Modular Desk & Cabinet System
During my time working at Process Displays Instore, I was a part of their first ever PD Expo. This event was a design-build competition that took various people from the many departments within PD and placed them on teams with the common goal of repurposing provided tables to benefit the community around us. Our team began with the overarching goal of creating a workspace that would be modular, sustainable, and impact communities close to PD. Collaborating directly with the fifth grade students of Forest Lake Elementary, we repurposed 71.3% of two of these tables into a design that combined this classroom’s needs with flexible functionality that works both inside and outside of classroom environments.
The Space
Role: Ideation, Designing, Drafting
Client: PD Instore
Photos of the classroom corner our design will be replacing.
It’s currently used as storage and as a puzzle space for the students to use when feeling overwhelmed.
Research
Photos of our research going into the design phase.
This includes research on other modular education systems out there, ideation of a modular cabinet system in a school, and a questionnaire we gave to the students to get their feedback on how this would be used and what they would like to see included in it.
Design Iterations
Photos of our design iterations.
After we came up with an initial design, we met with the teacher to determine what would and wouldn’t work for her classroom. She liked the idea of a modular cabinet system for storage but wanted a separate space for seating so she could use it during tests. She also wanted to keep the puzzle desk as it’s something she knows helps her students. With that in mind, we came up with the next variation seen in the photo below.
Final Drawing
Photo of the final engineering drawing.
After multiple rounds of meetings regarding budget, engineering concerns, and making sure we reused as much of the tables as possible, we have our final engineering drawing. We had to get rid of the overhead bins due to tipping concerns, and adjust the storage spaces on the desk to get maximum use of the tables.
Production
Photos of the team during the production phase.
There’s me!
Final Build
Here are photos of each component of our final build, along with a photo of the class we made this for and some of their responses to our questionnaire.
I am very pleased with how this came together, and how directly we connected with our end user throughout the entire process. We only used $500 of our $1500 budget, and used 71.3% of the provided tables to complete our build. This resulted in an extremely sustainable and reproducible fixture that can fit in a multitude of spaces due to its modularity.
Final Presentation & Result
To complete this project, we presented to every other team competing in this, along with the judges of the competition. In the end we walked away with the sustainability award and many new skills and connections we would not have made without participating in this. Huge thanks to everyone involved in our project. This wouldn’t be possible without you.