Week 6: Form Development

Continuing from week 5, we decided to focus on the nature of the connectivity of the spine (bones rely on each other to connect and how when they connect, certain parts overlap each other) and this week we focused on churning out ideas for our form.

We looked back at the sketches we did in week 2 and we realised that we really liked the concept of a continuous bench so we decided to merge this concept with the connectivity of the spine.

After much brainstorming we decided to try out sketching for benches and seats and these are just some ideas that we have come up with.


The first drawing shows the nature of the connection of the spine. The seats are connected together while at the same time overlapping each other. It is also flexible in the sense that it can be connected at the top of the seat and also at the sides.

The second drawing shows a similar concept. However, the seats are connected through a section in the middle which runs through all the seats.

The third and fourth drawings are a little different, although they still contain the same concept of the connection of the spine.

In the third drawing, the two seats and the rod are all acting as joints. They rely on each other and have to be connected together before they can be sat on. Parts of the seats also overlap each other while they are joined to retain the concept that we want to convey.

The last drawing shows a similar concept to the previous drawing except that the rod is missing. The seats rely only on each other and they act as joints. When they are connected, some parts overlap each other as well to give each other balance so that the user can sit comfortably.


Through these ideas the main point that we would like to convey is the appreciation for the way the bones of the spine join together: relying on each other to connect and the fascinating feature of how when the bones connect they overlap each other as well.

Week 5: Form exploration

The concept that we have chosen to do is the connectivity of the spine. We were intrigued by the way the bones are connected together therefore we would like to focus on this aspect.

The bones are ‘stacked’ together through the spinal cord and connected by the facet joints. This makes an area of the bones overlap each other and we thought that this would be a good characteristic to include it into our final sculpture.

However, this week, we wanted to brainstorm for more ideas of the form (before we settle on the overall form) of the spine so we did a bit of form exploration. We tried different forms to expand our limitations because we do not want to be conformed to the exact form of the spine.

Week 3: First Concept

School, to us, cannot be called what it is if it does not consist of the most important element: students. The school do not make the students, but rather, the students make the school.

With this as our concept, we realised that the idea of this is very similar to the spine. The spine is the main support for the human body, much like how the students are the main support for the school. With the spine as our inspiration, we wanted to create something sculptural as well as functional for the students. Thus, we decided to design a bench that is inspired from the form of the spine.

All the designs are similar in the way that the seats are flexible and able to move in opposite sides, where the user gets to choose which side he/she wants to sit on. They are also S-shaped to give a resemblance to the original form of the spine.

However, idea 5 (second image, right) incorporates tables as well as chairs and it gives an idea of the users having their own privacy but still having a sense of shared space as they are being connected to each other.

Initially the idea of these benches would be able to convert kinetic energy to electricity using weight and movement, but it seems that not much movement will actually be converted as the users will be seated.