HOLLOW
The Design
The Hollow night stand is a personal project, designed and fabricated to capture the well rounded lifestyle commonly found in Scandinavian countries. From its original conception in 2018, this product continues to give a simple, yet original spark to the bedroom space making for a high quality user experience. In addition to its functionality as a night stand, "HOLLOW" also doubles as a stool.
The idea for the double functionality of the Hollow comes from analyzing two household objects that often share the same height and relative size. Therefore, wether you're looking for nightstand or an extra place to sit, Hollow is the product for you.
The soft well rounded curves found on this piece give the product a friendly and user centric feeling while prioritizing functionality. It's "hollow" interior gives users a perfect place to store a couple magazines, favourite book or even a cell phone. The sleek top allows for an alarm clock or lamp to sit comfortably while also giving the option for the user to sit on it.
The Materiality for this piece was chosen to support its dual functionality. The strong plywood build not only looks amazing but can support an immense amount of weight.
Fabrication
This product is made from 100% baltic birch, allowing for a strong build while still maintaining a natural feel.
The original design was drafted by hand and then transferred to a larger scale, in order to decide the optimal height for both sitting and using it as a night stand.
Fabrication templates were created by hand, and drafted directly from the original plans, and then transferred to router tables for easy production. This method of creating a master template allowed me to ensure that all pieces would be the exact same and fit together perfectly.
After all pieces are extracted from the router table, they are assembled together using bamboo rods to guide them into position before applying glue and clamping.
Finally, all 5 components are sanded one last time to remove any imperfections before assembly.
Each "Hollow" product is constructed using laminated plywood, which is cut and then stacked to give the desired effect of an exposed end grain.
Competencies Used
These three competencies show what was most crucial for the success of the project
Firstly, self motivation played a very central role. This was a self directed project completed outside of school, in which I sourced my own materials and tools while using my knowledge of design.
Secondly, Fabrication techniques were very much present in this process. This product was challenging to create because of its complex forms and its unique use of plywood. My extensive knowledge of fabrication came in handy while developing this.
Thirdly, this product underwent many iterations and mock-ups in order for me to be satisfied with the final product. This development of form was time consuming but ultimately led to a better finished product.