FLOAT ON...
A functional sculpture inspired by waste cluttering our waters.
Fall 2023 - 40 hours - Individual
Steel & Recycled Pool Lane Lines
Exhibited in Gallery 100 Mirabella, Tempe, AZ
Brief:
Tasked with designing a steel sculpture that interacts with the human body using MIG welding, I was naturally drawn to furniture as a practicing product designer.
Recognizing that past designers have contributed to linear product lifecycles—and, in turn, issues like global warming and the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—I set out to transform waste into reusable resources.
For this project, I partnered with Malmsten Inc., a racing lane line company based in Tempe, Arizona.
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With hundreds of old lane lines totaling over 500 individual floats—and a shared commitment to reducing single-use plastics—the company gladly donated what would have otherwise been waste to the school.
312 high density polyethylene rings & 35.58 ft. of PVC coated stainless steel wire were used for this chair.
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While recyclable, these materials require extensive processing to become usable again—often demanding more money, labor, and emissions than they’re worth.
However, by embracing the existing form and function of these materials, these extra costs can be significantly reduced or even eliminated
A forgiving hammock of lined rings emulates the user floating on water.
The softly curved frame was inspired by waves and allows for a broad range of user's to enjoy a rest.
Constraints:
With standard shop tools available including rollers, drills, plasma cutters & welders, my imagination was limited by what I can craft with thin steel sheet and tubing. A tube roller, drill press & MIG welder were utilized.
Through the Process
With little time, a few concepts were conceived and narrowed down based on feasibility with shop tools & timeline.
