Design of a Transformable Furniture: A Necessary Innovation for a Growing Population with a Fixed Land Mass

Abstract

The objective of the research was to develop a furniture set that consists of a multifunctional bed, study table and a cabinet. A room at Adeniyi hostel of Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria was used as case study. A pre-study was performed to define the problem area and to set the requirements for the furniture. The pre-study included: studies and discussions with students, literature review within the field, user survey, market search and ergonomics study. When the specification was set and clarified, the concept generation phase was started. Design methods were used to structure and support the design activity. In addition, principles of inclusive design were followed in order to end up with a design that would fit a larger part of the targeted customer group. The generated design concepts were assessed according to fulfillment of set requirements. One final concept was chosen for further development in the following detail design phase. This activity included specifying the design in detail, e.g. related to materials, colors and accessories. The collaboration with the supervisor was essential during the whole project for getting inspiration, feedback and important inputs to the design activity. Hence, the supervisor’s opinion was continuously considered along the design process. A prototype was made of the final design and tests were performed to assess the design and to get input for further development. The motive behind the research is to improve comfort of a growing population with a minimum cost and optimizing space.