STUDIO ARC300: THIRD YEAR DESIGN
University of Kansas, School of Architecture and Urban Design
Nils Gore, Assistant Professor

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Tyler Robertson

An Idea and Not a Thoughtless Void

Boxes allow for the transportation and storage of goods. These stored items are usually set aside what similar qualities that correspond to an individual box. When a family moves, each room has a series of boxes that go with that space. They are used to divide personal belongings and space to keep the separate pieces together, forming as a whole once again at the new destination. Yet, as in all moves the new space is different from the old. The pieces of the old room are still in the new space but the arrangement is different and foreign to the new inhabitant. It may take numerous rearrangements to arrive at a desirable living space, but one will be achieved.

With the idea of transforming an original space into something new and exciting, even a simple cardboard box can be used to accent this concept. Most boxes have four flaps each on two open ends. The space is there but there is not an idea around that thoughtless void. From multiple trials of success and failure, one cardboard box design captures the essence of transformation of spaces not only from locations but also within.

Starting with one idea of movement through interior spaces to transform into something new, the first box was built. This experiment had only one flap, or what was more of a hinge, that allowed for the inside space to completely open and then entirely close. This idea showed the need for only one flap, not a total of eight to get the job done. From this project numerous boxes were built and all opened into a large linear space. But the functionality of a basic cardboard box was lost in the ideals of transforming space. The final design used the following concepts:
* Pieces of the box that move and transform to develop new interiors.
* Restriction and allowance of pieces to move in certain ways creating different spaces and maintaining a flow with the design as a whole.
* The use of tabs and hinges, creating a tactile quality showing how spaces move from one to another.

This box has a solid triangular center that cannot be opened. Other pieces surround this triangle creating a cubic foot of total space. One piece hinges from the corner of the triangle and joins the angled side creating a ninety-degree angle. This moveable piece is hollow on the inside and swings out for storage. Once items are placed inside, it can be shut and held together by a single tab that secures the belongings. The second piece is not hinged but slides along a triangular bar. It moves up to expose a new space for items and then slides down to hide the space. When the box is entirely concealed it looks like a normal cardboard box with a vertical bar in its side. This transformation is extremely accented by this vertical, triangular bar. It can be guessed that there is a moving piece along the bar but when the box is shut the seams match perfectly. This further displays transformation when a “solid” piece becomes fragmented when it changes.

To achieve the idea of seamless construction great care must be taken to develop good craft. It is a must to cut with the corrugation of the cardboard and to use brown paper tape on the hinges in order to hide them. Careful measurements must change continuously as cardboard is a finicky material that reacts differently each time it is worked with. Humidity warps the cardboard and weakens it as does water. Once cardboard becomes even the slightest bit moist throw it out, it can no longer be used. Attempt to use the same size cardboard and type if possible. The thickness of the outer layers surrounding the corrugation varies, as does the corrugation depth inside. If you can be consistent and control your materials, less problems will arise guaranteed.
Create a box with new, interesting qualities while keeping the main function and purpose of a storage box present in the final design.

Design Guidelines

• Work with three materials only: cardboard, glue, and paper tape.
• Join different pieces together to form a cubic foot space while accenting different joints and connections.
• Use tabs, folds, and movement of pieces to link the cardboard pieces together in multiple ways.
• Use the essence of ‘transformation of spaces’ to create new interiors to the box that were once hidden or can be made into new spaces.
• Focus on good craftsmanship to capture a solid shape that transforms into other designs. This will give an uninterrupted flow of the box until it changes shape, making the metamorphosis more intriguing when it is complete.
• Leave some spaces of the box restricted. Build from these enclosures to make interiors work with the different spaces. Do not let them stand-alone, but rely on the total shape to achieve a successful design.

When the designer and workman are the same person, the idea and concept remains unaltered. There is no confusion with the concept and it can be changed without much trouble. The designer knows what is possible with their idea because they have to figure out a way to fabricate the project. If a problem arises during the construction of the whirligig a working idea takes over solving the problem by trial and error. One disadvantage of being both the designer and workman is that the designer may not know what is possible to construct without multiple failures. Resulting from ultimately constructing and designing the whirligig it was possible to learn what can be done and how to fix problems that arise.

The essential idea of the whirligig project was always present throughout my project. I built one piece that I added to each time to arrive at a final project. Failure was prevalent with my project and there are some scars from these failures on the final. This shows my building process of how I reached a successful whirligig design. Joining metal in different ways became the most difficult. Sometimes a spot weld worked best while soldering worked in other joints. Epoxy became crucial to the tiny parts that would not solder and could not weld because they would melt. From these different ways of joining metal and wood my project became a possible idea. The most time consuming aspect of design was the wooden cone. Drying and setting time became a very important issue with this step. Epoxy had to harden, wood had to soak and then dry to the desired shape, and often the shape was incorrect so the process had to be repeated. By taking my time on the wooden cones the project achieves the desired quality. Using a material that should not be able to shape in certain ways, and proving it wrong, gives an intriguing design quality to this project.

Quality sells a product. If a project has a great concept but poor craft to visually communicate the idea, it is forgotten. At times, a sloppy craft is part of the concept but if it is designed a certain way it should be built a certain way. The craft of my whirligig project depends a lot on patience. As mentioned earlier, the ways my materials joined changed throughout the process. If I had chosen only one way to join materials, a sloppy craft would have resulted. Using different joining methods and shaping processes achieves good craft within the whirligig.

The largest problem with using different joining techniques is keeping them separate from each other. When soldering, metal must be heated first to draw the solder into the desired joint. Some areas used epoxy close to places that needed to be soldered. This resulted in the metal heating and therefore heating the epoxy. This gave the clear bond a slightly yellow tint to the somewhat heated epoxy once it cooled. I do not know if the heat weakened the joint but it still seems to hold strong. One problem that developed late with the whirligig project was bending. By handling the project immensely and transporting to different hardware stores for parts pieces warp. The central shaft that the gears are joined to slightly bent. This would not allow for the machine to turn and rotate smoothly. By being barely offline metal on metal will only damage each other. The tube etched grooves into the shaft causing it to catch when it turned. Polishing the shaft and tube and tediously re-straightening the two pieces to work again as one remedied this problem.