Pros and Cons.

Today we did on an exercise on finding the Pros and Cons of our three main ideas.

First the multifunctional chair. For the Pros firstly it doesn't take up much space, has more functions than a normal chair and fill the need of other furnitures. So in terms this furnitures has a combination of two different things combining into one.

Then the Cons, It requires more materials to build a multifuntional chair than a normal one. So the cost of buillding it is much more higher.Also it depends on the design and the shape of it, which it can only fulfill for certain purposes only.

Second is the Murphy bed. Pros, It is multipurpose, It can morph into other needs when the bed is not in use, for example like a shelf or a sofa. The bed can be kept away easily so that it doesn't take up much space and it is cheaper than a normal bed.

The Cons. Well not much really just that It can be tiresome to keep the bed and take it out again whenever it is needed.

Lastly the multifunctional table. The Pros is that it's save space and it is multifunctional as it name goes and the Cons is that it depends on the design and shape of the table because it can only fulfill certain purposes.

The objective of this excercise is to identify what is the good and the bad thing of our ideas so that we can make the right decision, to work on and improve it or discard it.

Sketches Pt 4

I got an idea how to make the space of the studio apartment bigger. We can built a balcony for each apartment. Then the balcony will be covered with a roof structure to protect it from the weather . So the balcony will act like a room that is hanging outside the building. Other than giving an extra space to the apartment, I think it will give a different aesthetic design to the building.

How about decreasing the space in the toilet. maybe combining two items into one. like combining the shower and the toilet bowl together. I know it sound wrong but if you thing about it it can save you time inside the toilet. You can take a dump then after that you can straight take a shower without living your sit.
But don't worry the water for the shower does not come from the toilet bowl. It come from a different pipe line separated from the toilet bowl one.

Sketches pt 3

The thought of using mirrors to maximize space in a room is not a bad idea. You can use it in a strategically manner, Depending on the shape of the room. Mirrors has this reflective imagery that can make our mind think that a small space is big. So in terms it gives an illusion that the space is big. For say if you want your space to be longer, you can put a tall mirror at the end of the room or maybe you it wider than you can put mirrors at the side of the room. It may not be real but at least it gives a sense that the space is not small.
video: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-your-home-look-bigger-using-mirrors

Or maybe demolishing the brick wall  to connect to another studio apartment. Making it to be a share room instead. Well the only setback is that there's no privacy but at least you have a friend to talk to and it's not lonely and of course the space is bigger.

 SKETCHES

pt 2

The idea of putting movable wall in a studio apartment might be possible. The goal of this idea is to create a space within a space. The movable walls will be set at the side of the room. To move the walls. A series of railing is built onto the ceiling to create pathways for the walls. kind of like railway tracks. To move, you can just push it and the walls will easily slide throughout the room.

How about built in furniture. Where the furniture will be strategically place in the room to maximized space. So no unnecessary items are place in the room that would contribute to the clutter.

How about using smaller types of furniture.Which is used in korea and japan, like the japanese tatami bed which can be folded and be put away easily. A foldable small table that is used for breakfast in bed. Which can be used for work or eating your meals and light enough to carry with one hand and even small enough to be put away. A chair with only the backrest and sit cushion. With all this furniture s combined together. I believed that the space will be flexible and a whole lot more spacious.

Sketches & Ideas

First I had an idea on using colours to maximize the space in the room. As people we have a sense of interest in colours and with different kind of hues we can feel different kind of emotions. Colours also can give an illusion. For example we can used white colour to paint a small room and make it seem bigger than it appears to be. Or maybe using rich paint colours. Using bright colours can give us a cheery and a happy feeling. Other than that we can used graphic wallpaper to give the space a personality. Although using graphic wallpaper in a big room might be to overwhelming but i think using it in a smaller room will make fabulous.

Another is that changing the shape and size of the room which catered to each persons needs. Maybe asking the owner what they need the most in the room. if like they need a bigger work area we can design the kitchen to be a pantry. If they want a bigger living room than we can take out the bed and replace it with a sofa bed. If they want a bigger space then we can extent the room.

Brainstorming 101 ideas

We are brainstorming about getting ideas to solve the problem of studio apartment is to small. We have to at least get 101 ideas no matter how ridiculous it is and we cannot criticize each other's ideas. It was easy at first until we got to our 60th idea. Our brain  just stood a stand still. We pounding our heads away to come out with ideas and we just told ourselves not to think to practical. What is in our mind just let it out. Then the lecturer ask us for our attention. She told us that all the people in the group except for the leader must move to another table with another leader of a different group. And the leader of that group must explained their idea to us and from there we give them our feedback or even give them extra ideas that we can thing off.

So far i think that the way they explained their ideas was quite understandable. To me some of their idea could work in real life. Especially the recycling bit where they construct different rubbish chute that separate the plastics from the Cans and the newspaper. 

After that session we go back to our sit and we had enough ideas to work on. There were some interesting ideas but we can't use it cause it was not practical. Then our lecturer told us to choose 3 - 6 ideas that you want to used to solve the problems and work on it. So in the end my group decided to choose three ideas. The ideas are the Murphy bed, multifunctional chair and the twisted table.

Experience

I wanted to experience what is like living in a studio apartment  but sadly I can't just bust in and ask the owner if i can sleep over at his place cause that's going to be uncomfortable and weird. So my group  decided to pretend that our bedroom is a studio apartment. So we challenged ourselves to live in our bedroom for a day without stepping out of our room except using the bathroom. Then we would record our feeling and experiences.

So this is how it goes, in the morning i ate breakfast inside my room. It was going well and the food was delicious. Until I spill my food on the carpet. I was so piss about it and frustrated at the same time but cleaning was easy though.

Then I started to do my work. It was a foam and structure exercise. While i was doing my work i create a lot of mess within my room. There was clutter everywhere until i do not have room to move. The room even became dusty and stuffy and causes me to have difficulty to control my sneezing. I feel so constraint and uncomfortable. and even stress by looking at this small space. I feel so irritated just by looking at it. For me i felt that i need to get out of the room to get some fresh air and just wanted to run away from it.