cOLLABORATIVE STORAGE
A storage solution for the IPD Studio
collaborative storage
This project was a collaboration between IPD and Steelcase studio b. The final design is a custom piece of furniture that meets the functional and programatic needs of IPD students. It also captures the spirit of the program and serves as a didactic tool.
The unit addresses IDP’s functional needs by serving as a room divider between the “clean” and “dirty” portions of the studio and by providing storage lockers for first year-students.
The end walls of the unit are lined with peg board, which can accommodate whiteboards and tack-able surfaces. We also included a central work surface that provides space for impromptu meetings and fabrication. By providing space for both group meetings and fabrication, the unit accomodates the changing needs of students across the arc of the semester. These features also help catalyze collaboration - one of the core values of the IPD program.
By lining the lockers with pegboard and facing the locker doors with white laminate, the students are encouraged to design their own interior organization systems and to personalize their locker doors, offering students the opportunity to learn how to 3-D print and create vinyl decals using the maker’s space facilities in Tangan Hall.
project profile
PROMPT:
To design a storage solution for the new IPD Studio that meets the needs of first year students and embodies the values of the IPD program
ROLE:
This project began as a client project for IPD 552 Problem Framing and focused on the broader design of the studio programing. Following the completion of the course, the client, Sarah Rottenberg, decided to explore storage solutions further. I was asked to join the project team to provide fresh perspective and serve as IPD’s project manager.
DURATION:
12 weeks
COLLABORATORS:
Steelcase studio b & Armando Marquez.
DELIVERABLES:
Design drawings for the engineering team at Steelcase studio b.
PROCESS:
Data synthesis
Problem definition and design critrea
Ideating
Preliminary drawings
Building full scale prototypes
Iteration and refinement
Final drawing set for engineering team
SKILLS:
Data synthesis
Problem framing
Ideating
Prototype evaluation
Iteration
Solidworks
Cross-functional collaboration
Communication
Coordination
CREDITS:
The design research that informed this design was completed by the original project team - Armando Marquez, Jorge Echeverria, Juncheng Qian and Yuqi Zhao
A rendering of the new IPD Studio in Tangan hall, showing a potential furniture layout.
insights
one
In the existing IPD studio space, moving project work to the appropriate workspace is cumbersome and time consuming. Therefore, many students do fabrication work in the studio which leads to excessive noise, mess, fumes, inappropriate tool usage and space conflicts.
two
The constant state of disarray and high noise levels cause students to spend less time working in the studio and to primary utilize studio for socializing.
three
Due to a lack of personal space for first-year students and the messy, chaotic atmosphere, many students do not feel a sense of ownership towards the studio.
four
The storage and space needs of students change dramatically over the arc of the semester. The IPD studio doesn’t adequately accommodate these changing needs.
DESIGN CRITERIA
tRANSPORT-fRIENDLY
Makes working in the best suited location for a given task, including facilities outside the studio, the easiest choice.
Personalizable
Fits the needs of different types of students and allows them to customize their space to fit their project materials and personal belongings.
Adaptable
Space is easy to adapts to fit student’s changing needs across the arc of the semester.
Secure
Provides students with a secure location to store their valuable objects.
Accessible
Allows students to retrieve their belongings quickly and efficiently without requiring the use of a step-stool.
Minimal footprint
Uses floor space efficiently and doesn’t take up too much square footage in the studio.
Front elevation of locker storage solution. Sketch by Alice Gilmore.
Detail of locker storage solution. Sketch by Alice Gilmore.
Detail of locker interior with removable trays. Sketch by Alice Gilmore.
Elevations of rolling cart storage solution. Sketch by Armando Márquez.
Storage for rolling carts with work top. Sketch by Armando Márquez.
Prototyping
We were fortunate enough to have access to Steelcase’s prototyping shop. We created drawings of two designs that we wanted to test and their team built prototypes of the designs out of foamcore.
The first design was a customizable locker unit. The locker interiors are lined with peg board so that students can 3-D print hooks, supports and dividers to accommodate removable trays that would allow for easy transport of project materials.
The second design was a storage cart solution with a standing table that would house the individual carts when they were not in use.
Iterations
After reviewing the first round of prototypes, we decided that the optimal solution would be a hybrid of the two ideas.
The size of the lockers was scaled down and a standing height work top was added between the two banks of lockers. We also added peg board to the end walls of the locker units and above the work top so that these surfaces could be used to hang whiteboards and tack-able surfaces. Each locker bank includes one oversized locker that extends the whole length of the unit. This space can house additional white boards and tack-able surfaces when they are not in use. Drawers were added below the work surface to house communal office supplies.
Steelcase’s fabrication shop created a full-scale prototype of our hybrid design to evaluate the revised concept. We also made cardboard prototypes of the drawers and lockers to refine the dimensions of the drawer dividers and to confirm that the interior dimensions of the lockers were sufficient.
Fabrication
A progress shot of the unit at the Steelcase manufacturing facility.
Progress shot of the unit fabrication in the Steelcase shop.