PLUS-SHIE
Spring 2023
Academic
STU 1328: Do-It-Anyway
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Instructor: Hiroto Kobayashi
Academic
STU 1328: Do-It-Anyway
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Instructor: Hiroto Kobayashi
Often in architecture school, we work with representations of the objects and spaces we design through drawings, diagrams, models, etc. For this course, students were tasked with designing and building a 1:1 module to occupy a particular space within or around Gund Hall, the design school building. When dealing with the true scale and materiality of things, we are faced with a plethora of new challenges and advantages to explore.
In Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, the Once-ler is a bodyless and faceless man who invents the Thneed. In his word's, "A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People Need! It's a shirt. It's a sock. It's a glove. It's a hat. But it has other uses. Yes, far beyond that. You can use it for carpets. For pillows! For sheets! Or curtains! Or covers for bicycle seats!" He gleefully describes it as an all-in-one, does-absolutely-everything thing. It's clothing. It's a tool. It's furniture. It's an object. It's spatial. In the story, the Thneed is the reason for deforestation and habitat destruction. Why they cut down all the truffula trees. However, I wanted reverse this narrative. Using upcycled clothing donated by friends, from local thrift stores, etc., the project hopes to give new life to textiles that would otherwise end up in landfills or elsewhere. PLUS-hie is a giant and rearrangeable plus-shaped cushion that acts as a social instrument that negotiates social interactions, facilitating when/where/how and if interacting takes place . It can be used outside in the yard for people to gather and lounge, while it can also provide a makeshift bed and ultimate privacy under our studio desks. Like the Thneed, or any "multitasking objects," the PLUShie is at once everything and nothing. It can be a piece of furniture, a boundary or obstruction, or an extension of the self. It is an "absurd object" with no "real purpose" than to act as a conversation starter or to spark interest and socialization. |
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