DESIGN WORKSHOPFLOORSCAPESStudent: SaiqaGuide: Aditi Ranjan2011-12

DESIGN WORKSHOPFLOORSCAPES

Student: SaiqaGuide: Aditi Ranjan

2011-12

CONTENTS

Project brief 01 User group 02 Field work 03 - 36 Concerns and need 37 Concept 38 Concept development 39 - 42 Materials 43 Exploration 44 - 51 Prototype1, 52 - 54 Product 55 - 57 Testing 58 - 60 Existing designs 61 - 66 Prototype2, 66 - 68 Product 69 - 71 Testing 72 - 74

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Project Brief: • To identify a user group whose work or occupation needs the use of the floor for seating and or working.• To identify a user group who uses western furniture as well as floor level seating.• Brainstorming for identifying a context for floorscapes:

User: Lifestyle:Professionals YogaStudents WellbeingHousewife MeditationMusician Home officevegetable & flower vendors Indoorsstreet vendors Study travelshopkeepers Resortsjewellers (bangle sellers) Work spaceartisans Public spaceChildren Street culture

places of worshipeatingcookinghousehold choresSari shopstraditional occupations—kite makers, block printers, embroidery artisans, rope makers, etc.

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User study conducted at :

Bachapan School-Cocoon School-Podar Jumbo Kids Plus-Sakar Inter School-Little Genius school-Ankur School-Shanti Juniors school-Bambino school-Podar Jumbo International school-Sarkar Intermediate school-Little Genius school

User group studied :

• Children between the age group of six one year to four years• Field work conducted at pre-primary school. - In pre-primary school children use the floor for seating - The activities performed by children at school like playing, reading, singing and eating were observed and analysed to understand how they used the floor.

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Place : Cocoon School

Location : Anjali Char Rasta, Paldi, Ahmedabad

Established : 2008 Person’s name : Mrs. Himagini Gupta Age : 35 Profession : Principal

Mode of payment of fees : Cash Age of children : 2 years - 4 years School duration : 10 AM to 1 PM

Observation about school and use of space by children :

- They use thin cotton rugs, length:-4 Meters Width:-1/2 Meters - It takes long time to dry.- Rugs are not hygienic unless the rug is washed every day as some kids pass urine on the rug.- Earlier the school used small sized rugs but these were found to be inadequate for their seating needs.- Now they use rugs of longer lengths so that fewer rugs are easier to handle and take less time to fold, stack and store.- The narrow width of the rugs does not offer much space for the children to sit and be active. Rug was observed that less space made the children uncomfortable.- The cotton rugs were thin and offered little cushioning from the hard and cold floor.- It was observed that thin rugs lacked firmness and would crumple easily although they were easy to carry.Activities :10:00-10:30 AM : Assembly indoor area, Teachers inspect children’s hygiene by checking their finger nails and teeth. 10:30-11:30 AM : Class Activities: Singing poem, Writing book exercice, drawing classes happen according their timetable.11:30AM-12:00 PM : Break time: Children eat snacks from their tiffin sitting on the same rug.12:00-01:00 PM : Games period: Students play outdoors on the swings and sit on the floor in groups indoors and play games. 01:00 PM : Departure Time

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Place : Podar Jumbo Kids Plus

Location : New CG Road Chand Kheda, Ahmedabad Established : 1927 Person’s name : Mamta Bannerji Profession : Reception girl Age : 22

Mode of payment of fees : Demand draft Age of children : 2- 5 years School duration : Two shifts : 7:00 to11:00 PM 11:15 to 2:00 PM

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Observation about school and use of space by children :

- The school is big and spread over a very large area and has many students. - Play group has two shifts, -7:00 to 11:00 -11:15 to 2:00 - They use a thick rug which needs more water and more time to wash and dry- These rugs require a lot of water to wash and time to dry- The colour of the rug is dull.

Activities :

07:00-07:30 AM : Assembly held outdoors.07:30-8:00 AM : Physical training : students do exercises sitting on the floor .08:00-08:30 AM : They learn poems and sing with the teacher.08:30-09:00 AM : Work book : children practice writing in the work book, teachers help them to hold the pencil in their hands and teach them to write.09:00-09:30 AM : Learning counting by following theirs teachers.09:30-10:30 AM : Watching Television, to sit on rug as a class.10:30-11:00 AM : Children watch television sitting on a rug together as a class.

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Place : Sakar Inter School. Location : New CG Road, Chankheda, Ahmedabad Person’s name : Mr J.N. Sharma Profession : Director Age : 55

Mode of payment of fees : Demand draft Age of children : 2- 5 years Duration of school : 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

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Observation about school and use of floor by children :

- Printed cotton sheet is used on the floor as seating.- Care was not given to children individually - The walls in classroom were made visually attractive.- After class hours a nanny took care of the children till parents came to pick them up. They check the children’s tiffin boxes and bags.- Some children do not want to join the group.They want to sit alone and they wait for their parents.

Activities :

10:00-10:30 AM : Assembly held outdoors.10:30-11:30 AM : Drawing class held indoors. Children learn the names of colours.11:30AM-12:00 PM : Workbook exercise is done sitting on the same cotton floor cover.12:00-01:00 PM : Break and play time.01:00 PM : Departure Time.

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Place : Little Genius School. Location : Chandkheda. Ahmedabad

Person’s name : Nalini Nayak

Profession : Head of School.

Age : 40 Years

Mode of payment of fees : Cash Age of children : 2- 4 years Duration of school : 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

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Observation about school and use of space by children :

-In this school, they admitted only children of 2 years of age .- Due to shortage of space and facilities, they only admitted about 20 students per batch.-They had plenty of toys and foldable slides, which occupy very less place after folding.-Small plastic chairs are used as seating- The children are picked up and dropped home in the school van.

Activities :

To watch television, play with toys, learn poems and counting using counting frame or abacus, objects such as plastic sticks, printed posters, etc.They spent the entire time doing these activities sitting on the rug and remaining in one classroom .

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Place : Behind NID Ahmedabad Name of child : Anita Child’s age : 1 year

Mother’s name : Rato Kumari Mother’s age : 22 years

Observations of Children playing:-Three children were playing on a plywood sheet which was being delivered by their father on a cycle cart.

-Anita was sitting on jute foot mat and playing with a mirror and comb.

- A mother gives her child sup-port to sit in her lap. Both mother and infant are comfortable sitting on a low level.

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Place : AT, NID Ahmedabad Child’s name (Left): Somanathan

Child’s age : 2 year

Observation of activity :

-They are using mud and small pieces of brick like props to play.

- They are very open to adapt. - It was easy for them to sit on floor .

-In all the situations, children adapted very quickly to sitting on the floor and playing spontaneously with or without toys.

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Place : Ankur school Location : Anjali Char Rasta, Ahmedabad Person’s name : Mrs. Ranjana Das Profession : Principal Age : 55 Observation about school and use of space by children : - This school has Junior Kinder Garten (in German kinder means children and garten means garden), senior kinder garten.- There was an exhibition arranged by the teachers on the subject of social study.- During the exhibition the teacher kept student organized and activity was performed to prevent them for getting restless.- Students were seated outside the classroom, waiting to visit the exhibition. They were seated on cemented floor.- They walked in a single file into the exhibition room and viewed the exhibition.- They were quite comfortable to sit on floor and were doing exercises.- Sitting on the floor is very common even in the case of events like the exhibition which is different from the daily routine.

Activities :This school also organises interesting activities for children like exibitions for children aswell as physical exercise, also introduces an activity using audio-video learning materials. They do not have time wise divison for classes. They do random activities according to children’s interest and to make learning fun while in the school.

Mode of payment of fees : Cash Age of children : 3 to 4 years Duration of school : 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

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Place : Shanti Juniors Location : Anjali Char Rasta Ahmedabad Person’s name : Kishor Babu Profession : Guard

Mode of payment of fees : Cash Age of children : 2- 4 years Duration of school : 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Observation about school and use of space by Children :

-This school was very clean and tidy before classes. Furniture and objects were well managed like tables, utensils, book shelf, etc.-This school provided snacks to the students.-The daily menu is written on display board.-Low tables are used and children sit on the floor.

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Place : Bambino School Location : Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad Person’s name : Saira Bano Profession : Nanny Age : 45 Principal’s name : Angel Braganza Age : 45

Mode of payment of fees : Cash Age of children : 2- 4 years Duration of school : 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, 2:00 to 4:00 PM

Observation about school and use of space by children :

- Saira has been working as the sole care taker of children in this 20 years old school.- She is paid rs 2000/- per month and works half a day everyday.- The children sit on a vinyl sheet spread on the floor- When parent teacher meeting happens plastic chairs are provided to the parents.

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Place : Bachpan School (Pre-primary school), 6 years old

Location : Dungershinagar Society Bhata, Paldi.

Person’s name : Mrs.Jyoti Thakar(principal)

Age : 58

Mode of payment of fees : Cash(16900 for 6 months) Age of children : 1 year - 3 years Duration of school : 9:00 AM to 11:30 PM

The Bachpan School was selected to observe the daily activities of the children. A day in Bachpan school from it’s opening till the time children depart, was chronicled.

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• Time : 9:00 to 9:30 AM• The principal is receiving a child at the main gate of the school.

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• Time : 9:00 to 9:30 AM• Teacher is taking children to the class. A birthday message written on display board.

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• Walls and room divider have interesting graphics for children at the school.

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• Time : 9:30 to 9:50 A.M• Children watch the National Geographic channel on television seated on a thickish fabric. They were quite comfortable to sit on floor and free to move.

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• Time : 9:50 to 9:60 AM• Children praying with the teacher, standing on the thick fabric which has got crumpled.

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• Some children, who were not able to stand for the whole duration of the prayer sit on the crunched fabric. • Some of the

younger children who do not have control while

sitting on the floor would find the floor a very hard surface. A softer floor covering would help to reduce the impact of the hard floor.

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• Time : 10:00 to 10:05 AM, Roll call in progress.• While some children are listening to the teacher, others are playing with toys.

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• Time : 10 :05A.M to 10 : 30 A.M• Here they are learning an action song with the

teacher.

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• Nanny is taking care of children during classes

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• Time : 10:30 to 11:00 A.M • Activites for children in the classroom.

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• Time : 11:00 to 11:30 AM , Break time.• Principal is getting food for children and the teacher serves the food to each student.

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• Time : 11:00 to 11:30 A.M , break time• After eating the snack children are taught to return their bowls and spoons and keep them in a plastic

tub.• The paint is peeling off from walls and the floor. While the place is cleaned daily the lack of maintenance of the building would improve the ambience of the school.

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• Time : 11:30 A.M, departure time• Children waiting to be picked up from school by the parents.• This place is near the gate and kept clean.

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• After 11:30 • After class, the nanny folds the thick fabric and places it on the room divider or on a table. She then

sweeps the floor and washes the food bowls.

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TIME ACTIVITY DURATION LOCATION PROPS OBSERVATION

09:30 to 09:50 AM -School starts- Children arrive- Watch television

20 min. Main gate & class-

room

T.V., Floor spread Vibrant room divid-

er, walls have very attractive learning material. Students are seated on a fabric floor covering and all the activities take place on this floor covering.

09:50 to 09:60 AM

Prayer/Assembly

10 min.

Same room

Same floor Spread The floor covering

was thin and crum-pled easily due to the children’s move-ments. Children who were not able to stand for a long time would sit down on the crumpled surface.

10:00 to 10:05

Attendance

5 min

Same place

Toys like dolls, cloth balls

The floor cover-ing is bunched up so the children are not able to sit com-fortably. They were engaged in playing

A day at the school :

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11:30 AM Departure time Another room nearby the gate.

Swings While waiting for the parents to pick them up, the chil-dren play on the sea saw or slide. After the children leave, the nanny dusts the floor spread, fold it and cleans the classroom

Analysis:

• The floor covering is an important product which needs improvement in its structure, weight and appearance.

• The floor covering should enable a variety of activities such as sitting, relaxing, exercising; eating, playing with toys.

• Floor should be soft enough since the age group is from 2 years to 4 years.

• Maintenance of the walls and floor needs to be done regularly, floor covering should be washed and cleaned daily for reasons of hygiene.

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Concerns and need : -Children wet the rug.

-The floor covering gets bunched up very often

- Children liked soft textured toys -Rug needs to be washed daily. -Rug needs to dry fast.

-Kids spend most time on the rug, so it could be tactile and stimulate their visual, tactile and other senses.

-Seating should be small enough for one kid, easy to move and store since different activities are carried out in the same space.

- The age group of the children is from two years to four so the rug should reduce the impact of their falling on the hard floor.

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Concept : To make an individual seating for pre primary school children . The surface would be easy to store and would have play value by using the tactile, visual and sensory qualities of textile material .

Properties: Protection Comfort Durable Foldable Thick Hygienic Waterproof Easy to dry Soft and cushion like Light enough for the child to handle or carry

Technique: Weaving Crochet Knitting Stitching

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EXPLORING CONCEPTS :

One size

Other size

Relief texture

One side of the surfare :

The surface design could also encourage learning.

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• Soft and crushed surface to add more cushioning to the surface

Top view of the surfare :

• Interlacement of two types of wider strips.• One could be plain and another could be puffed.

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Open fold

Different layers attached on one surface

Foldable surface :

• Attachable surface• Children can attach more cylinders according

to their need

Velcro tape tape

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Icons are used to visualize five senses Base

Detached forms

Attached

• Smaller circular forms can be attached to the base.• The light weight material like foam would allow children

to attach and detach the forms to the base. So that it will become more interactive and playful.

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Materials : Exploring cushioning and water proof materials to develop surfaces.

Foam sheet Styrofoam Drinking straws

Polyester ribbons in satin weave Polyfill Thermocol ballsfinish

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Exploration :

Exploring different techniques using satin ribbons, straw and stryrofoam sheet to get interesting surface

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Exploraing interlacement of styrofoam to give tactile texture to surface

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Braiding thin strips of styrofoam.

weaving polyester filament as a weft in a cotton warp.

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Exploring interlacement of foam sheet and styrofoam to develop tactile surface.

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Exploring single and double crochet stitches using satin ribbons. Small circular asanas could be made or a large one by joining several circles of different sizes.

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Exploring a variationin weaving by wrapping(soumak) strips ofstyrofoam which have been inserted as weft in cotton warp.

sample 1 :

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sample 2 :

Double cloth with drinking straw in weft. Filled polyfill in each pocket .

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Concept 1 : Braiding

• Exploring braiding technique and playing with scale• Would be easy to unfold and storage• Teacher can braid by themselves• Easy to wash• Easy to dry• Space between folds would be interactive for children and could have thin cushions • Light enough for the child to handle or carry • Exploring different thickness of foam for enough coushioning• Finally selected medium thickness of foam to make seat for children

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• Exploring blanket stitch technique to cover the wide foam strips.

• Technique was replicated using saree falls

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Step : 1 Step : 2

Selected ombre technique to get different shades of red and yellow colours in the primary colour wheel which would be bright and vibrant.

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Step : 3

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Step : 4

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Testing :

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Observation of testing :

• Gives enough cushioning to children, when they sit on it or play with it.• Once they open the foam strips, they could not be able to make it again.• Teacher learned the brainding technique and she braided it for them.• Children did not find the seating interactive.• Some of them only watched but they liked the colours.

Still searching more interactive seat for Children. which give more possibilities of interaction.• Looking for easy to store• light enough for the child to handle or carry• Would be able to wash daily. Need hygienic seating for children• Should have play value

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Concept 2 : Honeycomb structure

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HONEYCOMB STRUCTURE DEVELOPED BY DESIGNERS :DESIGNER : MoloTECHNIQUE : OrigamiPRODUCT: flexible SeatMATERIAL : Paper

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Molo’s Design :

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Molo’s Design :

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Inspired by cloud :

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• Exploring to change size as well as filling materials, like polyfill, foam etc

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• Repurposing sari falls to cover the wide strips of foam.

• Exploration in composition of seating

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• Using rubber balls to retain the form.• Would be easy to store

TESTING SEATING:

• Found corner loops to be large as children might trip and fall

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• Minimized the length of loop to give freedom to play with this product

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• Rubber balls would be able to add cushioning effect to product, and would be interactive for children

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• Used knot to tie 2 seat together

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Testing :

• Children were interacting with product and they were competing with each other to see who would fill the balls first.

• They were filling balls randomly and it was easy for them.

• They were repeating filling and removing process.

• They also tied two seats together hoping both of them could sit on it.

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• They could jump on the seat.• The rubber balls also gave it cushioning.• Two seats could be used for seating.

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