Book Table

A geoform four-board book table

The objective of this project is to design a book table with poplar wood that compliments a book of choice. Due to COVID-19, I complimented the production of the physical product with 3D modeling and animation.

Skills
Prototyping
3D modeling
Rendering
Sketching

Team

Individual

Choosing the book
I decided to choose "The Making Of" by Brechet Evens, one of my favorite watercolor illustrators. The image of the cover grabbed my attention with its spacial and geometric qualities, which I find interesting to explore for this project. Coincidentally, the book has the same thickness as the wood board, making it a pleasant 5th plane.

Form Exploration

a. Sketching

I began by exploring variations of 4 board compositions by sketching in orthographic and perspective views.

My approach was to celebrate both the book’s cover annd its interior by creating a two-way orientation.

To draw graphical elements from the cover, I created consistent windows in each plane while integrating a display for both the opened and closed book. Thus the book would possess a different meaning to the whole when it's sitting in the slit, displayed openly, and away from the book table.

b. Model making

I created 1/3 sized models with foam core to test out variations from my sketches. While making the models, I considered the dimensions, support, joinery, and stability of my form. It was important to examine the affordances of poplar wood and planning out the steps of production and assembly.

Final Design

I created an actual size model with foam core of my final direction. I was able to notice interesting, geometric spaces being formed by the intersecting planes.

Due to COVID-19, I was not able to create the wood model. The fabrication drawing shows how I imagined the book table would be made with the various machines in the wood shop.

Digital Rendering