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Project Participants

Spring 2010:

Background

We are taking Engr. 305 – Appropriate Technology at Humboldt State University. The project we have chosen is to design and build furniture made from cardboard for those people who want to save money, reduce their carbon footprint, or just be creative. We want to demonstrate that stylish furniture can be made completely from recycled materials at a very low cost.

Our plan:

  • To use recycled cardboard donated from businesses or individuals in the community
  • Make our own homemade eco-friendly non-toxic glue from rice, wheat or pasta
  • Use eco-friendly fabrics and paints for upholstery and decoration.


Opportunity Definition

During the 2010 spring semester at HSU we decided to build stylish and functional furniture for Engineering 305, Appropriate Technology. We want to demonstrate that furniture could be made with reused and renewable materials using sustainable methods. We also want to be able to create a design on par with trendy brand name furniture as well as be safe and durable. Our goal is to describe a method in which students on a budget can have furniture they can be proud of and feel comfortable using in their dorm room or first residence. We hope to try out different materials, binders, paints, upholstery and cushions.


Literature Review

This is a review of some of the available literature pertaining to Cardboard Furniture.

Furniture Design and Inspiration

Inspiration for designs and projects can be found everywhere around you and can be made out of a variety of materials, including cardboard. [1] The aesthetics and design will be an important component of this project. Anyone can make any type furniture. Cinder blocks and plywood can be a functional bookshelf, a stack newspapers can serve as a seat, or wooden cask can be used as a table. We can stack cardboard to an appropriate height for a chair, but the overall look and feel would not be appropriate for a warm and inviting living space. For the aesthetic design, we can get inspiration from traditional furniture designs,[2] from artistic designs,[3] or from simple functional designs. [4] The chair will my own (Stanley Instness) design inspired from art deco architecture. Once the general look of the furniture is decided upon the dimensions and functionality will be determined. The dimensions for the chair have not been determined as of yet, but size will be typical of a cushion-armed chair. The method of design will vary for different projects. For this project I decided on the look first and the dimensions and functionality second, but some projects may be limited by space, in which you would want to determine your dimensions first and then find an appropriate look or design that works for the space.

Cardboard Architecture

When designing furniture out of cardboard it is necessary to take into account the structural integrity of what you are building. In the case of using cardboard, you must consider the five forces that act upon your structure. These five forces are:

  • Compression - is when the load is applied to the top of a structure.
  • Tension - is load applied along the structure in a pulling action.
  • Bending - is like a bookshelf loaded down with heavy books.
  • Shear - is when forces are exerted on the same plane but in opposite directions.
  • Torsion - describes forces that try to twist the structure apart.[5]

[6]

Upholstery

The art deco inspired chair will be upholstered. This will disguise the cardboard structure and is necessary to cover and protect the cushion material. The method of upholstery will be learned from how-to-websites.[7] The fabric will be made from eco-friendly or reused materials.


Safety

Upholstered furniture should be fire resistant.[8] Since some people smoke, we want to make sure that a burning cigarette will not set the furniture on fire. We will conduct tests on sample pieces. Our criteria and method of testing has not been determined yet.

Types of Glue

Natural home-made non-toxic glues can be made out of a variety of materials, including wheat flour, rice, pasta, or liquid glycerin. [9]


Type 1 - Flour

type 1

Type 2 - Rice

Type 2 composting is a system that utilizes..... Make sure to include description, advantages and disadvantages, and/or have a comparison matrix. [9]

Type 3 - Pasta

Type 3 composting is a system that utilizes..... Make sure to include description, advantages and disadvantages, and/or have a comparison matrix.

Type 4 - Liquid Glycerin

Designing interpretive materials

According to ______ interpretive materials for composting should include....

References

  1. Ragsdale, Linda. Creative Cardboard: Making Fabulous Furniture, Amazing Accessories & Other Spectacular Stuff. illustrated edition ed. New York: Lark Books, 2002.
  2. Emery, Marc. Furniture by Architects. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1983.
  3. Domergue, Denise. Artists Design Furniture. First Edition ed. New York: Harry N Abrams, 1984. Print.
  4. Hennessey, James. Nomadic furniture 2,. 1st ed. New York: Pantheon Books, 1974.
  5. Linnell, Charles C.. "Designing and Building a Cardboard Chair: Children's Engineering at the TECA Eastern Regional Conference." Technology Teacher, The, April 1, 2007.
  6. Eekhout, M., F. Verheijen, and R. Visser. Cardboard in Architecture: Volume 7 Research in Architectural Engineering Series. illustrated edition ed. Amsterdam: IOS Press, 2008.
  7. "Learn to Do It Yourself: How to Reupholster Furniture." Repair-Home - Kitchen, Bathroom, Window, HVAC and Other Home Improvements. http://www.repair-home.com/how_to_reupholster_furniture.html (accessed February 13, 2010).
  8. Waxman, Lisa K. 2008. Voluntary Flammability Regulations for Residential Upholstered Furniture. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences 100 (4): 34-39.
  9. 9.0 9.1 This is an example of a named reference. You can use these named references to repeat citation content throughout the document.
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