Plaid 1.4 Shelving System
A modular shelving system that evokes a woven textile.
2022 | 10 Week Project
Furniture Design | Modular Design | Tools: Sketching, Prototyping, Illustrator, SolidWorks, Keyshot, Laser Cutting
Student Project for Master’s Degree in Industrial Design
DESIGN QUESTION
How might we capture the essence of plaid to create playful, functional shelving that can delineate space?
SOLUTION
The Plaid 1.4 Shelving System is an adjustable storage and display system inspired by the geometry of a woven plaid.
All elements are laser cut in 1/16” aluminum sheet metal, folded, and powder-coated in saturated, matte color. Vertical and horizontal elements in varying widths allow the user to create a custom configuration for their storage needs. Multiple modules can be combined to further create and delineate functional zones.
THE SYSTEM
The system contrasts the rigidity of sheet metal with the softness of woven textiles. All elements are lasercut in 1/16” aluminum sheet metal, folded, and powder-coated in saturated, matte color. System elements are available in two heights and two widths for flexibility and versatility.
Compositions can be as open or as closed as the user desires, creating privacy for a library or lounge space or practical storage access between a kitchen and dining space. Multiple modules can be combined to further create and delineate functional zones. A line of accessories offer compartmentalized storage.
Each unit represents a single module of plaid, such that the user generates a pattern as they build. A palette of thirteen colors ranging from sophisticated neutrals to bold brights can be mixed and matched for seemingly endless possibilities.
PROCESS
The goal for this project was to create a piece of furniture that served an architectural function. My most successful explorations focused on translating plaid textile patterns into modular or systemic shelving.
The early plaid sketches were the most promising, so I had a direction with two main challenges. The first challenge was how to translate the essence of a woven plaid textile into a rigid shelving unit, and the second was how the parts would fit together. Plaid patterns can be simple or complex. Important to evoking the concept of plaid is a series of lines of contrasting thickness, vertical and horizontal, and those lines need to be repeated in both the warp and the weft, in both the vertical and the horizontal lines of the pattern. I did a range of sketches in pencil and in paper, cardboard, and wood to find an abstract style of composition that would consistently resemble plaid.
I learned that 4 color compositions felt more plaid-like than 3 color compositions. The best compositions created T and L shapes with each color.
The ratio I settled on between my vertical supports was 1:4, hence the name Plaid 1.4. The thinner vertical is 1.5” wide and the thicker vertical is 6” wide. This also gave me the base measurements for a system, working in increments of 3”.
Once I knew I wanted a series of vertical and horizontal lines that could interlock, sheet metal was a natural choice for a durable, weight bearing material that would also be relatively light weight to ship and assemble. Taking a cue from the Dieter Rams 606 shelving system, I settled on 1/16” sheet aluminum. Having seen vivid matte colors in powder-coated aluminum, I settled on 1/16” powder-coated aluminum as my final material and finish.
Determining how the shelving would fit together took a lot of refining and isn’t fully resolved. I liked the idea of a tooth and joint system. The teeth peeking through the joint evoke stitches in fabric. I generated prototypes in paper and in lasercut museum board to refine the size.
The final model was lasercut in 1/16” museum board to approximate aluminum sheeting.
A full scale joint detail in 1/16” aluminum shows how a section of the vertical support and the shelf fit together.
Final 1/2 scale model showing 6” and 3” shelf height options (model is 3” tall at the highest point).
REFLECTION
Overall I was very happy with this project. I like that it takes what is usually a small pattern on a garment and blows it up to 30 or 50 times the scale we’re used to, making it fresh and unexpected. I like the contrast of creating the illusion of a textile weave in a rigid sheet metal.
That said, when I started putting silhouettes in with the renders I could see the potential dangers of people walking into these corners, and there are good reasons that vertical supports are at the corners of most furniture.
There is also still a question of stability, which I proposed could be resolved with small gauge rods running vertically through the center of the shelving. This would also contribute to an appearance of being woven.
