Title:
Tour + Workshop = DESIGN: Form Follows Function
Posted by:
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum
Grade Level:
Middle School
Category:
Furniture Design
Subject Area:
Arts
Technology
Lesson Time:
45 minutes - 90 minutes
Introduction:
We all sit in chairs every day. A good chair is designed so that form follows function, and is comfortable and functional with a simple, user-friendly design. Task chairs, like the ones you see in the exhibit, are designed with the human shape in mind and are designed to support our frames for a given task such as working at a desk or typing at a computer. To come up with the designs for the chairs you see in the exhibit, the designers spent time trying out different shapes, materials, and forms.
State Standards:
No State Standards available.
National Standards:
National Standards
Technology
Standard 4. Levels III. (Grades 6 - 8) Understands the nature of technological design
1. Knows that both objects and systems occur in nature (e.g., stars and the solar system), but people can also design and make objects and systems (e.g., telephones and communication systems) to solve a problem and to improve the quality of life
7. Understands that nonphysical objects (e.g., software) and physical objects (e.g., a telephone) are both subject to the design process
Thinking and Reasoning
Standard 4. Understands and applies basic principles of hypothesis testing and scientific inquiry
Level III. (Grades 6-8)
1. Understands that there are a variety of ways people can form hypotheses, including basing them on many observations, basing them on very few observations, and constructing them on only one or two observations 2. Understands the importance of verifying the results of experiments
3. Understands that there may be more than one valid way to interpret a set of findings
4. Questions findings in which no mention is made of whether the control group is very similar to the experimental group
5. Formulates a new hypothesis for study after an old hypothesis has been eliminated
6. Makes and validates conjectures about outcomes of an experiment
Standard 5. Applies basic trouble-shooting and problem-solving techniques
Level III (Grades 6-8)
1. Generates alternative courses of action and compares the possible consequences of each alternative
2. Selects the most appropriate strategy or alternative for solving a problem
New York City DOE Blueprint for the Arts Benchmarks (8th grade / 2D design)
- [A designs] consideration of safety and comfort
- Proportion and scale
- Form following function
Objectives:
Students will:
- understand that chairs and other designed products are designed with a user in mind
- work with simple materials, to experiment with shape and form and find value in trial-and-error design
- understand that even ubiquitous office chairs are designed with not only aesthetic considerations, but also with human comfort in mind
Resources:
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/Design-USA/
Related objects in the exhibition, Design USA:
- Aeron chair, Herman Miller
- Steelcase Leap Chair
- Caper Chair, Herman Miller
- Freedom Chair for the Humanscale Corporation
Materials:
-
one roll of masking tape per team
- newspaper or newsprint paper
- one piece of cardboard or chipboard (8.5” by 11”)
- “peanut ball” (any object will work as long as it can approximate designing for a human form but be light weight enough so as not to overwhelm the materials being used - in this case, newspaper)
- one ruler per team (or come around with rulers to check chair seat height if the group is unruly)
Vocabulary:
Ergonomics is the science of designing the job, equipment, and workplace to fit the worker.
A task chair (also called an office or desk chair), is a type of chair that is designed for use at a desk in an office. It is generally comfortable and adjustable and can swivel 360 degrees.
Procedures:
- Break students up into groups based on class size. Groups of three or four work well.
- Set up the challenge: Students will design and build a chair out of newspaper. The seat needs to be at least eight inches from the ground (or surface of the table) and strong and supportive enough to hold the peanut ball upright in the chair.
- Prompt Discussion: Look at the materials and your client - the peanut ball - and think about the questions below. Sketch your ideas on the table covering or on a separate piece of paper.
- What ways can you roll, bend, or fold the newspaper to make it stronger? What are the parts of a chair that you will need to include? How can you support the peanut ball so it doesn’t fall over or roll off the chair? Does the seat need to be flat or curved to support the peanut ball? How can you support the chair legs so they don’t tilt or twist? Can you make a chair without legs?
- Activity: Have students use the materials to build their chair. Then test it by carefully setting the peanut ball on it. Remind students that, when you test, your design may not work as planned. If things don’t work out, it’s an opportunity - not a mistake! When designers solve a problem, they try different ideas, learn from mistakes, and try again. Study the problems and then redesign. For example:
- If you have used tubes in your construction and the tubes start to unroll, reroll them so they are tighter. A tube shape lets the load (i.e. the peanut ball) push on every part of the paper, not just one section of it. Whether they’re building tables, buildings, or bridges, load distribution is a feature designers think carefully about.
- If the chair legs twist or tilt, find a way to stabilize and support them. Also check if the chair is lopsided, too high, or has legs that are damaged or not well braced.
- If the chair buckles when you add weight, support or reinforce the weak area, use a wider or thicker walled tube or replace the tube if it has been damaged. Changing the shape of a material affects its strength. Shapes that spread a load well are strong.
- If the chair collapses, make its legs as sturdy as possible. A chair, or any four legged object, is stronger with triangular supports.
Assessment:
Students should be assessed by their involvement in the entire process:
- Did the student try many different techniques for creating their newspaper chair?
- Did they help their fellow classmates by participating in discussion and problem solving? Did they provide thoughtful feedback?
- Were they open to changing and developing their ideas?
- Did their design meet the height requirement and function according to the challenge?
Enrichment
Extension Activities:
Chairs are a great starting point for design challenges and can be made out many different materials. A classic design challenge that works great in school settings is to have students design a chair using only cardboard that can support human weight.
In you are in New York City, a great place to see many chairs from different eras, including a cardboard chair by Frank Gehry, is the Visible Collection at the Brooklyn Museum. You can also see their collection of chairs online by visiting https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/research/luce/ and typing “chair” into the search field.
Related
Files:
No related files are necessary.