Harry Smith, Retro Entertainment Unit (Student)

Project Proposal While furniture designers often establish parallels between furniture and art, it must be considered when designing furniture that it belongs not in a museum, but rather a home. When one considers their ideal home, they envision a place of comfort, and importantly, of character. Therefore, to provide a sense of character, the entertainment unit that I developed for my HSC major project had to refrain from genericism. While the design had to be both challenging and unique, maintaining simplicity was also crucial toward appealing to a wide audience. Incorporated into the project was the use of a wide range of technical and conceptual skills, and although the entertainment unit is intended as a tv-cabinet, it could alternatively serve a use as a sideboard table. The potential to evolve an existing style into something new was a significant ambition of mine. To fulfill this desire the design process saw me test ways to effectively fuse two popular design aesthetics (components of both modern and Scandinavian design) into one unique blend. The entertainment unit is aimed to be the focal piece of any living space, with a high aesthetic value. Storage was also a significant factor, as the design couldn't compromise on the amount of available storage. To suit the demands of a wide audience, the entertainment unit had to be designed to provide a vast amount of storage for remotes, electronics and television components. While the storage and aesthetic of the project had a major bearing in the design process, the functionality of the unit was also significant. For an entertainment unit to be functional, it must be large enough to accommodate a television if needed, and for average-to-large sized televisions (40”+), the eyes of the individual sitting on a lounge should ideally line-up with half-to-two thirds of the screen. Limiting Factors While the project had to achieve a high standard, it also had to stick to both budget and time constraints. In terms of time, the project had to not only be physically constructed over the set period, but designed, prototyped and refined. The design process involved not only creativity, but spades of time devoted toward converting such creativity, such as design inspiration and my own ideas into a suitable, high-quality project. During the lengthy design process, another limiting factor emerged in cost. The project had to stick to a budget. This caused for constant consideration into the materials and features I used (such as whether or not to implement more cost-effective drawer runners or carcass joinery techniques, or a decision whether or not to use risky methods such as lamination-bending that may threaten to blow out the budget etc). The limiting factors of time and money were manageable through promoting effective time management via the use of a timeline plan, and through ensuring the design could realistically be achieved (and to a high standard) before I committed to it. Product requirements To suit the demands of a wide, all-encompassing target audience (specifically ranging from young adults to elders), the entertainment unit had to be designed in a way that incorporated some simplicity. In terms of the functionality of the unit when used as a tv cabinet, storage had to be plentiful, and it had to be capable of accommodating a tv at an optimal height for individuals. Therefore, the product was constructed at dimensions of 1400mm(l)x600mm(h)x450mm(d) in dimension, with the legs accounting for 200mm of its height. Through designing the entertainment unit in line with the ‘rule of thirds’, I was able to ensure that the piece was well proportioned and not awkward in appearance. Key Features The integration of curved dovetailed corners was a significant ambition of mine that stemmed from early in the research process. This was crucial toward blending the two aesthetics of Modern and Scandi into the entertainment unit, promoting fluidity - yet depth. However, this also presented a variety of challenges, such as hand-shaping and specialised jig creation that required a large devotion of both time and physical labour. Further, the use of radio-weave rattan on the door-fronts added a point-of-difference to the design as opposed to the use of plain, solid timber. For assembling the carcass dividers, sliding dovetails were used, while floating veneer shelves were edged with solid timber strips and placed in the open cavities through a shelf-pin system. In addition to the stylish finger-joinery on the drawers and a leg-design featuring a unique curved mitre joint, the entertainment unit is fitted with stylish brass handles, ball-catchers on the doors and soft-close drawer runners. Photography by Alvin Theseira. Teacher Ben Percy. School: NBSC Freshwater Senior Campus

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