studied in the UK had been rolled out in public-private partnerships. However, some of the models emerging suggest a different kind of civic implementation. </p>
<p>Local governments that have been early adopters of smart furniture in Australia have envisioned it as an extension of council services without added advertising or compromising heritage values. These have typically begun as experimental initiatives funded by <a href="https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/cities/smart-cities/plan/index.aspx">federal</a> and state government grants. The City of Newcastle, for example, is planning to integrate smart city technologies into regular council operations. </p>
<p>Smart street furniture is not going away. If anything, it will become pervasive as technology advances and becomes more integrated into our physical surroundings. </p>
<p>The issues raised by smart street furniture warrant close inspection and further research. It is crucial that governments and private actors are transparent about its use for advertising and data collection. To ensure the benefits of smart street furniture are realised, they need to:</p>
<ul>
<li>emphasise the public value of smart street furniture, including its use for community-based information</li>
<li>collaborate with the public on its design and placement</li>
<li>in the case of councils, take a pro-active approach to access, ownership and stewardship of data</li>
<li>ensure marginalised citizens are not exposed to increased risk of surveillance and data harms.</li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157424/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justine Humphry received funding for the Smart Publics research project from the University of Sydney-University of Glasgow Partnership Collaboration Award.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Chesher received funding for the Smart Publics research project from the University of Sydney-University of Glasgow Partnership Collaboration Award.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Maalsen receives funding from the Australian Research Council and for the Smart Publics research project from the University of Sydney-University of Glasgow Partnership Collaboration Award.</span></em></p>Smart street furniture can do a lot of things at once. Some of these functions offer the public clear benefits, but the data collection and surveillance capabilities raise a number of concerns.Justine Humphry, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of SydneyChris Chesher, Senior Lecturer in Digital Cultures, University of SydneySophia Maalsen, ARC DECRA Fellow and Lecturer in Urbanism, School of Architecture, Design and Planning, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1236822019-09-23T20:10:22Z2019-09-23T20:10:22Z‘Transformer’ rooms and robo-furniture are set to remake our homes – and lives – before our eyes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293505/original/file-20190923-23796-1bn4c6u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C48%2C1914%2C1028&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Ori 'Cloud Bed' is lifted and lowered from a ceiling recess to create space that doubles as bedroom and living room.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ori/YouTube (screengrab)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>With two-thirds of a global population of 9.4 billion people <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html">expected to live in urban areas by 2050</a>, we can expect a change in the domestic living arrangements we are familiar with today.</p>
<p>In high-density cities, the static apartment layouts with one function per room will become a luxury that cannot be maintained. The traditional notion of a dedicated living room, bedroom, bathroom or kitchen will no longer be economically or environmentally sustainable. Building stock will need to work harder.</p>
<p>The need to use building space more efficiently means adaptive and responsive domestic micro-environments will replace the old concept of static rooms within a private apartment.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-density-matters-but-what-does-it-mean-58977">Urban density matters – but what does it mean?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These changes will reframe our idea of what home means, what we do in it, and how the home itself can support and help inhabitants with domestic living.</p>
<h2>So how will these flexible spaces work?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90399075/alphabet-is-betting-that-the-future-of-real-estate-is-robotic">Sidewalk Labs</a> and <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90358727/ikea-is-quietly-debuting-robotic-furniture">IKEA</a> are collaborating with <a href="https://oriliving.com/">Ori</a>, a robotic furniture startup that emerged from the <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2018/startup-ori-robotic-furniture-0131">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>, to transform our use of increasingly sparse urban living space. They have developed ways to enhance existing apartments with pre-manufactured standardised products to make living spaces flexible. </p>
<p>Leading product designers have produced tantalising concepts of how these newly developed products could enhance our lives in cities where space is at a premium. One example is based on a floor plan measuring just 3m by 3.5m. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4uuEQxmEum8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Yves Béhar and MIT Media Lab’s design for a robotic furniture system for small apartments, which reconfigures itself for different functions.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The more intensive use of building space with hyper-dense living will have impacts on circulation spaces. It will require more services in tighter spaces and a vigilant eye on emergency evacuation pathways. Public space will be much more crowded and play a more important role in our well-being.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/people-friendly-furniture-in-public-places-matters-more-than-ever-in-todays-city-83568">People-friendly furniture in public places matters more than ever in today's city</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The robotic furniture that is available now could also help people with some form of impairment negotiate their home environment. An example is a bed that tilts up into a position that makes it easier to get out. </p>
<p>Some furniture now on the market has similar mechanically assisted functions to help people get out of a chair. This can be expanded into a broader range of facilitated living aids for people with physical and other impairments.</p>
<h2>Ease of transformation is the key</h2>
<p>Mobile furniture is not a new idea. The late 1980s and early 1990s spawned a whole range of mobile furniture, such as tables on wheels and sideboards with castors. </p>
<p>We have always tried to make rooms adaptable. Japanese screens or room dividers were one way. We have space-saving and transforming furniture from IKEA such as folded-up hallway tables that can become dining tables. </p>
<p>The idea of being able to transform our living space made these mobile furnishings enticing. But they all required a range of manual actions and this effort meant that, after a few initial experiments with them, they ended up in one static position. These mobile items became integrated and firmly located within the accumulations of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article/15/2/139/1841428" title="Possessions and the Extended Self">things that make up our private sphere and who we are</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/reinventing-density-co-living-the-second-domestic-revolution-66410">Reinventing density: co-living, the second domestic revolution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Industrial designers such as the late <a href="https://www.apnews.com/c902ea0b489e4a5892e0382965cdd8df">Luigi Colani</a> designed pre-manufactured <a href="https://www.designboom.com/architecture/luigi-colani-rotor-house/">dwellings with rotating interiors</a> – but the ease of transformation is what really makes a difference now. It’s likely to have reverberating effects.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qlr7JnOuUEE?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Luigi Colani’s Rotor House.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The term robotic furniture conjures up <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055683/">Jetsons</a>-like images, but what this means is we will have adaptive spaces. Rooms will transform from bedroom into living room or from study into entertainment space at the touch of a button, a gesture, or a voice command. </p>
<p>While the videos (above) of beautifully designed spaces make the idea tantalisingly attractive, we need to bear in mind these are initial concepts, even though well-developed. But this heralds the beginning of an entirely new way of conceiving and inhabiting space. We have reached a time where everything is in flux.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TbgLp9EpTyI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Ori Cloud Bed in action.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It introduces another element into our daily routine. The time it takes for the transformation to be completed plays a big role. Too slow and we think twice about it, too fast and it might knock a few things about. In the examples shown (above) they are workable and safe.</p>
<p>If we take this development a step further, the way our cupboards store and provide access to our things might be next in line for robotic optimisation.</p>
<h2>It’s not just rooms that will be transformed</h2>
<p>There are still questions to be answered. For example, will the speed of the spatial transformation taking place influence the speed of our personal routines, like the time we allow for our morning coffee routine before heading out the door?</p>
<p>How will these new flexible spaces affect our sense of belonging and feeling at home, when everything can change with a voice command? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/control-cost-and-convenience-determine-how-australians-use-the-technology-in-their-homes-114510">Control, cost and convenience determine how Australians use the technology in their homes</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Robotically optimised homes might change culture in similar ways to how digital communications altered our conversations, social conduct, personal relationships, and behaviour.</p>
<p>The way we think about building and living in high-rise apartments, which we have done for hundreds of years, is about to take a turn. It could transform how we conceive of and inhabit vertical space. </p>
<p>Existing building typologies and the ways and means of how buildings are designed and developed will change entirely. This has the potential to have a massive and disruptive impact on real estate development, building design and regulation, construction methods, housing and social policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123682/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Tietz receives funding from the Australian Government's Department of Industry, Innovation and Science's Smart Cities and Suburbs Program</span></em></p>With space at a premium, robotic furniture can transform a room in seconds. How will this affect our sense of belonging and feeling at home, when everything can change with a voice command?Christian Tietz, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1147822019-04-08T16:10:35Z2019-04-08T16:10:35ZHouses through time: some homes can reflect a century of social change<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/268171/original/file-20190408-2918-sc8wu6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C2%2C757%2C541&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Illustration of ‘Axminster’ linoleum, in ‘Catesby’s one-piece linola squares’, Catesbys Colourful Cork Lino (1938).</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">BADDA 181, courtesy of the Museum of Domestic Design & Architecture, Middlesex University, www.moda.mdx.ac.uk</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you live in a house for which you are not the first occupant, you often come across traces of the previous residents in the exterior and interior of the house. More than a third of the UK’s housing stock dates back before World War II and, although this is increasingly rare for obvious reasons, every so often you can come across a “time-capsule house” full of clues as to how ordinary people lived more than 80 years ago.</p>
<p>I had this opportunity when, in 1995, I bought a fully furnished semi-detached house in Wolvercote, north Oxford. Built in 1934, the house had been decorated once and never modernised. Little did I know that my experience of the house was to underpin the next 20 years of my career as a design historian.</p>
<p>It turns out that the newly-built <a href="https://d2yvuud5fila0c.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/02151026/Pages-from-9780719068843_Print.pdf">house at Rosamund Road</a> had originally been purchased by Vernon Victor Collett (1900-1960) and his wife Cecilia (nee Wells, 1897-1995). They moved into the house with their sons Basil, aged about 13, and Roy, aged about ten. Vernon was a worker at the Wolvercote paper mill on a modest wage. Both Vernon and Cecilia were from solidly working-class backgrounds.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267770/original/file-20190405-180029-1152ig6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Exterior of semi-detached house at Rosamund Road, Wolvercote, Oxfordshire, 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James R. Ryan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vernon was the third of six children; his father was a dairyman and his mother a former domestic servant and daughter of an innkeeper. Cecilia was the fourth of five children of a house builder who died young, necessitating his widow to work as a charwoman to support her family. Vernon was the first person in his family to own his own home and is a good example of the kind of person on a modest income who was able to buy a home in the mid-1930s. </p>
<p>This was the most affordable period for home ownership in British history due to falling prices, the availability of compact three-bedroom houses and cheap credit. In 1910, 90% of people rented their homes – by 1939, owner occupation <a href="https://www.findmypast.co.uk/1939register/the-1930s-home/">had risen to 31%</a>.</p>
<h2>Nation of homeowners</h2>
<p>About 20% of the UK’s current housing stock was built before 1914 and an astonishing 17% was built between the wars. Home ownership was facilitated by the interwar house-building boom when nearly 3m houses were built for private sale and more than a million moved from rental to owner occupation. The ideology of Britain as a nation of homeowners emerged along with the desirability of a more home-centred way of life. It is this period that laid the foundations for the popularisation of the idea of the home as central to identity in Britain.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=889&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267772/original/file-20190405-180023-ci83w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1117&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Poster for Woolwich Equitable Building Society, c. 1935.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BADDA 4715, courtesy of the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture, Middlesex University, www.moda.ac.uk</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>More than a million houses were built by local authorities following the <a href="https://fet.uwe.ac.uk/conweb/house_ages/council_housing/section3.htm">1919 Addison Act</a> that demanded “homes fit for heroes”: troops that had served in World War I. They were also for the heroines who had undertaken munitions and other war work. These homes raised the standards of house building and set minimum standards for space. Despite being proposed as a solution to slums, they were only affordable for the better-off working classes. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, one Oxford housebuilder responded to this in 1934 by erecting what became known as “<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/oxford/content/articles/2009/03/26/cutteslowe_feature.shtml">Cutteslowe Walls</a>” – two-metre high walls topped with iron spikes – to divide the residents of his private estate from what he termed “slum dwellers” of the local authority estate. Despite years of protests from the council estate tenants, the walls were not finally demolished until 1959.</p>
<p>The Colletts had only two children in contrast to their own families of six and seven children. The <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2007.00390.x">small family of two or three children</a> was typical of the respectable working and aspiring lower middle classes in the interwar years who sought to improve their standard of living and was also dictated by the size and number of bedrooms in the typical interwar semi.</p>
<h2>From ‘ideal’ homes to ‘real’ homes</h2>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267773/original/file-20190405-180041-1s3lsno.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Front reception room at Rosamund Road, Wolvercote, 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James R. Ryan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Houses such as Rosamund Road were rarely the riot of Art Deco that some museums would have you believe. In fact, there were remarkable consistencies in UK homes throughout the 20th century with furniture chosen to last and dark paint to hide the grime of everyday life. Fixture, fitting and furnishings often combined different styles and periods. For example, Rosamund Road had imagined historic “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/175174211X13099693358717">Tudorbethan</a>” styles of furniture and “modernistic” linoleum, carpets, paint colours and wallpaper borders in its front reception room, kept for best as a parlour.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267774/original/file-20190405-180023-ilcd66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Kitchen at Rosamund Road, Wolvercote, 1995.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">James R. Ryan</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a former V&A curator, I restored and curated Rosamund Road, living out a 1930s lifestyle. I turned the tiny lean-to “kitchenette” extension into an interwar ideal. It already had a deep Belfast sink accompanied by an enamel top table and a few shelves. I acquired an original <a href="https://www.pinterest.co.uk/simonwilley/from-the-archive-of-easiwork-ltd/?lp=true">1930s Easiwork kitchen cabinet</a> with storage hidden behind its doors, incorporating a flour hopper and a metal-lined meat safe and a pull-down work surface. This was the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-45427232">precursor</a> to fitted kitchens in Britain, which did not <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-making-of-the-modern-kitchen-9781859736999/">take off until the 1960s</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/267776/original/file-20190405-180047-v5nhcp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ravensworth Terrace, Newcastle, which stars in series two of BBC Two’s A House Through Time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">BBC Two</span>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A note of caution about gadgets and electrical appliances. Washing machines and refrigerators may have been available in 1934 but that does not mean their use was widespread. In fact, the most popular appliances were curling tongs and irons. And even in the case of the latter only about <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=F0ZZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=zmroczek+weekly+wash&source=bl&ots=wWSQ4kiPR2&sig=ACfU3U3k7IC3hDZkLD8dy8B-6tAXSvAcrw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjVoJj628DhAhWFyIUKHceKD20Q6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=zmroczek%20weekly%20wash&f=false">a third</a> of households had one in the 1935. If households had income for the luxuries afforded by the convenience of electrical appliances they were more likely to spend it on a wireless – leisure was valued more than saving women’s labour.</p>
<p>Our houses hold the material evidence of their past residents in their bricks and mortar and the walls, floors, mouldings, fixtures, fittings and layout of their interiors. Imagining what they might have looked like and how they have changed through time gives us rich insights into social history. </p>
<p>For anybody who’s delved into family or house history, there is an extraordinary power in standing in the place where an event happened and wondering how the walls might talk. But for me, as an historian of design and everyday culture, the rituals of everyday life that our homes reveal are just as captivating and moving.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/114782/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deborah Sugg Ryan is series consultant and onscreen expert for A House Through Time, Twenty Twenty Television for BBC Two. She received funding from the British Academy for her research on the interwar home, published by Manchester University Press as Ideal Homes, 1918-39: Domestic Design and Suburban Modernism.
</span></em></p>Some houses are like a time capsule of social history that can tell us how living standards, and fashions, have changed over the years.Deborah Sugg Ryan, Professor of Design History & Theory, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1108782019-02-08T11:33:23Z2019-02-08T11:33:23ZFlorence Knoll Bassett’s mid-century design diplomacy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257820/original/file-20190207-174873-8lb3sm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Architect and designer Florence Knoll Bassett poses with her dog, Cartree, in this photograph circa 1950.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Courtesy Knoll Archive</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The look, feel and functionality of the modern American office can be traced back to the work of one woman.</p>
<p>Florence Knoll Bassett, <a href="https://www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/13884-obituary-florence-knoll-bassett-1917-2019">whom Architectural Record called</a> the “single most powerful figure in modern design,” died at 101 on Jan. 25. </p>
<p>In the early 20th century, offices consisted of rows of dark, heavy desks and chairs, with the executive desk angled toward an office door.</p>
<p>Knoll, who believed that a building’s interior was as important as its exterior, introduced an office aesthetic based on function. She interviewed people about how they did their job so they could do it efficiently and comfortably. She then went on to design products like <a href="https://www.knoll.com/search-results?searchtext=florence%20knoll%20desk&newTab=discover">the Model 1500 series</a> – a desk that allowed drawers and cabinets to be added to the frame based on need.</p>
<p>The press <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpwDwAAQBAJ&dq=knoll:+a+modernist+universe&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjM6v67lKrgAhWLnOAKHV2vBQgQ6AEIKjAA">coined a term</a> for her “humanist interpretation of European modernism”: the “Knoll Look.” Her clients included CBS, Connecticut General, Alcoa and the University of Michigan, and you’ll see <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/03/go-behind-scenes-mad-mens-exquisite-set-design/">her influence in mid-century period pieces</a> like “Mad Men.” </p>
<p>The U.S. State Department <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=0QpwDwAAQBAJ&dq=knoll:+a+modernist+universe&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjM6v67lKrgAhWLnOAKHV2vBQgQ6AEIKjAA">had also noticed</a> Knoll’s growing reputation. As part of a Cold War propaganda effort to align consumer choice with political choice, they used her and her “look” to help establish and promote an American identity abroad.</p>
<h2>Reimagining the textile</h2>
<p>Knoll attended the Cranbrook Academy of Art, a school that’s considered the birthplace of American modernism, where she was a classmate of future star designers <a href="https://www.dwr.com/designer-charles-and-ray-eames?lang=en_US">Charles and Ray Eames</a>, <a href="https://www.phaidon.com/store/architecture/eero-saarinen-9780714865928/">Eero Saarinen</a>, <a href="https://www.knoll.com/shop/by-designer/harry-bertoia">Harry Bertoia</a> and <a href="https://www.moma.org/artists/309">Benjamin Baldwin</a>.</p>
<p>She eventually moved to New York, where she joined the architectural firm of Harrison & Abromovitz in 1941. While living and working in New York, she met Hans Knoll, the owner of a small furniture company, and she joined his firm in 1943. The couple married in 1946; that same year, the H. G. Knoll Company was renamed “Knoll Associates,” and the Knoll Planning Unit, which focused on interior design, was set up. Florence was named head. </p>
<p>“I am not a decorator,” <a href="https://www.knoll.com/story/shop/the-planning-unit">she famously declared</a> in a 1964 New York Times article that credited her for revolutionizing office design as an architect in a predominantly male profession. </p>
<p>Frustrated by the challenge of finding fabrics suitable for use on modern furniture, <a href="https://www.bgc.bard.edu/research-forum/articles/203/knoll-before-knoll-textiles-1940">Knoll initially used men’s suiting fabrics for upholstery and interiors</a>.</p>
<p>Then, in 1947, Knoll Textiles, which worked closely with the Planning Unit, was launched, giving Knoll the opportunity to develop, market and sell printed and woven textiles. </p>
<p>“Textiles were among the most visible and industrially innovative products produced in the U.S. in the 1950s and impacted many aspects of postwar life,” Berry College historian Virginia Troy told me in an interview. </p>
<p>Wartime rationing, which included clothing and textiles, had ended in 1946. As the economy grew, <a href="http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1994/postwar-america/the-postwar-economy-1945-1960.php">so did the appetite for textiles</a>. Used for upholstery, curtains and carpeting, they were integral to modern architecture: They could unify open floor plans, serve as dividers and separate work areas from living spaces.</p>
<p>Knoll’s unobtrusive textile designs – which tended to feature subtle colors – often included geometric or <a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/b/biomorphic">biomorphic</a> prints and woven fabrics in which <a href="https://www.knoll.com/media/142/457/Honour-Upholstery-10286_m.jpg">vertical and horizontal weaves</a> formed a pattern. </p>
<p>Her textiles were quite different from the <a href="https://www.joann.com/on/demandware.static/-/Sites-joann-product-catalog/default/dw4aa01aec/images/hi-res/14/14749071.jpg">brocade</a> and chintz <a href="https://ebth-com-production.imgix.net/2017/07/31/13/04/14/39aa2fa3-bfd2-4ad4-8310-997e69274f80/Untitled-1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&w=880&h=880&fit=crop&crop=&auto=format">cabbage roses</a> sold in most of the era’s textile showrooms. </p>
<h2>Branding and selling America abroad</h2>
<p>Around this time, the U.S. government started sponsoring international expositions to introduce the American people and their innovations abroad – what historian Robert Haddow called “<a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/PAVILIONS_OF_PLENTY.html?id=7jTbAAAAMAAJ">Pavilions of Plenty</a>.” </p>
<p>The most famous is probably the 1959 American National Exhibition in Moscow, during which then-Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev held their “<a href="https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/nixon-and-khrushchev-have-a-kitchen-debate">kitchen debate</a>” and argued about the merits of capitalism and communism. </p>
<p>But there were smaller exhibits that preceded the American National Exhibition in Moscow including “<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2gZxM4BdNIMC&pg=PA23&lpg=PA23&dq=%22How+America+Lives%22+1949&source=bl&ots=hA0qAUwvhl&sig=ACfU3U0vYy-dw0UXxU1Vw49nNIgetNXnLQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOm7XWpqrgAhVuT98KHZ-3DXkQ6AEwCHoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22How%20America%20Lives%22%201949&f=false">How America Lives</a>,” which was held in Frankfurt in 1949, and “<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/659392?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">America at Home</a>,” an exhibition in Berlin that took place in 1950. </p>
<p>In 1951, the Traveling Exhibition Service – now called <a href="https://www.sites.si.edu/s/">the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service</a> – asked Knoll to curate and design an exhibit. She had been recommended by Edgar Kaufmann Jr., the director of the Museum of Modern Art’s Good Design program. It also didn’t hurt that Knoll <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Knoll-Modernist-Universe-Brian-Lutz/dp/0847831868">was known in some government circles</a>. She had designed Secretary of War Henry Stimson’s office, and Knoll Associates had outfitted government buildings in the U.S. and Europe.</p>
<p>Titled “Contemporary American Textiles,” Knoll and the Planning Unit designed an exhibit that, like her office designs, was meant to be experienced as a whole. The self-lit aluminum-framed pavilion included its own drop-in floor, and double-sided wall panels assembled from textiles were hung by straps and braced by cross-wires. </p>
<p>For a 2018 exhibit titled “<a href="https://cadvc.umbc.edu/a-designed-life/">A Designed Life</a>,” organized by UMBC’s Center for Art, Design & Visual Culture, I recreated Knoll’s original exhibit using photographs and plans from the Archives of American Art.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257312/original/file-20190205-86195-eigejm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">For the 2018 exhibit ‘A Designed Life,’ the author rebuilt Knoll’s ‘Contemporary American Textiles.’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Meyers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Brightly colored panels were used to make rooms within a room. Sight lines formed by triangular shapes and patterns directed visitors through the exhibit, offering a continuously changing viewpoint <a href="https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/florence-knoll-bassett-papers-6312/series-5/box-3-folder-9">described by</a> the magazine Interiors as “kaleidoscopic.”</p>
<p>The display showcased over 150 well-designed, mass-produced and readily available fabrics; in the forward of the accompanying catalog, Knoll described the textiles as “designs of beautiful color in all price ranges.” Over 50 of these fabrics were sold under the Knoll Textile label. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/257844/original/file-20190207-174870-ex37y1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The recreated Knoll exhibition allows visitors to participate in the original ‘kaleidoscopic’ experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dan Meyers</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The goal was to sell the idea of capitalism, America and democracy in a post-war Europe that was anxious to rebuild, and it appeared in West German and Austrian schools, museums and trade fairs.</p>
<p>Government records note that the exhibit was included in the 1952 Berlin Cultural Festival and presented in 1953 in Munich and Essen. The U.S. Embassy in France also sponsored its display in a 1954 Parisian trade show dedicated to household management. </p>
<p>To date, there’s no known physical trace of this exhibit.</p>
<p>Was it thrown away or donated to a German school or museum in order to earn some goodwill? Was it discarded because <a href="https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/177574.pdf">the 1948 Smith-Mundt Act</a>, which authorized international public diplomacy, discouraged the presentation of these exhibitions back in the United States? </p>
<p>I have no way of knowing.</p>
<p>I do know, however, that Knoll was proud of this exhibit: When German architect <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walter-Gropius">Walter Gropius</a> praised it, she wrote that it was “a great honor.” And she included sketches, plans and photographs of “Contemporary American Textiles” in her papers that she donated to the Archives of American Art.</p>
<p>The exhibit is a reminder that one of the country’s most influential designers was also one of its great ambassadors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/110878/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article discusses an exhibition project "A Designed Life" that received from funding the National Endowment for the Arts and the Coby Foundation. The funding is managed through UMBC. I have not received any personal support from these grants.</span></em></p>Knoll is best known for transforming the design of America’s corporate offices. But she was also on the front lines of a State Department effort to promote American ingenuity and capitalism abroad.Margaret Re, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1003362018-09-04T04:23:46Z2018-09-04T04:23:46ZExplainer: can you copyright furniture?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234722/original/file-20180904-41732-40zjei.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The on-paper designs for furniture belong to the designer, just like any other artists. But things get more complicated when designs become physical objects. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Furniture stores are often filled with designs that look similar to others. But is copying furniture legal, and should we feel bad about buying replicas?</p>
<p>Recently, interior designers <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/home/interiors/customers-angered-by-retailer-pulling-wooden-stool-night-before-sale/news-story/107fe3c91829548e30625c812d1c592e">accused the supermarket Aldi</a> of copying an Australian designer’s stool in the launch of a new range of “luxe” furniture. Some, including the Design Institute of Australia, noted the stool’s similarities to designer Mark Tuckey’s eggcup stool, which retails for more than $550. Aldi withdrew its stool (priced at $69) on the day of the sale, citing quarantine issues and said it was <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ALDI.Australia/posts/2086722988051858">scheduled to return to stores</a> in late August. (There is no suggestion that Aldi has broken the law here). </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1019707020427972608"}"></div></p>
<p>In general, copying furniture designs that have not been registered in Australia is likely to be legal. This means that, in most circumstances when designers have not registered their work, businesses are able to sell, and Australian consumers are able to purchase, replica furniture without breaking the law.</p>
<h2>How designs are protected</h2>
<p>A designer of furniture, fashion or any other product will normally start out by creating a 2D drawing of their product. The drawing might be made by hand or using a computer or machine. This initial design is automatically protected under copyright law as an “artistic work”. For most types of artistic works, copyright lasts for the lifetime of the creator plus an additional 70 years. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228976/original/file-20180724-189310-dsnb2t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Furniture designers’ drawings will be protected under copyright automatically.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-designer-pen-designing-sketching-his-423583966?src=Yt3eMu9c0j5UsmLzv2Q3_g-1-12">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Copyright law prevents a person from copying someone else’s work if they do not have permission or a legal excuse. Making a 3D reproduction of a 2D artistic work counts as “copying” under law. So a person who makes, for example, a physical 3D chair using a designer’s 2D design of that chair may be infringing copyright of that 2D artistic work. </p>
<p>However, there is an interesting feature of copyright law that applies only to designers. A designer will lose copyright protection in their 2D artistic work if it is “industrially applied”. </p>
<p>“Industrial application” is generally understood to mean that 50 or more copies of the 3D product deriving from the design are made and offered for sale. Any mass commercial production will therefore take the product outside of the scope of copyright law. </p>
<p>However, mass-designed products can be protected by Australia’s <a href="https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/designs">designs system</a>. This system protects the visual appearance of a product. Unlike with copyright, designers must register their designs to be protected under law. </p>
<p>For a design to be registered, it must meet certain minimum requirements. Importantly, it must be new and visually distinctive. The novelty of a design is critical to protection. These requirements ensure that ordinary and unremarkable designs are not constrained by intellectual property law, but are free for people to make and sell.</p>
<p>How is this determined? An application for design registration is filed with and assessed by <a href="https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/">IP Australia</a>, located in Canberra. It usually takes between three and 12 months to process an application, and costs around $300 to apply. Once registered, design protection lasts for five years, with the opportunity to renew registration for a further five years - so 10 years in total.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/adds2/adds.adds_namelist_search.paint_name_search">designs register</a> is searchable online. Our search did not reveal any designs registered to Mark Tuckey.</p>
<h2>Incomplete protection is deliberate</h2>
<p>There are important policy reasons why designers are not given complete protection under intellectual property law. For one, it is often difficult to determine what is an original design when aesthetics meets functionality - there are a limited number of ways to design a seat that people will actually want to sit on! Designs protection is limited so that consumers can affordably access practical products. </p>
<p>Designs law tries to balance a designer’s right to protect their product with the public’s right to access. Getting the balance right is tricky, and is likely to be under increasing pressure with the advent of 3D printing for the home.</p>
<p>It is now possible to <a href="https://www.sculpteo.com/blog/2018/02/21/3d-printed-furniture-appliances-of-the-future/">print replica furniture</a>, and this practice may become more popular as 3D printing technology becomes simultaneously more sophisticated and more widely available. This is likely to raise ongoing questions about the scope of designs protection under copyright and designs law, and whether the law is appropriately tailored to protect designers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228977/original/file-20180724-76263-6mx6s5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The option of 3D printing your furniture brings about new headaches for copyright.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/3d-printer-printing-close-process-new-525745555?src=_smqNJDqkLScDs7JNEfXiQ-1-44">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For Australian designers, the answer may not be stronger legal protection. First, we should ensure that the designs registration system is working effectively. Anecdotal reports suggest that the designs system is underused. We need to make sure that registration is affordable and accessible. Only then will we be in a position to know whether the protection offered by designs registration is enough. </p>
<p>For consumers, the good news is that replica furniture is likely to continue to be available in retail stores. There is certainly nothing illegal about <em>buying</em> replica furniture. Those with the budget to do so, however, may want to consider supporting local Australian designers of furniture and home crafts.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/100336/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kylie Pappalardo is a postdoctoral researcher on the ARC Discovery Project: "Inventing the Future: Intellectual Property and 3D Printing". </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karnika Bansal does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>How are furniture designers protected by law, and what is an ‘original design’ when aesthetics meets functionality?Kylie Pappalardo, Lecturer, School of Law, Queensland University of TechnologyKarnika Bansal, Research Assistant, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/910542018-07-16T20:48:55Z2018-07-16T20:48:55ZArt and design schools must cultivate creators, not theorists<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/214361/original/file-20180411-570-1dfl96j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Peter Thomas of the Winnipeg Art Gallery (left), Marcel Dionne of Roarockit (centre) and Jaimie Isaac, curator for Indigenous/Contemporary at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (right), are seen building a skateboard using a do-it-yourself kit in this 2017 photo. Art and design schools should reward those who actually build and create more than they do design theorists. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Author provided)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A sadly common refrain about young people today is that they <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2017/05/24/myths-and-truths-about-millennials/lfGryVDq7Vpu1OfFGf77jL/story.html">are coddled, entitled, self-absorbed and tech-addicted</a>.</p>
<p>But as events this year have shown us, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/24/us/march-for-our-lives/index.html">teenagers and young adults are fiercely engaged, strong, resilient and determined to make a mark in the world.</a></p>
<p>This is something I know firsthand as a longtime and retiring professor of furniture design and construction at the Ontario College of Art and Design University, and the owner of a <a href="http://www.roarockit.ca/">unique skateboard company</a> that specializes in build-it-yourself kits that have particular appeal to teens and young adults. </p>
<p>Most of my students are fully engaged with the modern world of tech. They have embraced their tech obsession by learning how to use <a href="http://www.engravingsys.com/cnc-engravers-and-routers/cnc-engravers-cnc-routers/">CNC routers</a>, laser cutters and 3D printers when they build furniture.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-3d-printing-and-whats-it-for-9456">Explainer: what is 3D printing and what's it for?</a>
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<p>Unfortunately, their interactions with these tools involve handing a program file to a service desk and returning hours later to pick up the milled, cut or layered object. </p>
<h2>Bucking tech</h2>
<p>I have noticed, however, an increasingly larger group of upper-year students creating objects in wood, metal and plastic shops where they are bucking the hi-tech obsession and using more traditional building methods. </p>
<p>They’re using tools like rulers, saws and chisels rather than the hands-off methods promoted at art institutions to finely craft objects.</p>
<p>Many of them, after having been exposed to the high-tech side of what a well-equipped institution has to offer, change direction to embrace a more hands-on, traditional way of making and ultimately learning. </p>
<p>These students, after graduating, end up being builders of things — and not very interested in creating objects without having some physical input into its creation. </p>
<p>After all the <a href="https://blog.proto.io/10-of-the-best-design-philosophies-of-all-time/">design philosophy</a> and all the classes that teach <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12599-010-0118-4">design theories</a>, this group ends up doing what attracted them in the first place to an art and design university — the making of things. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, too few art and design schools, OCAD University included, celebrate and promote those who build and create using more traditional techniques, even though they use these objects as promotional tools to attract future students — and to justify the institution’s existence. </p>
<p>Art and design schools push students to be concept-driven designers, and do not advocate the craft of making. Recognition goes to the theorists, not those who build and create things with their hands. Students, consequently, feel they have to go that route; to become theorists, not creators. </p>
<p>What’s more, there’s little obvious interest from upper management in the areas where hands-on teaching is done. If there are cutbacks, they are in the areas where hands-on teaching takes place. Technicians and class assistants are often the first to go or fall prey to shortened hours.</p>
<h2>Less expertise</h2>
<p>Tenure-track highly skilled faculty in these areas are being replaced with <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/most-university-undergrads-now-taught-by-poorly-paid-part-timers-1.2756024">contract faculty</a> who have less expertise and little interest in taking extra time to properly give students the valuable lessons needed to be successful creators of objects or works of art.</p>
<p>It’s wonderful when design students find jobs where they can use the concepts taught in a theory-driven institution, but these jobs are few and far between when compared to the masses of students graduating each year. </p>
<p>As a longtime inventor and designer of things, my frustration with the growing trend in design education is what prompted me to create my company, Roarockit. </p>
<p>It’s not about theories and concepts. It’s real-life stuff. </p>
<p>We tell our customers, most of them young and with a passion for creating and designing that cannot be satisfied at today’s art and design schools: “Here are the tools and knowledge to make something. Your job is to design, build and promote it. And if you have a decent product, someone will pay you for it.”</p>
<p>We have taught many classes of at-risk kids how to use our skateboard kits, and seeing the process is a eureka moment for them. They are thrilled by what they can create.</p>
<p>Indeed, Roarockit kits introduce hands-on experience. It causes young people who thought they were useless to say: “I can build this and I am proud of myself. I have made something, I have marketed it, I have sold it and I have made money from it.” </p>
<p>Some of them even donate their profits to charity.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/about/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-by-klaus-schwab">As the Fourth Industrial Revolution approaches</a>, it’s a mistake to assume there will be no need for people who create, who build, who have manual skills. There will always be an appetite for craftsmanship, for art and for the work only human hands can truly bring to life.</p>
<p>Art and design schools would be wise to remember that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91054/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Hunter is the founder of Roarockit, which is mentioned in this article. </span></em></p>Even as our world goes digital, there will always be an appetite for craftsmanship, for art and for the work only human hands can truly bring to life. Art and design schools should celebrate creators.Ted Hunter, Professor, Furniture Design, OCAD UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/908962018-01-30T14:07:35Z2018-01-30T14:07:35ZThe Ikea effect: how Ingvar Kamprad’s company changed the way we shop<p>Ingvar Kamprad, who started Ikea as a teenager, has died at the age of 91. He started with stationery and stockings, but went on to build one of the world’s biggest furniture companies. And the way he did it has revolutionised how retailers operate. </p>
<p>There are two facets of modern life that we have Ikea to thank for: flat-pack furniture and a <a href="https://m.ikea.com/ms/en_MY/img/store_images/default_store/Map.jpg">shop layout</a> that gets you buying more of its products than you initially intended to. Both are principles that a number of other companies have put to good use.</p>
<p>Ikea first brought out its now signature style of flat-pack furniture in the 1950s. Whether you love or loathe this concept, it was a <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ikea-used-affordable-and-innovative-design-to-transform-the-homes-of-everyday-consumers-86069">stroke of genius</a> and a effective way of making the masses value the brand. There are the <a href="https://www.fastcodesign.com/3057837/the-man-behind-ikeas-world-conquering-flat-pack-design">obvious aspects</a> of cost efficiency and the practicality of shipping. But flat-pack furniture also has an important subconscious influence on consumers. </p>
<p>When Ikea made the switch away from selling furniture that was already assembled, it was most likely unaware of how it would influence its consumers. Yet scientists have since managed to pinpoint why consumers simply can’t get enough of building their own furniture. The simple act of touching products (and what better way to ensure touch based interaction than through assembling a piece of furniture) can increase your <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10350330.2011.591996http:/www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10350330.2011.591996">overall perceived value</a> of the product. Couple this with the fact that the more effort a consumer has to put into building something the more they like it – you have an undoubtedly winning formula. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740811000829">Tests have shown</a> that the actual act of putting something together (even though there may be sweat, swearing and tears involved) so that it becomes a complete object generates a much more favourable perception of that object than it would purchasing it in a completed form. The phenomenon is known as <a href="http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Publication%20Files/11-091.pdf">the Ikea effect</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203988/original/file-20180130-107683-1smm8qs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">It’ll be worth it in the end.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/couple-putting-together-self-assembly-furniture-165133442?src=pExQzO6-2EGlxukAu9SVeA-1-49">shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This effect is further enhanced by the fact that touch itself is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23538146">neurologically coupled with emotion</a>. This means that when we touch something the emotive part of our brain is activated so that we experience a close connection with the product. Touch creates feelings of ownership and increases the perceived value we have of items. Thus the happy assembler of the flat pack will, once finished, feel proud of their achievement and experiencing feelings of being closely connected to the item.</p>
<h2>Round and round in circles</h2>
<p>The layout of the Ikea stores has also paved the way for a more creative way of thinking about how to guide shoppers. If you have ever visited one of its huge warehouse stores, you may have gone in thinking you were only buying a few items, to find yourself coming out of the store with a trolley full of things. This is because of its circular design and one way system.</p>
<p>This design means you often can’t see what is coming next and fear you’ll miss something you need if you don’t continue all the way along the path. There are potential escape points throughout the store, but that would mean that you will miss several of the sections and rarely consumers are prepared to take that risk. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/203993/original/file-20180130-107679-18uzs5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">You know you want those tea lights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/sea-turtle/4524425632/in/photolist-w72AD-7vHLCW-5PV4Ny-byHbv-7TNS7u-3Ro59-CD9yN-7cVKg-7cVK7-b7DNR-6vPmLy-4szaXu-4uE49g-bU5fP-pe2zF-EGDpH-5LhUKD-bU5fS-3Gm8d-3eqFT5-EGDpR-byHbx-byHbw-6VKvUB-tsKg9m-byHbu-byHbt-65v3G-7cVK6-fUsro-N3MDKG-5SLB3Z">sea turtle/flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Because you know it may be tricky to revisit a particular item later on, you are inclined to pick it up when you see it and put it in your big trolley. This ensures that the customer touches the product, which in turn again <a href="http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/faculty/suzanne.shu/JCR%2520touch%2520ownership.pdf">generates a psychological sense of ownership over it</a> and decreases the likelihood that it will be put down en route to the tills.</p>
<p>The fact that you can’t see around the next corner also creates a subconscious sense of mystery, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916587191001">which draws the customer gradually further into the store</a>. Environments perceived to be mysterious usually generate an overall stronger liking and so encourage shoppers to keep walking through the store. And the more you do this, the more likely you are to buy something – especially all the smaller items on display such as candles, napkins and picture frames as they seem cheap compared to the larger more expensive items. </p>
<p>Ikea’s creative ability to tap into the unconsciousness of consumers is undoubtedly a big part of its success – and also why it’s been <a href="http://www.digitalistmag.com/customer-experience/2016/04/11/why-apply-ikea-affect-to-your-business-04134971">copied</a> by many other companies. Even though Ingvar Kamprad is no longer with us, Ikea has inherited from him an ethos of thinking outside of the box to communicate with consumers. It will be interesting to see what follows next.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/90896/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cathrine Jansson-Boyd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Ingvar Kamprad’s Ikea revolutionised retail by popularising flat-pack furniture and building maze-like stores.Cathrine Jansson-Boyd, Reader in Consumer Psychology, Anglia Ruskin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/835682017-09-14T19:34:55Z2017-09-14T19:34:55ZPeople-friendly furniture in public places matters more than ever in today’s city<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185452/original/file-20170911-28497-hubvwj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cities and their residents' needs in public space have changed, but the type and function of the furniture are stuck in the past.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/new-york-city-september-03-people-235965100?src=dQWi6EDRF5cc1piok1657A-1-20">Carlos Neto/shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/city-planning-suffers-growth-pains-of-australias-population-boom-75930">Increasing urbanisation</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/equitable-density-42055">denser city living</a>, more expensive <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-17/housing-market-powder-keg-could-blow-with-rate-rises/8714674">apartment prices</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-pictures-of-rental-housing-stress-and-vulnerability-zero-in-on-areas-of-need-77714">higher rents</a> are reshaping our access to and use of urban space. Room-sharing websites are one sign that the cost of city living is driving people to consider sharing rooms with strangers out of necessity. Those flats are not homes anymore.</p>
<p>If people can’t spend time in their flat – because it is too crowded, too noisy or not safe enough – they end up spending more time in public spaces like libraries or quasi-public spaces like gaming arcades or shopping malls. Dutch <a href="http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2000/announcement">Prizker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas</a> calls this <a href="http://garagemca.org/en/publishing/rem-koolhaas-junkspace">Junkspace</a>. Or they are spending time in the street, plazas and parks. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/contested-spaces-living-off-the-edge-in-a-city-mall-where-design-fuels-conflict-72351">Contested spaces: living off the edge in a city mall where design fuels conflict</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>How does the city cater for people in these places? Imagine a home furnished with the kind of furniture we typically see on the street. Would it feel comfy?</p>
<p>Generally the design of this kind of public furniture has a strictly defined scope. It has to be vandal-resistant, easy to install, require little to no maintenance, not encourage littering, tie in with the style of the precinct, etc. </p>
<p>Public furniture also has an established typology – benches and seats mainly. This restricts what we can do in public (sit down with a straight back, we can’t lounge). These are part of the design considerations to provide a bench for people to sit on. </p>
<h2>What if we want to do more than just sit?</h2>
<p>The spacing, positioning and location of furniture in public space play a big part in deciding what I can look at, with whom, for how long and how I’ll feel while sitting there. </p>
<p>But what if I want to do more then just sit there? Where, for instance, do I plug in my phone or laptop to recharge? </p>
<p>It is also not easy to wash my hands in a public space. For example, I’ve sat down and eaten an orange on a bench, my hands are sticky and I’d like to wash them. Perhaps I’ve also taken off my coat while sitting there. What now? </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=618&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/185566/original/file-20170911-1368-1o9ehj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Why don’t public toilets give you anywhere to put what you’re carrying other than the toilet floor?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/public-restroom-center-city-62874775?src=GSGZl-V-KmLvIV5f97VHPw-1-14">Henryk Sadura/shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve got to seek out the nearest public toilet and use the hand basin, but where to put all my other belongings while doing that? On the toilet floor? </p>
<p>A basic human right is access to water and utility services. We need to provide this access in the public sphere, and not just in commercial environments like coffee shops. </p>
<p>Filling up a water bottle is not easy, buying water is – if you can afford it. This is not an equitable solution. It adds to the already significant financial burden of paying high rents and city living.</p>
<h2>Think about how design can expand our options</h2>
<p>While we have furniture for the street, the street, parks and plazas lack other services. Design embeds a narrow social script in the current range of street furniture. The design of new public furnishings needs to adapt and offer citizens a wider, more diverse range of options for being in the city. </p>
<p>For example, people should have access to facilities to carry out basic healthy living practices, such as washing hands. They also need access to power – perhaps even a facility to heat up food, like a home-made lunch, or a pre-prepared meal from the supermarket. </p>
<p>Furnishing a public space with such new public appliances could transform it, soften it, bring familiarity, comfort and a sense of domesticity to it; a public backyard. The opportunities for a smart city are not just large-scale infrastructure, public transport and traffic monitoring, but also exist at a finer-grained level.</p>
<p>These new kind of street furnishings can be made available to users via a contemporary, digital version of the old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_gate">city gate</a>. It can require them to log in or authorise them to use equipment via a unique identifier. We already practise this on e-commerce and sharing economy websites.</p>
<p>This new kind of public street furniture can have sensors embedded that monitor and <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-adelaide-in-how-a-smart-city-can-work-to-benefit-everyone-81824">respond in real time</a> to their use. Interactive furniture can be part of a larger dedicated data system. It can inform relevant authorities if the power point is drawing excessive power, or if the noise level at this power point is too loud for the time of day and, in response, turn off the lights and the power. </p>
<p>Parameters can be tested and the calibration of use and user patterns can be explored in line with neighbourhood expectations. The system can then autonomously react to the data gathered.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Further reading:</strong> <a href="https://theconversation.com/lessons-from-adelaide-in-how-a-smart-city-can-work-to-benefit-everyone-81824">Lessons from Adelaide in how a smart city can work to benefit everyone</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Street furniture can be reconceived as connected and interactive appliances. These would then provide a gateway that gives people access to everyday utilities. And, by doing so, these new facilities could provide quasi-domestic-style amenity in the public realm, making the city a more equitable and welcoming place for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/83568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christian Tietz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With cities becoming more dense and housing more crowded, people rely more than ever on well-designed public spaces, so why hasn’t the furniture changed with the times?Christian Tietz, Senior Lecturer in Industrial Design, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/726972017-03-09T04:20:17Z2017-03-09T04:20:17ZFrom the mundane to the divine, some of the best-designed products of all time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159814/original/image-20170307-14941-ufygy6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=66%2C9%2C2993%2C2104&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Poul Henningsen's Artichoke Lamp, viewed from below at London's Park Plaza Hotel.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Artichoke_lamp_from_below.jpg">Doc Searls/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>A well-designed product equally elevates form and function. It is pleasing to look at, easy to use and solves a common problem.</em></p>
<p><em>We reached out to five design professors and posed the following question: What’s the best-designed product of all time, and why?</em></p>
<p><em>Their responses vary from cheap, everyday products to newer, more expensive ones. But all share a story of trial, error and ingenuity.</em> </p>
<hr>
<h2>Cutting the glare</h2>
<p><strong>Catherine Anderson, The George Washington University</strong></p>
<p>In the early 1920s, as Danish designer Poul Henningsen observed Copenhagen at night, he lamented the quality of light in people’s homes. <a href="http://www.kosmorama.org/ServiceMenu/05-English/Articles/Lamps-Light-and-Enlightenment.aspx">He noticed</a> that the incandescent bulbs – sometimes bare, sometimes surrounded by a single shade – created “arrows of light” and a harsh glare. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.scandinaviandesign.com/poulHenningsen/index.htm">Henningsen set out to create a new design</a> that would mitigate this “dismal” effect; it would be “…constructed with the most difficult and noble task in mind: lighting in the home.” </p>
<p>“The aim is to beautify the home and who lived there,” <a href="https://www.scandinaviandesign.com/poulHenningsen/index.htm">he wrote</a>, “to make the evening restful and relaxing.” </p>
<p>His approach was <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/scanstud.85.1.0079?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">scientific</a>. He rigorously examined how using multiple shades could cast a warm glow of light within a room.</p>
<p>In 1924, the “PH lamp” was born.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159826/original/image-20170307-14966-pnt12j.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=532&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Poul Henningsen’s PH lamp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PH-Lampan_1.jpg">Holger.Ellgaard/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It’s delightful to look at. But most importantly, <a href="http://www.lauritz.com/en/ph-3-2/a3880/0/0/?sflang=da">it emits</a> a light that’s forgiving to the eye – an effect that’s created by the multiple shades, which evenly distribute the light. This creates a soft halo that attenuates the contrast between the light source and the surrounding darkness. </p>
<p>Henningsen’s sleek, spare lamp was <a href="https://www.phillips.com/article/5689896/the-lights-of-poul-henningsen">awarded a gold medal</a> at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts. Over the years, it inspired many offshoots, such as the <a href="http://www.louispoulsen.com/int/products/indoor/pendants/ph-artichoke/c-24/c-1422/p-55590">Artichoke Lamp</a>, and became a product worthy of kings: In 1938, a train compartment for Danish King Christian X <a href="http://www.palainco.com/discover/item/miracles-called-ph-lamps-part-2/">included one of Henningsen’s lamps</a>.</p>
<p>All underscore the strength of the original design, <a href="http://www.dwr.com/sale-great-deals/ph5-pendant-lamp/137089.html?lang=en_US&adpos=1o1&creative=96969738159&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&gclid=COSE86q3x9ICFZmCswodzlYK9A">which can still be bought today</a>. </p>
<hr>
<h2>Holding it together</h2>
<p><strong>Lorraine Justice, Rochester Institute of Technology</strong></p>
<p>For years I took the simple paper clip for granted. As a kid I’d twist them apart to hang Christmas ornaments. In my teens I’d use them to shoot rubber bands at my friends. And in the 1990s I’d straighten them to pop a software floppy disk from a defective hard drive. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until I became a design student that I realized the paper clip – which is officially patented as a <a href="http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/articles/arts/design/2012/05/paperclip/120521_Design_Paperclip_image5_gemads.jpg.CROP.article568-large.jpg">“gem paper clip”</a> – was a near-perfect design: elegant, functional and made of steel, a sustainable and recyclable material. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159832/original/image-20170307-14946-1ukn9sh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">11 billion sold in America – per year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/download/success?src=1DzI6z9nAFfuuwz0lP5khQ-1-73">'Paperclip' via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the paper clip had a long path to the flawless form we know today.</p>
<p><a href="http://inventors.about.com/od/famousinventions/fl/The-History-of-the-Paperclip.htm">The paper clip started out</a> as a pin that pierced the papers to hold them together. The sharp pins would prick the workers using them and were difficult to use. Thus began the gradual improvements: The straight pin morphed into something called a T-pin, a device with a horizontal wire on the end that allowed the pin to be pushed more easily through the papers without needlessly pricking fingers. However, this design still left holes in the papers. </p>
<p>In the late 1890s inventors in the United States and Europe began to work on new versions of the paper clip. In 1898, Pennsylvania inventor Matthew Schooley <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=b-6LDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA51&lpg=PA51&dq=henry+petroski+%22From+Pins+to+Paper+Clips%22&source=bl&ots=TyZ1wue050&sig=PRvWf2yNsnfhrqGSxKgcI_Pheiw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi-lvHy18LSAhXD7iYKHagkBu4Q6AEIKzAD#v=onepage&q=henry%20petroski%20%22From%20Pins%20to%20Paper%20Clips%22&f=false">believed he had improved upon the pin design</a> by creating two loops in the wire. But there was still a problem: A piece of wire extended from the loops and would catch and rip the paper. Many other inventors <a href="http://gizmodo.com/why-is-the-paper-clip-shaped-like-it-is-1699985310">introduced various clasps, clips and metal-stamped designs</a>, all in an effort to create a reusable paper binder that would be cheap, safe and secure. </p>
<p>Finally, in 1899, an inventor from Connecticut named William Middlebrook designed the gem paper clip, along with <a href="http://pdfpiw.uspto.gov/.piw?Docid=00636272&homeurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect2%3DPTO1%2526Sect2%3DHITOFF%2526p%3D1%2526u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html%2526r%3D1%2526f%3DG%2526l%3D50%2526d%3DPALL%2526S1%3D0636272.PN.%2526OS%3DPN%2F636272%2526RS%3DPN%2F636272&PageNum=&Rtype=&SectionNum=&idkey=NONE&Input=View+first+page">a machine to manufacture it</a>, to create the paper clip that we know today. </p>
<p>The iconic double loop design had just enough spring to hold several sheets of paper together – without snapping and without piercing fingers or paper. Today, Americans <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/americans-buy-11-billion-paper-clips-year/338575/">buy 11 billion paper clips every year</a>, though they aren’t all used for binding pieces of paper – I doubt Middlebrook could have imagined that his invention would double as an ornament hanger and rubber band launcher.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Terminal waits</h2>
<p><strong>Craig M. Vogel, University of Cincinnati</strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.eamesoffice.com/the-work/eames-tandem-seating-2/">In 1958</a>, architect Eero Saarinen, who had been tasked with designing the main terminal for Washington Dulles International Airport, approached furniture designers Charles and Ray Eames – already famous for their <a href="http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/lounge-chair-and-ottoman-no-670-and-671-505139">Eames Lounge Chair</a> – with a request: He wanted a public seating system for the terminal that was affordable, sturdy, stylish and versatile.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hermanmiller.com/products/seating/public-seating/eames-tandem-sling-seating.html">In 1962</a>, the husband and wife team unveiled their tandem sling seating system. Even though it was designed to complement Saarinen’s terminal, it was so practical that it quickly became <a href="http://apex.aero/airport-seating-design-pod">one of the most common seating solutions</a> for airports around the United States – and, eventually, the world.</p>
<p>Because public seating gets so much use, it needs to be sturdy and easy to maintain. Cost is always an issue, so designers are often hamstrung if they want to make something that’s aesthetically pleasing.</p>
<p>An iconic example of the principles of midcentury modernist design, Eames’ seating system was an elegant and simple solution to all of these problems. It ships in parts, is easy to put together and maintain, and is tamper-proof.</p>
<p>The chairs are sturdy but lack a cumbersome support structure, which makes it easy to clean the floor under the seats. <a href="https://www.hermanmiller.com/content/dam/hermanmiller/documents/pricing/PB_ETS.pdf">The configuration is flexible</a>: Rows can be as small as two seats and as long as eight. </p>
<p>Furthermore, there are only three main materials used in the design: aluminum, vinyl and neoprene (a synthetic rubber). Even though the materials are cheap, they look expensive and upscale. The sling seat cushion slides into a slot and never tears. Meanwhile, the width of the seat accommodates a wide range of body types. </p>
<p>And if travelers miss their flight and need to spend the night in the terminal, the seat and seat back are angled in a way – like the Eames Lounge Chair – that allows its occupant to get some shut-eye. </p>
<hr>
<h2>Dial ‘D’ for design</h2>
<p><strong>Kalle Lyytinen, Case Western Reserve University</strong></p>
<p>American industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss’ AT&T Model 500 phone is one of the most iconic and recognizable products of the 20th century. The phone – together with its design process – was a harbinger of many design principles used today. </p>
<p>Rotary phones – which feature a round dial with finger holes – first emerged in the early 20th century. But many of these were bolted to the walls or <a href="http://www.sparkmuseum.com/images/Telephone/1921%20Auto-%20Elec%20Strt-Shaft%20Dial%20Candle.JPG">required two separate devices for speaking and listening</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, early telephone users would call into operators, who would use a switchboard to connect callers. When this process became automated, designers needed to figure out a way to offer an intuitive interface, since callers would be dialing more complicated number sequences (essentially doing the “switching” on their own). </p>
<p>Though earlier models came close to addressing these needs, the 500 model elevated the design, adding several functions that forever changed the way phones would be used. </p>
<p>AT&T’s first rotary phone in 1927 (dubbed <a href="http://www.beatriceco.com/bti/porticus/bell/images/1928_desk_set.jpg">“the French Phone”</a>) had an integrated handset for both the loudspeaker and the microphone, but it was cumbersome to use. Meanwhile, Dreyfuss’ earlier model from 1936, <a href="https://www.cooperhewitt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Dreyfuss_302-560x424.jpg">the 302</a>, was made out of metal and also had an awkwardly shaped handset. </p>
<p>Then, in 1949, his Model 500 came along. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159834/original/image-20170307-14939-6wwt1t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Do your grandparents still have a Model 500?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WE500dialphone.jpg">ProhibitOnions/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Employing new plastic technology, the phone’s handset was smooth, rounded and proportional, an improvement on unwieldy earlier versions. <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Henry_Dreyfuss_Industrial_Designer.html?id=afRTAAAAMAAJ">It was the first</a> to use letters below the numbers in the rotary – a boon for businesses, since phone numbers could now be advertised (and remembered) as mnemonic phrases (think American Express’ “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVNHuqsHigo">1-800-THE-CARD</a>”).</p>
<p>The 500 phone was also the first to undergo a design process <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/Henry_Dreyfuss_Industrial_Designer.html?id=afRTAAAAMAAJ">that used ergonomic (comfort) and cognitive experts</a>. AT&T and Dreyfuss hired <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/09/business/john-e-karlin-who-led-the-way-to-all-digit-dialing-dies-at-94.html">John Karlin</a>, the first industrial psychologist in the world, to conduct experiments to evaluate aspects of the design. Through extensive consumer testing, the designers were able to tweak all minutiae of the product – <a href="http://www.papress.com/html/product.details.dna?isbn=9781616892913">even minor details</a> like placing white dots beneath the holes in the finger wheel and the length of the cord. </p>
<p>Including its later incarnations, the phone would go on to sell nearly <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/11/bib/970511.rv092249.html">162 million units</a> – around one per American household – and become a presence in living rooms, kitchens and offices for decades to come.</p>
<hr>
<h2>Changing the way we work and play</h2>
<p><strong>Carla Viviana Coleman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County</strong></p>
<p>In recent years, virtual reality glasses have hit the market. They don’t come cheap: Most cost US$3,000 to $5,000.</p>
<p>But one of these models – the Microsoft HoloLens – <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2017/1/27/14411744/microsoft-hololens-sales-numbers">has sold thousands of units</a> since its first shipment in 2016. </p>
<p>The HoloLens allows users to interact with a 3D digital world and simultaneously see what’s around them in the real world. In order to operate the interface, users can make hand gestures, talk or simply gaze. </p>
<p>The product was designed with ergonomics in mind: Users can adjust the head size, the head band and glasses. The weight – distributed throughout the crown area – prevents pressure on the nose and ears. Users can even wear their own glasses or wear their hair up in a pony tail. This is a key difference from most VR headsets – like the <a href="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7zqp1szDWyA/maxresdefault.jpg">HTC Vive</a> – which are heavy, cumbersome products. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159850/original/image-20170307-14957-3tsqrz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The future is holo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ramahololens.jpg">Ramadhanakbr/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While one could easily imagine a new generation of video games being designed for the HoloLens, a number of employers have realized the glasses can improve workplace productivity and ease the burdens of certain jobs.</p>
<p>For example, the company ThyssenKrupp, which manufactures elevators and escalators, <a href="https://www.thyssenkrupp.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/press-release-114208.html">has begun giving HoloLenses to its elevator technicians</a>, with the idea that the glasses will allow them to access data much more efficiently. The employees can multitask, choosing either to lift up the spherical visor or to keep it in front of their eyes as needed – all while working in a cramped elevator shaft.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, medical schools are using the HoloLens <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKpKlh1-en0">to train doctors</a> without using cadavers, while Volvo is using it <a href="https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/volvo-is-the-first-automaker-to-add-microsoft-hololens-to-its-engineering-toolkit/">to design new car models</a>.</p>
<p>If the price goes down, the market for this product – currently in the thousands – could easily multiply into millions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/72697/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We asked five design experts – what’s your favorite product of all time, and why?Catherine Anderson, Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture and Design, George Washington UniversityCarla Viviana Coleman, Assistant Professor of Design, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyCraig M. Vogel, Director of the Center for Design Research and Innovation, University of Cincinnati Kalle Lyytinen, Iris S. Wolstein Professor of Management Design, Case Western Reserve UniversityLorraine Justice, Dean of the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences, Rochester Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/341322014-11-13T19:32:31Z2014-11-13T19:32:31ZI merge Indigenous stories with my design – maybe others should too<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64346/original/tzc4x3hk-1415769110.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Briggs Family Tea Service tells the story of George Briggs and Woretermoeteyenner, during the early years of Tasmania. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Trent Jansen</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In our personal and working lives, there are some lines that should not be crossed and others that must be. As a designer, crossing the line that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian culture is crucial to me.</p>
<p>I am a furniture and object designer, so you might think that I design highly functional objects, conceived to enhance our lives through ergonomic considerations or beautification. Looking back through modernist furniture books, it is clear that we have all of the beautiful, functional chairs and lights we could possibly need. </p>
<p>So, instead of re-visiting these same tired criteria, I use the discipline of furniture and object design to communicate ideas that I feel are important.</p>
<p>These objects are often underpinned by narratives that sit on the line between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian culture.</p>
<p>The Briggs Family Tea Service (main image) I designed for Australian design studio <a href="http://www.broachedcommissions.com">Broached Commissions</a> <a href="http://vimeo.com/30787205">tells the story</a> of a young British man (George Briggs) and a Tasmanian Aboriginal woman (Woretermoeteyenner), during the very early years of the colony of Tasmania. </p>
<p>This collection of objects represents the connection between these two individuals by hybridising the water carrying archetypes of each culture - the British tea service and Tasmanian Aboriginal water-carrying vessel. </p>
<p>These objects communicate the cultural confluence of this partnership and the Briggs family that resulted, attempting to bring this story, born in the decades that forged post-colonial Australia, to an audience that would otherwise be unaware.</p>
<p>More recently I have begun to work on a series of objects that explore another point of cultural collision in Australia’s history. This new furniture collection begins with the stories of <a href="https://theconversation.com/dreamings-and-place-aboriginal-monsters-and-their-meanings-25606">mythical creatures</a> told in and around Sydney during the early years of colonisation. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=756&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64423/original/ptnbnvyn-1415834444.aus-f361a-s3-e?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=950&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The illustration of ‘The den of the Hairy Wild Man from Botany Bay’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.aus-f361a">National Library of Australia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creatures such as: “<a href="https://www.nla.gov.au/blogs/treasures/2014/05/04/the-hairy-wild-man-of-botany-bay">the hairy wild man from Botany Bay</a>” – a creature myth that began in England before the First Fleet had even left for Australia; or the <a href="http://books.google.com.au/books?id=UnKPCZT0x6kC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=The+Bunyip+%E2%80%93+Ainsley+Roberts,+1969&source=bl&ots=mzwq9v8ZVn&sig=d46qxyUNamgMloQePC4hS8o-lF8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vuFjVIiNH4HemAWm5YKACQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=The%20Bunyip%20%E2%80%93%20Ainsley%20Roberts%2C%201969&f=false">bunyip</a>, which is said to have evolved from the yahoo or yowie through a linguistic misunderstanding between Eora people, who thought that bunyip was a British word, and British settlers who thought it to be a local term. </p>
<p>According to Australian author <a href="http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A28537">Robert Holden</a>, a fear of creatures like these became a common ground between Aboriginal people and British settlers, and these stories were a point of conversation between individuals from both cultures, a catalyst for personal connections.</p>
<p>Prior to understanding all of this, I put Robert Holden’s theories to the test without knowing it. I was staying in Alice Springs on and off for a period when I was introduced to a Western Arrernte man by the name of Baden Williams. Baden took me to his hometown of Hermannsburg and on the way there we got talking about Western Arrernte creatures. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/64424/original/khz3j7jd-1415834597.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Baden Williams and Trent Jansen, Hermannsburg, Northern Territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Creatures such as: arrkutja-irrintja - a female creature with a sweet smell, who adorns herself with flowers, and is known to abduct young men and take them to a parallel dimension for several days, or even weeks; nyipi barnti - a strong and muscular being who works as an assassin, killing any unwelcome people or creatures whom travel on his land. </p>
<p>Nyipi barnti has a pungent smell, like sweat, dust and ochre and is known for abducting young women; or the creature that captured my imagination most of all, pankalangu. </p>
<p>According to Western Arrernte story telling, pankalangu is a territorial being that lives in the scrub and is completely camouflaged in the desert and bush. Pankalangu can only move with the rain, and is made visible when the light catches the rain that falls on him, defining his form in a glistening silhouette.</p>
<p>I hope these narratives will once again become part of the common myths associated with Australian identity, perpetuating an identity that is inclusive of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous culture.</p>
<p>I have received cutting criticism for this approach. I have been called a carpetbagger, and told that I am using these culturally sensitive stories for my own benefit. As a result, I’ve thought very carefully about surrendering and leaving this sometimes controversial subject for others to address. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is not my line to cross, but then whose line is it to cross? Individuals from one side or the other must be the first to act. </p>
<p>Is this a division that I want to perpetuate through inaction? Or is this a line that I can help to dissolve? </p>
<p>As a non-Indigenous Australian, I have developed a love and deep respect for Indigenous Australian cultures through research, my projects and through involving myself with these cultures. I now understand some of the beauty and mysticism associated with the ancient traditions of the hundreds of Indigenous nations, occupying this continent for millennia before my Oma and Opa arrived from Holland on a boat in the 1950s. </p>
<p>If I can share this love and fascination with my audience, perhaps they can cross this cultural line with me.</p>
<p>I think that Indigenous visual art historian <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/gregory-lehman-18999">Greg Lehman</a> put it best:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>White Australians cannot continue to place Aboriginal culture on a shelf, afraid to touch it. This only cements the divide that already exists between white and Indigenous Australians. It is important for people from all backgrounds – artists, musicians, designers etc. to <em>respectfully</em> take Aboriginal culture into their own expressions of culture, and communicate these ideas to new audiences. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Only then will this divide begin to disintegrate and only then will Aboriginal culture be loved and embraced by the mainstream.</p>
<p>I will continue to cross the cultural line between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian culture, and will encourage others to cross it too. Hopefully all of the foot-traffic crossing this line in both directions will abolish the divide.</p>
<p>So, when do you surrender? If it is something that you have considered very carefully and truly believe in … <em>never</em>!!!</p>
<p><br></p>
<p><em>Trent Jansen will talk more about this topic at <a href="https://www.australiandesignbiennale.com/#page-hobart-creative-forum">Crossing the Line</a> tomorrow, Friday November 14, as part of the Australian Design Biennale at MONA, Hobart.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Trent Jansen owns shares in the Broached Commissions. He receives funding from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Australian Government Department of Education, the Ian Potter Foundation, the National Association for the Visual Arts and Object Gallery.</span></em></p>In our personal and working lives, there are some lines that should not be crossed and others that must be. As a designer, crossing the line that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian…Trent Jansen, Designer, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/317812014-09-22T02:25:07Z2014-09-22T02:25:07ZFringe Furniture: the products that help us understand who we are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59653/original/vnp4243r-1411349073.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">George Rose's light is one of the products on display at this year's Fringe Furniture exhibition. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Every product is a blabbermouth; it has a tendency to answer every question – and then some - <em><a href="http://delcoates.com/about-me/">Del Coates</a></em>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Coates, an American industrial designer and design academic, is right. The processes and outputs of design – or put another way, material culture – reflect our cultural values. The idea of “reading” a product is not novel, of course. And we don’t need to wait until a product has built up a history to analyse what it says about the values of the culture that made it.</p>
<p>In fact, it’s possible to know what a product says about a culture right now if we embrace art historian <a href="http://www.columbia.edu/cu/arthistory/faculty/Pasztory.html">Ester Pasztory</a>’s idea that everything is a cognitive aid with which a group thinks through and articulates its social, political, ideological or economic values. </p>
<p><a href="http://fringefurniture.melbournefringe.com.au/">Fringe Furniture</a> is an annual fixture on the Melbourne Fringe Festival program, and has been going for 29 years. This year’s theme, Living Traces, speaks to this idea that products can help us understand who we are. </p>
<p>It implies that among designers, makers and larger society, the processes and outputs of design are a current interchange of projection and reflection. In reviewing this year’s exhibition, I was interested to discover what cultural values were held among the collection of furniture, lighting and interior accessories created by this group of designers. </p>
<p>Two values stood out: transparency and maintaining a balance. So let’s look at those. </p>
<h2>Transparency</h2>
<p>The products reflecting this value were softly spoken, humble products: lights, lounges and chairs with nothing to hide. The idea of transparency as a value was articulated through products that exposed or made features of fastenings, joins or assemblies. </p>
<p>In some, materials were left as they were or only ever so lightly varnished. These designers, who are mostly locals, ensured their designs were honest, authentic and unambiguous. My top three that best articulate this value are pictured below. The first, Max Harper’s Corker pendant lights, won the Sustainable and Waste-wise Design Award, sponsored by the Banyule City Council. Jonathan Ho’s Yi chair won the Most Market Ready Design Award, sponsored by TAIT.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=921&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59656/original/g7y5zdz5-1411349231._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1158&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Max Harper’s Corker pendant lights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=310&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59648/original/k96yhvrs-1411348938.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Brigit Ryan’s Banana Lounge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=725&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59657/original/ks2h7qjh-1411349346._jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=912&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jonathan Ho’s Yi chair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Maintaining a balance between people and the environment</h2>
<p>The designers at this year’s exhibition have used materials that either derive from the environment – clays, twigs, leaves – or materials that can negatively affect the environment if they become part of it.</p>
<p>The delicacy of the designs reflecting this value is striking. The designers manage to articulate a great fragility within their products – partly due to the materials they have used, and partly due to the forms themselves – and yet it’s obvious that people have not been absent from the processes needed to make the work possible. </p>
<p>My favourites, which I would have in my home, are pictured below:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59652/original/djfrt9s5-1411349045.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=607&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">George Rose’s Porcelain Drop Light.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=617&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59651/original/9zbywvct-1411349002.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=775&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jenna Dexter’s Hanging Gardens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=933&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/59658/original/xr5tf8c4-1411349394.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tess McAuslan-King’s and Niamh Minogue’s, TV Dinner Table.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Anna Lorenzetto</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“As soon as there is form, there is message”, wrote Pasztory in her 2005 book <a href="http://utpress.utexas.edu/index.php/books/pasthi">Thinking with Things</a>. If your values were a product, a piece of furniture – what would they look like? Fringe Furniture 2014 just might get you thinking.</p>
<p><br>
<em>Fringe Furniture runs until October 5 at the Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne. Details <a href="http://fringefurniture.melbournefringe.com.au">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/31781/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna Lorenzetto does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Every product is a blabbermouth; it has a tendency to answer every question – and then some - Del Coates. Coates, an American industrial designer and design academic, is right. The processes and outputs…Anna Lorenzetto, PhD Candidate in Design Anthropology, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/307592014-08-24T20:43:08Z2014-08-24T20:43:08ZDon’t forget the west: mid-century modern and David Foulkes Taylor<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56965/original/w6tfnyjg-1408581081.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why has David Foulkes Taylor again been left out of the history of mid-century Australian design?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ted Snell</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1982, I wrote an introduction to a survey exhibition of the work of Western Australian furniture designer David Foulkes Taylor lamenting that so little attention had “… been directed towards the recording of art and culture in Western Australia” – despite an upsurge in publications on Australian art history. The exhibition and catalogue documenting Foulkes Taylor’s contribution was an attempt to redress that oversight. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">David Foulkes Taylor in 1965.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sadly that effort seems to have failed. Kirsty Grant, the curator of the current <a href="http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/whats-on/exhibitions/exhibitions/mid-century-modern-australian-furniture-design">Mid-Century Modern: Australian furniture design exhibition</a> at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), has omitted any reference to Foulkes Taylor’s work. His contribution to creating an appetite for modern design in Western Australia does not rate a mention. The exhibition and its substantial catalogue present a comprehensive survey of modern furniture design in Sydney and Melbourne from the second world war till the 1970s – but it is disappointing that such a misleading tagline was appended. </p>
<p>In a truly national survey you would expect to see some coverage of David Foulkes Taylor. The NGV publication makes no mention of any activity past the 129th meridian east longitude. The curator does note that her survey is “selective in its focus and with an emphasis on activities in Melbourne and Sydney”. Still, it’s hard to reconcile how emphasis can condone an omission on this scale. </p>
<p>It would have been more accurate to borrow from the show’s predecessor at the Queensland Art Gallery last year, <a href="http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/past/2013/california_design_19301965_living_in_a_modern_way">California Design 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way</a>, and abandon the aspiration to present a nation-wide survey.</p>
<p>To set the record straight, Foulkes Taylor not only designed some important examples of modern furniture, but he also encouraged local manufacturers <a href="http://www.daao.org.au/bio/roy-catt/">Charles and Roy Catt</a> to build mass-produced jarrah furniture that had a lasting presence in the local market. </p>
<p>Influenced as a student at the Central School of Art in London by the light and delicate lines of Italian designers like <a href="http://www.gioponti.com/">Gio Ponti</a>, on his return to Perth he modified his response to suit the available conditions. He had a passion for the native jarrah timber. Hard but brittle, the wood required a more robust treatment. Foulkes Taylor’s work presented a more sculptural form while concurrently highlighting the richness of the colour and grain. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56968/original/m49qtbqy-1408581248.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=619&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">David Foulkes Tayor’s Poona chair.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ted Snell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commissions for University House at the University of Western Australia and private clients followed. His inventiveness led him to explore other materials such as tubular steel and to respond inventively to external influences. </p>
<p>This experimental approach led to his adaption of a British army demountable chair, which he called the Poona. His canvas, leather and jarrah chair came in kit form and was described in The Age on October 12 1959 as “…resurrected and revamped by the brilliant Perth designer David Foulkes Taylor and is sold (£15) by Andersons in Chapel Street”.</p>
<p>In the 1950s he almost single-handedly created an appetite for modern design in Perth by importing work by international designers such as Marimekko, Arabia, Alvo Alto and Marcel Breuer and showing local artists and designers in his home and later in a purpose-built modernist showroom. This was designed by <a href="http://architectureau.com/articles/exhibition-56/">Julius Elischer</a> and opened in 1965. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/56967/original/cjhnjcjv-1408581140.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=813&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Showroom designed by Julius Elischer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ted Snell</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While a student at Geelong Grammar, Foulkes Taylor’s art teacher had been Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack, who taught a curriculum based on his experience as a student at the Bauhaus and later teacher at the University of Craft and Architecture in Weimar. That early introduction to modernist design and the principle of economy of form inspired him throughout his life. In his showroom he combined the best in Scandinavian and Japanese design with his own furniture, creating a magnet for those attracted to the rising tide of internationalism that was sweeping Perth into the 20th century.</p>
<p>The former country town was shedding its husk and taking on the role of international city. Perth was in the spotlight. With the modernist Council House designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Howlett">Jeffrey Howlett</a> and [Don Bailey](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Bailey_(architect) rising up from St Georges Terrace, <a href="http://artgallery.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/howardtaylor/index.asp">Howard Taylor</a>’s murals in the newly completed Passenger Terminal in Fremantle and new modernist buildings completed to house Commonwealth Games athletes, it was necessary for the citizens of this revived city to look modern too; to buy new furniture, lamps and fabrics and art by local artists. </p>
<p>The place to buy was David Foulkes Taylor’s white showroom on Broadway, and many did. </p>
<p>Foulkes Taylor’s tragic death in a car accident in 1966 ended the contribution of this inspired designer and impassioned advocate for modern design. It is unfortunate his contribution is not acknowledged alongside Grant Featherstone, Clement Meadmore, Wolfgang Sievers, Fred Ward and the other great Australian designers listed in Mid-Century Modern.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30759/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Snell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In 1982, I wrote an introduction to a survey exhibition of the work of Western Australian furniture designer David Foulkes Taylor lamenting that so little attention had “… been directed towards the recording…Ted Snell, Winthrop Professor, Director Cultural Precinct, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.