Dining Space Project

The third project of the semester was to design a dining space, sideboard and table that would accommodate 8 - 10 people on a fictional "International Eradicating Hunger Celebration" day.  Lighting was supposed to be mindfully considered within the space, because the fictional holiday falls on the summer and winter solstice. We were also supposed to consider our brief social media exploration from the previous week.


All of these ideas seemed to clash in my mind. I actually hated the idea that social media would make its way into a dining space because it takes away from the ceremony of the dining experience; this experience, in my mind, includes good food and good old fashioned conversation, face-to-face. I also felt like it was grossly counteractive to the cause to design some fancy dining space for people to celebrate on a day about hunger when there are so many people on this planet starving. My design was more about concept than just sheer aesthetics or practicality which was a risk that I took with this project.

For our initial idea we were asked to create a Parti. I had a really hard time even coming up with anything that made sense for this project because I was so conflicted with the meaning of the fictional holiday being celebrated and designing something great because this is, after all, design school and not a real project. My ideas looked jumbled and nonsensical on this parti because they definitely were...

My space is "minimal" meaning that there are no extras in the space. The measurements specifically fit a table, the people and the sideboard, the sideboard even fits into a perfectly sized nook so that the spacing is equal on all sides of the table. There are large diagonal windows at the east and west sides of the space to let light run through the space emphasizing the center, where the table stands.

One-point Perspective drawing pencil, intended lighting in the space/ material of the floor(shiny reflective concrete)

Sketch model of sideboard

Final Sideboard model

The table is made out of melted plastics from recycled items which gives a cool effect but is also minimal cost so that more money can be distributed to people in need of food. Similarly, the sideboard is made out of scrap metal and aluminum cans cut in curved pieces and sort of collaged and randomly arranged. The aluminum cans have universally recognizable fonts and logos such as the coke label and letting these become part of the design kind of throws the consumer culture back in your face in an Andy Warhol kind of way. I thought this could be playful but also a somewhat serious statement considering the occasion. A day to think about how wasteful and spoiled we can be when there are others who go without. I also set the table at a lower height with the intention that everyone would sit on cushions on the floor just to further the point that we could stand to scale back every now and then for the greater good of everyone.

The space is designed to promote critical thinking and conversation between the people dining in it with almost no distractions at all.