Nirms

Stuff I researched

Latex Foam

No leads on the Latex foam yet as all the places I went to refuse to stock it. The reason behind this is, it has the potential to degrade when left just laying around. Ill follow it up later on as I now have an address where they apparently have an excess stock of material.

Inspirative research

I then looked at table designs from other countries and how they related to the tables. Also looking at what furniture designers were suggesting as the future of furniture.


http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2005/visser-table1.jpg


















http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/+2005/visser-table2.jpg













At http://www.adriangemelli.com.au/SeaandWater/TableDesigns.htm
i found some interesting forms for the table and each of the designs easily changes the way one would interact with the table and the space around it


















http://www.zazengallery.com/ also had interesting takes on form








http://www.diwfurniture.com/Pages/coffee.html














http://www.indian-handicraft.com/wooden-carved-tables.html

Nightingale Floor

The Japanese style inspired tables reminded me of something I heard a while back. A nightingale floor. It was used as a form of protection in a paranoid and powerful Lord in Japan. All the floors near the entrance of his house were built in such a way that when anyone or anything moves on them the floor boards made sounds, theoretically like a nightingale. It was set up so that an assassin would not be able to enter the house without everyone in the house hearing it.

I researched this and found this information on this website, http://www.kyopro.kufs.ac.jp/dp/dp01.nsf/ecfa8fdd6a53a7fc4925700e00303ed8/281e4edb4f315ef449256f90001bfe03!OpenDocument ;

“The Nightingale floor was laid in Nijo Castle for added security. To guard against intrusion into the Castle by suspicious and dangerous persons like ninja, the floor was designed to sing like a nightingale. The sound is different from that heard in older houses, because of the different way the floor was laid. By suspending the floor above the frame using special iron clamps, the floor can move up and down over the fixing nails when walked upon. This causes the nails to rub against the wood and create a sound similar to the cheeping of a nightingale. All the floors in the castle, from the entrance to Ohiroma, are this type of floor. When you visit Nijo Castle, try your best to walk along the floor without making a sound ── if you can, perhaps you are secretly a ninja!!”

I am now looking at ways of incorporating something similar to this in the table so when ever something is placed on it there is a slight chirp. The only problem I see with this is the product may come across as cheap or warped.

Pictures

I also took pictures over a few days when I saw a table that caught my eye. Whether it was because of its form, its state or an interesting use, more pictures will be uploaded when technical issues are resolved. For now though;

The white table from uni, not good to look at, no real worth in keeping it looking all that great because stains and doodles will soon overrun a new coat of paint

Café table, feel is somewhat important, finish really important, good heavy feel to it

Lounge, darker rooms, colour not so important, water/alcohol proof important, also scratch proofing has an importance.

Rubiks

I was interested in rubiks cubes and was thinking of making a table in a similar way, instead of different colours there will be a different material so it is possible to mix and match for various parts of the table. So I broke open a cube and was surprised at how easy it was to pull apart and put back together.

The idea is a bit fiddly though so it probably ends its life here.

Concrete

I had a conversation with Frank a while back and some of the discussions we had gave me this idea. What if I could give someone a set of moulds or mould creating tools and a lot of concrete and let them design a table to fit their needs in terms of size and height. Possibly finish as well? The idea has scope to it. I can see how most people who undertake this would want to leave it maybe in the back yard for the occasional garden party. But how awesome would it be if someone made it a part of their living room and was forced to work around it when they moved furniture around or whatever it is.

This is quite a solid and almost permanent fixture. In contrast is the ice table, in a room where the temperature is always 0 degrees and below.














I quite enjoyed the idea of the ice table, unfortunatly the four industrial meat freezers ment to maintain the room below zero were not able to keep the room cool when me and my friends descided to stick around at the bar and talk continiously. The bar started to melt soon after and the rooms temperature started to rise to 5 degrees. We exited post haste.