Spring 2015, UC Berkeley | Instructor: Sheila Kennedy
Collaborators: Carlos Martinez-Horta and Phirak Suon
This project was a part of the multidisciplinary Here-There Studio at Berkeley.
Typically, designers consider only one mode of production at a time, either an industrial process of mass production or an artisanal process of one-off production. The typical streetlamp is unquestionably a product of the former. Its form, materials and method of production are so industrialized and banal that it fails to address issues of locality, use conditions, materiality, sustainability and identity. The 2, on the other hand, investigates a new hybrid manufacturing paradigm. It intends to break down boundaries between global production of solar materials and local production of hand craft goods, between technical expertise and traditional skills, between industrially mass-produced products and locally grown natural materials, and between an infrastructure object and the everyday life.
MATERIAL
The 2 is mainly made with two materials: sorghum board and bamboo. Sorghum board, an industrially produced sheet good, is comprised of reclaimed sorghum stalk, an agriculture waste typically burned or dumped. Utilizing this material reduces landfill use and air pollution, while also provides farmers a new source of revenue from previously unused waste material. India is the world’s second richest country in bamboo resources. Due to its natural strength and flexibility, unprocessed bamboo has been utilized in crafts, furniture, and even shelters in India throughout history.
Both sorghum and bamboo are rapidly renewable materials, and they are both locally grown and harvested, which did not only reduce environmental impact but also reemphasizes the identity of the local area. These two components, one industrially produced and one locally crafted, is joined together with an innovative 3D printed connector.
FABRICATION METHOD
The hybridization of manufacturing paradigms begins with preparing the sorghum board. The Sorghum board could either be CNCed or cut to form with a hand held jigsaw, depends on accessibility to the former method. Meanwhile, local artisans will be cutting, splitting, and weaving bamboo stakes together into the wrap. The wrap is bound together by four hems to ensure structural stability. When the two components are ready to be joined, a slot will be cut in the center of the bamboo wrap to allow the sorghum rib to go through. Then, a second set of sorghum members will be slotted into the rib to allow for moment resistance. The longer members on the bamboo wrap match the position of the sorghum beams, and they will be connected with an innovative 3D printed connector. This connection highlights the merge of the industrial and the artisanal. A bending bamboo member will also be added; it will go through the rib and held tight by the 3D printed connector. This piece functions as a tensile reinforcing. The interface of The 2 highlights the merge of the industrial and the artisanal.
VALUE PROPOSITION
As an engagement of seeming opposites, The 2 offers an unprecedentedly new range of adaptability in terms of use, flexibility, and aesthetics in the delivery of incremental urban infrastructure. Different use conditions determine the overall form of The 2, it could be a sitting mat, a bench, or a table. A variety of types of spaces could also be created by the joining of different 2’s, such as a bus stop or even a pavilion. In principle, there are no limits for the form of the 2 since the industrial component could be ‘found’ in existing building structures, in defunct utility poles, in building walls, and in many other man-made conditions. The bamboo wrap integrated with the flexible solar panel provides a soft solar streetlight that can be opportunistically integrated with a range of these existing industrial structures.
The combination of an industrially produced component with a locally crafted good would stimulate economic growth. We will be reaching out to local artisans through an NGO in India such as the Sammaan Foundation, who aims at providing people with opportunities to earn their livelihood. Moreover, the incorporation of the local technique and materials provides an identity unique to the local area.
INNOVATION
The2 completely reinvents the meaning of a streetlight, which used to be cold, hard, foreign, single-purposed, and imported. With the 2, the locals could make their own streetlight through combining an artisanal woven bamboo wrap with an industrial structure. Moreover, they could design the form of the light according to their own needs, such as combining several lights to make a summer pavilion. The 2 gives a new definition to solar streetlights. It is highly adaptable, true to local identity, and reduces environmental impact.
ASSEMBLY
FULL SCALE PROTOTYPE
