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David Kennedy
Home 2020 Portfolio
(9 Units)
Our first assignment was to identify characteristics of our ideal “home of the future” and implement them in a design. My group, consisting of Christian Ratterman, Yong Ho Sin and myself came up with a futuristic high-rise apartment building based on interchangeable modules. The design created a community that was at once private and highly social.
Our second assignment consisted of creating some piece of “futuristic” furniture out of cardboard. My group, with Liz, Bridgett, Yong Ho, Christian and myself designed a round table with a built in lamp. The camp post retracted into the base of the table, creating a flat surface when necessary. The design utilized certain properties of cardboard.
The next assignment was to create a design that addressed common problems in the home. My group noted that storage is often problem, especially in small places. Again based on the theme of modularity, my group, consisting of Liz Alspector, Eddy, Guy, Christian and myself, designed a ceiling storage system. It consisted of rows and columns of boxes that could be lowered on command. The boxes were sheathed in plaid and contained a light source. We took the design through several iterations, eventually creating a fully operable mock up with a motor and wall mounted controls.
Next, we got into what would be our final project, the booth. Each person did a quick design of a booth. My design consisted of a model and drawings, and it was based on changeability. Certain parts of the booth could be manipulated by guests, altering its entire form. For example, guests could pivot the roof on an axis by pulling a lever, or they could swing open stairs to the second story.
We then took a brief respite from architecture and concentrated on “wearable computing.” We were to design some wearable that booth guests could use/keep in the booth. My group, consisting of Miffy, Anya and myself came up with the “glow stick” idea. Every visitor to the booth would be given a colorful glow stick that could be tracked across the room using a camera and some nifty software. The movement of guest would be represented on a wall utilizing a projector, creating a sort of “dynamic art.” When the time came to divide into booth groups, I left this one to joint the design/build team. Any further work done with the glow stick solution was by Anya and Miffy only.
The biggest project was by far the booth. I joined the design/build crew, and we immediately set to work. Brian, Yong, Jason, Liz and myself worked with a few designs until Sean came into the group and introduced his design, which was unanimously accepted. As a group we tweaked the form a little and changed some materials. Construction consisted of welding rebar, assembling palettes, building stud walls, and attaching a plastic skin. We worked closely with other groups to ensure integration, namely the group of Chris Nannig.
The final assignment was to create a design that solved certain problems with the booth design. I thought assembly could have been easier with standardized parts, so I set out designing a “kit of parts,” I came up with a palette system that consisted of staggered joists and 2:1 rectangles. I also designed an all-in-one sheathing complete with studs, wiring, and sheathing.
I did a poor job keeping track of my hours throughout the course, as I quit recording about half way through.
My favorite part of the course was designing and building the booth. I have never built one of my own designs on such a magnitude before, and it was amazing to see it take shape. In my mind, that was the focus of the course, so I really enjoyed the course. I learned things that I would never be able to learn anywhere else, and I have gained unique skills.
last updated 5.6.2005 by home