The brief required me to design a seat and structural piece where plants would be able to grow on, in or around it. The design must make use of interesting structural assembly connections which are predominantly reliant on mild steel or timber. The structure and seat must be designed to look like part of the same family design. This design will be specifically made for the Skiyakhana gardens in Johannesburg.  

My concept / idea is the tessalant, which were inspired by hexagonal tessellations. When standing, the structure provides shade and has wiring at the back to work as a trellis and allow plants to grow while upright. When standing, the seat design provides a place for people to sit and relax while it also works as a table in the center and grows plants like a trellis. However, these designs can be placed down on the grass as well to transform them into plant beds. The seat design has three different sections to grow different types of plants, or even vegetables, and the structure works as a keyhole garden where the user can walk into the center to tend to and water plants easily.

For my research phase, I looked at a lot of precedents because I wanted to fully understand the tasks of the brief and know what I was required to make. I looked at existing structures and structural connections as well as urban farming and growing furniture. 

My research helped me understand what can already be found. It showed me interesting exploration of forms and allowed me to understand the brief better. With this information I am able to go forward and start exploring possible concepts.

I chose specific areas that I wanted to explore relating to growing structures, so that I could explore various designs. Some of the areas included biomimcry in furniture and self watering designs. From there I came up with multiple concepts for each category. I then selected five of the designs and developed ways to pair it with its seat or structure counterpart. I made sure to make them link to be familiar in shape or form.

Drawing and making mockups helped me with my direction because I was very unsure in the beginning. From here I chose different forms that I liked and developed them further.

Through the use of models, I was able to decide on a structural joining methods (the one in the center below). I also chose three directions and created them using models. 

From the hexagonal concept, I went forward and explored tessalations to find fun ways to make the design more interesting and see how pieces might fit together to create something effective and nice to look at. 

I selected my final concept direction which uses hexagonal shapes which are stacked on top of each other. It would work for growing when placed down on the ground where each hexagonal piece could be used as a plant bed. The concept still needed technical and form refinement. 

I then went on to develop the joining methods and created my concept on CAD to see how it would turn out. I liked the design but something about it was off. it seemed too bulky and lacked sturdiness in the structure. I was happy with the seat design.

Developing the Cad models inspired me to remove the legs of the structure to see if that would increase the sturdiness. I also created a price list so that I know how much to charge for the final design.

I created new models to see what the structure would look like without legs and it made an improvement. The models below also show the joining method I want to use which is each side that will be joined will be placed between two thin sheets of metal which will be held together with industrial screws.

In order to develop the concept further, I went to plant shops and looked at existing trellis and plant growing structures. They were basic in form and design, but still effective. This inspired me to simplify my design. I removed the bulkiness of the structure by making it one large hexagon and removed the step and bottom of the chair so it is two simple seats with a stand or table space in the center. The design was much simpler and effective. I also wanted to incorporate this trellis design and I did so with wiring in the back of the design so that the structure and seat can grow plants while standing and while being used as a plant bed. 

When standing, the structure provides shade and has wiring at the back to work as a trellis and allow vines and plants to grow while upright. When standing, the seat design provides a place for people to sit and relax while it also works as a table in the center and grows plants like a trellis because of the wire at the back. However, these designs can be placed down on the grass as well to transform them into plant beds. The seat design has three different sections to grow different types of plants, or even vegetables, and the structure works as a keyhole garden where the user can walk into the center to tend to and water plants easily.

The design can work upright as a seat and shade structure that grows plants like a trellis or can be flipped down onto the grass, filled with soil and can be used as plant beds.

In all honesty, I struggled a lot with this project. The research and exploration phase felt tedious because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. However, as I continued to research and understand the brief and what I needed to do, I became more confident in myself and my design. 

I received feedback which allowed me to improve and gave me a sense of direction which was very helpful. I ended up happy with the outcome. 

If I could make further improvements, I would improve the structural connections to something more complex. However the structural connections I chose were simple. effective and provided extra strength.