Kavita's BCT Adventures

A progress blog towards my coursework (2016 - 2018), a place where I post some of my daily ventures into the sea that is Creative Technologies. The work here is my own and I'd be thankful if it were credited when used. Thanks for visiting!  - Kavita

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Reflective Statement Kavita Singh

Reflective Statement Kavita Singh Studio VI Renew has been an iterative and explorative journey into my own interpretation of sustainability. The entire process from its shaky inception to a fairly solid concept has been laced with challenges and surprises. In the process of knowledge building...

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Printing, Sanding, Spraying

These are the 3D-printed frames, printed in half size as they were too large for the regular 3D printers (and the bigger printers were too busy). As such, the 3D model itself was sliced in half:

As I am printing two full-size frames for the chair, 4 half-sized blocks were printed. The blue ones seen above are actually ‘failed’ prints (or what I like to call, free prints) as the sides are exposed. I decided not to re-print as this little imperfection added an interesting look to the overall frame:

After printing, I removed the structural supports and began the sanding process by hand. I got 40, 80, 240, 600 and 1200 grit and sanded each piece down starting with 40, then 80, 600 and then a last water polish with 1200. Sanding the pieces will ensure the texture of each plank will be evenly distributed. I would've used a sanding tool but I wasn’t too certain about the heat as there is a risk of melting, especially of less durable parts. Nevertheless, the sanding process ensured a good surface for spray painting:

I chose a metallic gold colour for the spray painting process, as an homage to the Kintsugi technique and it’s the only spray paint colour I own. On a sentimental note, the colour could represent coming full circle with this project as the spray paint was originally used for my ‘Junkeology’ project from Year 1 which was laced with aspects of Additivism, re-purposing and upycling, ideas subsequently taken further in this project. Now we wait for the paint to dry.

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Designing a Guide #2

This is the second little guide that will go alongside my installation. It primarily focuses on the development of the proof-of-concept.

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Designing a Guide #1

I’ve spent the past week designing two little guides to go alongside my installation, the one above primarily focuses on the research aspects of my project whilst the other one which I will cover in another blog, is the proof-of-concept development. I designed these on photoshop and subsequently, re-formatted them in Illustrator.

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Documentation Statement

WEAK SIGNAL ‘CONNECTIVITY’ & NATURE CO-EXISTING WITH TECHNOLOGY When we proposed our project idea, we looked at the concept of ‘frequencies’ as a manifestation of the weak signals around us, however we found that to be not fitting in the direction in which the project was going. Visualising freq...

A link to our documentation including individual reflections for Space, Image and Sound. The documentation is a collective endeavour by:

@claudiabct

@h0i-im-teemo

@dreamtimedesign

@kavitacreativetech

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Redesign Stage: Structural Integrity

In a previous post, I mentioned how I wasn’t going to print entire wooden blocks for the chair frames I’m mending. This is still the case but I’ve decided to look at some more sturdy designs to enhance the structural integrity. One of these designs is a honeycomb design. It’s better explained in some sketches inspired by the small mood board above:

This is how I have envisioned the chair frames to be so I’m hoping that from these sketches, I’ll be able to have a 3D model generated as a prototype. The honeycomb pattern has shown to be sturdy as a structural pattern. I have the PLA filament ready to be used, however, getting a small prototype made will give me a sense of how sturdy it is and any other changes to be made.

Image References:

https://www.3ders.org/articles/20160430-tips-for-optimizing-structural-integrity-of-load-bearing-3d-printed-parts-with-ribs-and-gussets.html

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264127517309486

https://www.vote3d.com/making-3d-prints-lighter-honeycomb-structure/

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Some quick sketches of different redesign ideas for the chair and table I picked up form the landfill. I’m not going to be re-purposing both the table and chair as this is going to be too much work and would require more filament to construct. As a result, I’ve continued to look at aspects of the chair I wanted to redesign, the main aspect being the chair frames. Instead of printing it in a solid block, I thought it would look more visually appealing as a whole mesh design, refer to mood board here. I’m hoping to get this modelled asap and printed as a prototype to see if it is structurally feasible. Watch this space!

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Kintsugi/Kintsukuroi: Precious Scarring 

I found that the Japanese art of Kintsugi has similarities with my current research fields of a cradle-to-cradle approach of repurposing plastic and changing the relationship with our belongings. To put briefly, Kintsugi (golden seams) or Kintsukouroi (golden repair) is a Japanese technique that emerged a few centuries ago as a way to repair broken ceramics usually using “a special lacquer with powdered gold, silver or platinum” (Modern Met Team, 2017). It stems from Wabi-Sabi, a Japanese philosophy that is centred around impermanence and imperfection and embracing as well as appreciating these qualities in matters of life. Wabi-Sabi is one of the topics I chose for Integrative Practice in Year 1 and to be able to return to it again with a different perspective is rejuvenating and perhaps a little nostalgic. 

Back to Kintsugi, the repaired ceramic celebrates the “artefact’s history whilst amplifying its fractures and breaks instead of hiding them”(Modern Met Team, 2017). The end result ends up being more beautiful than the original, with seams of gold creating dynamic patterns. The profound meaning behind this aesthetic is the idea of strength and beauty in imperfection. It is a metaphor for brokenness and healing; embracing these qualities can create something unique and bring revitalisation to something we once loved. 

I may not be dealing with ceramics but the same philosophy applies to my project in regards to encouraging the appreciation of broken and disregarded things. The way I see it, the recycled 3D filament (or in this case PLA) is the gold lacquer used to glue and mend the artefact we are wanting to revive. 

Image Reference:

https://www.lifegate.com/people/lifestyle/kintsugi

References:

Modern Met Team. (2017). My Modern Met. Retrieved 9 October, 2018, from https://mymodernmet.com/kintsugi-kintsukuroi/  

The Mindful Company Team. (2018). The Mindful Company. Retrieved 9 October, 2018, from https://www.mindful-company.com/blogs/notebook/what-is-kintsugi

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Next Steps + Changes

Although I picked up two different pieces of furniture from the landfill, I will likely only use one to provide a proof-of-concept. My next steps are to remodel the blocks of wood broken off from the chair on Blender and use Mesh Mixer to split the model if it’s too large to print in one go. I asked Traz to model the furniture pieces above on Blender which will help in the process of redesigning/mending. In regards to the chair, I’m currently not looking to print fully solid panel blocks to replace the broken ones but something along a mesh/lattice design; here’s a small mood-board: 

Using sourced PLA

I’ve been trying to source pelletisers to pelletise plastic bottles to convert into filament but this process has proved to be much more challenging than expected. Having contacted recycling companies such as TerraCycle and Reclaim, I haven’t been able to locate a service that fulfill this area of my circular economy model. 

Consequently, I am resorting to using PLA filament as it’s the closest plastic material to what I had in mind. I have sourced some clear PLA filament from Jaycar which I will likely end up using for the printing stage. However, I have come across another company that may be able to provide pelletised plastic, called VISY. I have contacted them regarding my project and am awaiting a reply. If this turns out to be successful, then I’ll be able to order in recycled pelletised plastic for the filament maker in the 3D labs.

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Envirowaste Pike Point Transfer Station Visit + Furniture Collection

Last Thursday, I went to Envirowaste down in Onehunga to collect some pieces of furniture to begin the process of redesigning and mending. I had criteria in mind for the pieces of furniture:

The had to be somewhat mendable in their current state (so no furniture that is absolutely falling apart or completely together either)

They would be ideally made of wood as it is easier to work with.

Not too large in size.

An object that is used often in everyday life.

Above are some images of the landfill; there was an overwhelming amount of things, mostly cardboard and plastic but it really puts it into perspective how much junk we accumulate and throw out. I was shown around by Avi, the health and safety officer on site and he says that the station just keeps getting more junk every day. The workers were interested in seeing how my project would affect the waste disposal system. I managed to collect two pieces of furniture, a foldable chair and an old desk also seen above.

I wanted to keep it as simple and practical as possible. The criteria I had in place was to help make it easier to redesign and transport to Studio and ideally, I want to showcase items of everyday use rather than lavish household items which don’t often appear in landfills. The next step is to model these pieces on Blender/Maya and begin the redesign stage.

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This is a quick proof-of-concept for Basic Kneads I whipped up on Photoshop. It’s just to showcase the design, style, fonts and colour palettes we were going for (so basically UI/UX) and also helps clarify the target audience.

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Creating a Mascot

A visual component to enhance the experience of our “Basic Kneads” app, we created a mascot that would guide the user through tutorials especially during the introductory stages. I drew up some quick sketches of relatively cute, hand-drawn style mascots in a variety of styles from anthropomorphic bread to animals. We agreed that the ‘toast’ mascot seemed appropriate especially in regards to our theme. It’s a staple in almost all diets and plays on the pun of our title. I made a quick illustrator sketch of the toast mascot and am planning on doing more with a variety of expressions as they explain different aspects of the app. This visual component also helps distinguish our app service from other food apps as it primarily serves senior high school students through to uni students. I was a bit hesitant at first in regards to the overly cute style but it seems to fit well with our purpose. I am also designing the title, ‘Basic Kneads’ which will pop up before the app starts up. Our proof of concept will include static images of the app, something like this:

Image reference:

http://bire.1andwap.com/mobile-app-design-template/

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Creating Ambient Sounds

Using my Alesis MIDI controller, I made some ambient sounds on Ableton Live Lite for our installation. We weren’t entirely sure what kind of audio we were going for so most if not all the samples on my Soundcloud are experimental and likely to change. Now that we have (sort of ) established what our final installation might be, I might opt to create some relaxing, tranquil audio. 

Concept Iteration (04.10.18)

Our whole will-o-the-wisps idea still stands but we are incorporating live data input from students around the area of our installation. The wisps represent the students congregating and attaching themselves to a bonsai tree, something peaceful amidst the stresses of uni and serves as a way to represent the humanity and bonds we share, even if we aren’t necessarily communicating with each other. Because this idea has become more lucid from today’s ideation, we’re able to work around themes of relaxation, calming spaces and again, the weak signals of our “silent interactions”. I will do a further blog post to clarify this concept, as well as precedence, thoughts and ideas behind it. For now, enjoy this random playlist:

https://soundcloud.com/user-762235176/sets/space-image-sound-experiments

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Collecting Resources (2.08.18)

In order to create a high-quality 3D print, I’ll need to make sure that the plastic pellets I garner are of high quality and consistent before turning it into filament otherwise it won’t print well. Currently, I’m looking into ways to pelletise plastic and it isn’t a very easy service to find. I could shred plastic through a shredder but again, this isn’t going to generate sturdy pellets.

I’ve contacted Reclaim, a recycling service that aims to keep waste from going to the landfill, to ask about how I could pelletise plastic from recycling bins. I’ve also contacted Terracycle regarding the pellet matter. I have an appointment with Envirowaste on Thursday to look into and collect broken pieces of furniture so I may inquire about pellets then as well. My aims this week are to:

Have a piece of furniture to mend (i.e. a chair, table) from Envirowaste

Plastic pellets to feed through the 3D labs’ filament maker

A model of the furniture on a 3D modelling software to manipulate/redesign.

Sketch potential outcomes of how the chair/table/furniture piece can be redesigned for stability.

Next week my aims are to:

Generate enough filament for printing

Redesign the piece of furniture, improving structure, stability and overall appearance.

Model the parts that require mending (this may require some sturdy furniture work which I will require assistance for, from the 3D/woodworking labs)

It’s a bit of an ambitious undertaking for 1 and a half weeks but this is just the starting phase, I will need another week perhaps to improve upon any other aspects or remodel parts. The earlier this gets started, the more time I have to iterate and improve on the design.

Image resources:

https://3dprint.com/8075/3d-printed-full-size-chairs/

https://sustainable.org.nz/members/auckland/auckland/reclaim-ltd/

http://whyguernsey.com/design-concepts-furniture.html/design-concepts-furniture-endearing-office-furniture-design-concepts-office-design-concepts-nj-modern-x

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Digital Tree Concepts

Having been tasked with conceptualising our digital tree, I sought out different ways to envision what would essentially be the foundation of our overall visualisation. The first concept is of a static tree, it mimics the lines of a chip and is rather generic. I wanted to extend the idea further by looking into stylised designs and thought about trees I would personally want to see around uni. 

The first tree that came to mind was a cherry tree which doesn’t really have a specific shape other than its flowers and the second one was a bonsai. Bonsai trees are restricted to the pot in which they are placed in. This felt like a fitting concept to work with and bonsai trees have a specific wavy shape to them that makes them not only distinct and recognisable but also relaxing. I’m currently looking into other trees with distinct shapes and meanings. Choosing a specific tree with an interesting meaning or mythology might help solidify the narrative in our conceptual framework. After this conceptualisation process, the final design will be modelled by Traz. 

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Sites for our Data Visualisations (24.09.18)

Shirley and I had the job of searching for areas to display our data visualisation which at the time wasn’t established yet. Part of the feedback for our proposal stated that projecting onto more natural surfaces i.e. a tree in Albert Park would be a bit ambitious considering there aren’t any close-by power supplies and frankly, projection mapping onto natural surfaces was going to prove difficult to undertake especially considering our concept is still somewhat wavering. Hence, we were told to move onto the city campus, preferably inside where there will be power sources. I think this is a good decision as we could use the urban landscape to our advantage. Our criteria for choosing a site on campus was simple:

A blank wall without too much texture and bright colours

A close power source

A fairly dim area (this is a bit harder to come by)

Traffic from students moving to and fro classes

Not too close to distracting objects or spaces

Above is a compilation of sites we came across during our space excursion. We all liked the idea of using the wooden wall on Level 3 as well as the entrance into Laneway Cafe as it is a dark wall, a good slate for a brightly lit projection. We have to keep in mind that the idea of our projection is to not get in the way of those who walk past so narrow lanes are definitely not ideal. Ideally, we’d be able to keep the projector itself relatively obscure so it doesn’t get in the way of the installation. We’d like people to stop and recollect their thoughts as they look at the tree and the movements of the wisps and not have to stand in a specific spot to do that.

We’re still in the process of creating the visualisation which we’ve decided to be a digital tree. Utilising the tree as our main canvas, we’re wanting to showcase the inter-connectedness of data and its ubiquity through animated wisps.

@claudiabct @dreamtimedesign @h0i-im-teemo

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Developing a Circular Economy Model

There are plenty of different circular economy models revolving around sustainability. This one is an interpretation revolving around my own research of the cradle-to-cradle design. We’re used to companies and manufacturers developing systems that are short-lived, without taking into account the effect of their approach on consumers and the environment. The problem lies in planned obsolescence and the lack of product stewardship. Companies are able to get away with ‘the waste problem’ because once their product is purchased, it’s the consumer’s problem and subsequently the waste management’s problem. As consumers, we’re bombarded with media to reduce, reuse and recycle every day; we’re told that we’re the cause of awful dilemmas like the great plastic garbage patch, all excuses to mask wasteful practices from the manufacturing end. Recycling has become a jaded term for many, particularly to those who know that 90% of waste doesn’t end up being recycled but landfilled. For instance, many of the byproducts of plastics recycling are a hybrid of various plastics which are then molded into something that is amorphous and cheap. It’s a continuous cycle in our wasteful economy. In Robert Lilienfield and William Rathje’s 1998 “Use Less Stuff: Environmental Solutions for Who We Really Are”, they mention how “Recycling is an aspirin, alleviating a rather large collective hangover...overconsumption” and that “the best way to reduce any environmental impact is not to recycle more, but to produce and dispose of less”

Many consumers are conscious about where their waste goes and many ethical, sustainable companies are raising public awareness of wastefulness and ways to deal with it. But there’s a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed and that’s to do with used goods. How often we throw away less-than-perfect goods, items that are still useable and don’t really have shelf date is a cause of concern. The model above highlights how transparency with our belongings can help reduce the amount of junk that ends up in landfills and help us build communities that strive to redesign and rediscover the love for our belongings with 3D printing. Of course, there’s donating one’s goods which is fine but again, it doesn’t solve the problem of the mindless consumption of goods and services. 

Fundamentally, the idea is to change the relationship we have with our “stuff” forming a renewed interaction and breathing new life into our belongings. As a result, our belongings enter a re-birth stage, renewed for the same or an entirely different purpose and as consumers, we also become more aware of why we choose to buy things. It’s more than just upcycling as it isn’t necessarily re-using the product or seeing it as waste. It still retains life as a usable object with the exception of needing repair. I derived this from the Japanese concept of Kintsugi which I’ll cover in a different blog post.

There’s another cycle that gyrates within this system and that’s the creation of recycled 3D filament from plastic waste. This system utilises plastic waste as a material for continuous use during the re-design and re-discover stage. Lots of progress is being made in this area and many companies (even some in NZ) are developing recycled filament for sustainable use, PLA being the main plastic being used for rapid 3D prototyping.