Title: Rocking chair, 2017
Context: Exploiting bamboo slate 5x23x200mm, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France
Challenge: Curently bamboo is a material of production which isn’t standardized. The bamboo slate being the result of an industrializable process, why not exploiting it in order to produce our everyday objects?
Context: Exploiting bamboo slate 5x23x200mm, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France
Challenge: Curently bamboo is a material of production which isn’t standardized. The bamboo slate being the result of an industrializable process, why not exploiting it in order to produce our everyday objects?
Description:
In June 2017, I was selected to participate with a group of ENSAD students, to spent one week at the «domaine de Boisbuchet» working on the bamboo material.
The bamboo slate being the result of an industrializable process, why not exploit it in order to produce our everyday objects? Growing fast material, bamboo has a great elasticity, which confers it a promising future. I started to produce a bamboo rocking chair, in order to exploit its breaking point, and learn how to stiffen it, to strengthen it.
The piece is based on a simple curve shape. In profile it’s only a line.
In June 2017, I was selected to participate with a group of ENSAD students, to spent one week at the «domaine de Boisbuchet» working on the bamboo material.
The bamboo slate being the result of an industrializable process, why not exploit it in order to produce our everyday objects? Growing fast material, bamboo has a great elasticity, which confers it a promising future. I started to produce a bamboo rocking chair, in order to exploit its breaking point, and learn how to stiffen it, to strengthen it.
The piece is based on a simple curve shape. In profile it’s only a line.
1/ Experimenting
One of my aim with bamboo was to bend it. The only tool that we had were hit guns. I was bending the bamboo with the strength of my arms and thus the result wasn’t reproductible, each shape was unique.
One of my aim with bamboo was to bend it. The only tool that we had were hit guns. I was bending the bamboo with the strength of my arms and thus the result wasn’t reproductible, each shape was unique.
2/ Tools making
To be able to reproduce identical shapes, and 3D curves , I build my own gabarit.
They allowed me to bend the bamboo with a hit gun following the draw of my curves and their evolutive height.
To be able to reproduce identical shapes, and 3D curves , I build my own gabarit.
They allowed me to bend the bamboo with a hit gun following the draw of my curves and their evolutive height.
3/ Prototyping
With my tools validated, I build a prototype to be able to observe the weaknesses of my design and determine which reinforcement I needed.
With my tools validated, I build a prototype to be able to observe the weaknesses of my design and determine which reinforcement I needed.
During the workshop, we’ve decided to build a steam pit thinking that it will facilitate curves’ making like we use to do for wood. However, we found out that the bamboo become more fragile because of the humidity. Indeed, bamboo is from the grass family, and thus the fiber absorbs every shock after being steamed.
It results by clamps’ marks on the slate and a weak rigidity after beaing curved.
Thus, bending bamboo slate with dry hit appeared as being the right answer to pursue our experimentations.
This prototype has proven to not be functional. Reinforcement at the back are needed to be able to swing safely.
To be continued...
Exhibition:
Bambazar, festival about bamboo in Paris in September 2017.
Info:
https://www.ensad.fr/actualites/lensad-domaine-boisbuchet
Bambazar, festival about bamboo in Paris in September 2017.
Info:
https://www.ensad.fr/actualites/lensad-domaine-boisbuchet