PoChih Lai

STAIR ROVER

PoChih — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 23:45:23 +0000

Material : aluminum, maple, bamboo, PU rubber, PVC

Inspiring action

The piece aims to expanding the capability and possibility of extreme sports as we understand them. Inherited from our natural instincts, sliding as children and snowboarding as adults, the focus is on one of the most influential and stimulating sports – skateboading, aiming to push the boundaries further. The piece creates a groundbreaking form of sport which previously never existed and utilises the hidden energy of our cities – stairs. STAIR ROVER – the Stairboard is a product that relies on the other product – stairs, which are found easily within the human habitat, especially in cities. This is an outstanding performance reflecting where we as residents live and what we love.

Inspiring values

Extreme sports are hugely various and engages many people to be involved. Indeed, extreme sports are one if the latest crazes in our culture with kids as young as four and five years old fascinated by it. This is an innate behaviour from the deepest recesses of ourselves, keen to challenge ourselves and look for the edge of what we are capable of. It is an activity highly reliant on the balance of danger, control and excitement. There are very few sports which can compete with skateboarding which can boast so many people having experienced them so enthusiastically in this generation.

Creating a legacy

No city is so fascinating and encouraging as London. Few can outline the metropolitan diversity so perfectly as this place. The Barbican Centre presents its Urban Stories, indicating that the sub-culture of graffiti, free-running, skateboarding, street dance, and extreme sports are now accepted and a valid and valuable influence on our generation. London is my inspiration. It leads me to craft a new hybrid sport around the classic skateboard and novel stair climbing mechanism. The project aims to create a new experience for users to rove along the landscape of the city. This advanced boarding activity turns boundaries and restrictions into a positive and creative physical enquiry into the ever changing kinesis of the urban ecostytem.

MILK BROTHER / MOKA MILK FROTHER

PoChih — Tue, 15 May 2012 13:56:04 +0000

This is inherited from the moka pot, also known as a macchinetta (literally “small machine”) or “Italian coffee pot”, a stove top coffee maker which produces coffee by passing hot water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. Moka pot was first patented by inventor Luigi De Ponti for Alfonso Bialetti in 1933. Bialetti Industrie continues to produce the same model under the name “Moka Express”.

MILK BROTHER is used to create hot milk foam via an intermediary middle valve. Hot milk foam generally relies on steam pressure which normally requires a pump, this pot employs an additional area where steam is stored under pressure – ready to be used for frothing milk. The combination of milk frother and moka pot provides a concise concept for a simple, integrated and lightweight solution which continues in the spirit of the original product – one which has inspired the public for the past 80 years. This project aims to eliminate any unnecessary tooling, design artefacts and functions. There is no pump machine, hand power, electrical requirement or extraneous function.

The vertical arrangement of the assembled product combination affords an easily comprehensible interaction and usage scenario. Steam breaks through the ground coffee from the bottom to the top, the MILK BROTHER further leverages the thermal transmission to an additional end – adding value and potential to the coffee making experience – Same Pot, Same Heat, More Potential.

RAPID LAMINATOR TYPE 1

PoChih — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:57:30 +0000

Soon after industrial revolution, conception of manufacturing, making, designing, and thinking tends to standardized and unitized for the purpose of fast and precise. Within this context, designers’ ideas are forced to go through many agents, including lots criteria, moulds, universal units, SOP, 3D software and screen display. My aim is to deliver the image directly from designer’s head into the tangible outcomes.The tool is able to create a mass customized production rapidly.

Rapid Laminator is designed for quick testing prototype for designers or engineers. It has an ability to laminate materials without making moulds and is suitable for making adjustable shape. Each clamp is able to be moved vertically and horizontally, the angle of clamps is changeable, and is possible to be extended whether longer or altered. Prototype no.1 represents the initial principle, prototype no.2 and no.3 is going to create more possibility of laminating such as spiral shape and more.

COPPER FITTINGS CHAIR

PoChih — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 14:18:45 +0000

I was fascinated at first sight by the material. Copper is so elegant as a music instrument and fragile (easily to be oxidised), and the fitting components are perfectly produced and designed for many occasions and decades. It is almost universal a soft enough to cut by hand or fit you bottom after a long-term usage.

SCALE OF COMMITMENT

PoChih — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:09:59 +0000

Cooperator: Juste Klybaite

This chart indicates four topics in different scales for 29 countries based on a global statistics database. We keened to figure out for each regions and scales and visualise our conclusions on a panel that inspires visitors to rethink their own commitment and the average.

We want to juxtapose 29 countries on a penal and create a image of date wall that people can move along with the board and their imagination with comparing and calculating from the data sheet and visualising it as understandable curves.

BRAVE NEW CHAIR

PoChih — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 14:55:20 +0000

Ming-Style is the most elegant style of the traditional furniture design. It is not only the ultimate expression of craft skills, but also the important traditional spirit. As the new generation designer, I wonder if I can develop the new expression of beauty that has almost vanished.

I combined the Ming-Style and Plywood simplified by weeding out superfluities, and tried to express the spirit of the new era. Design and production time is considerable long; sketches, discussion, experiment, the details of assembly take more than 5 months. No matter dyeing, painting, design, production and assembly are all new attempts.

the Traditional Architecture Symbol Renewal of China’s Ming-style chair shape, the traditional Ming-style furniture pays special attention to the relationship between proportion and form, discarding superfluous decoration. Ming Dynasty stressed the humanistic spirit and the concept of rational functions which are similar to those of Renaissance, confirming the trend of culture maturity and restrained. Chinese people emphasise the relationship between the upright body and the integrity of personality. Large hard sitting surface and the center back are signs of Ming-style chair, which enables the body to sit up straight without a wanton mind.

Plywood Beauty of cross-section & structure Even the crown think plywood is a cheap and ugly material. I would like to reverse the idea of the majority that plywood is a cheap and ugly material; thus I emphasise on the beauty of the structure and cross-section of plywood while modeling.

I combine architecture vocabulary of both tiny and large wooden structures. Handrails and the hind legs of the vertical connection are mutually staggered, through vertical tenons and dislocation, implication of brackets is shown.

Plywood – Beauty of cross-section & structure. Even the crown think plywood is a cheap and ugly material. I would like to reverse the idea of the majority that plywood is a cheap and ugly material; thus I emphasise on the beauty of the structure and cross-section of plywood while modeling.

Plywood – The possibility of mass production – CNC It is highly possible to become a merchandise of mass production by CNC, with its uniqueness on production and forms. It not only saves production and technology costs, but can also be transported easily. One 240x120x1.8 cm plywood can produce four chairs. The plywood is 100% pure low-formaldehyde, which does not contain any metal or petrochemical polymer composition. Thus, it can be 100% crushed or recycled to reduce the logging of precious wood and save material costs. Besides, it also increases the possibility of mass production.

Soap has been widely used in Scandinavian furniture, but not often used in Chinese furniture. Traditional Chinese furniture, due to concerns of term, it is painted in order to extend the work life. I tried to coat the painting in a way which is different from traditional approach. In addition to wood texture by soap application, it is also a new attempt on Chinese furniture; the texture is beyond description.

DEERHORN IPHONE HOLDER

PoChih — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:16:01 +0000

iPhone can be said as one of the most influential industrial products launched in recent years. I accepted my friend’s invitation, designed a convenient and unique iPhone Holder which can be placed on the desk with easy accessibility. After surveying similar products on the market, I found that there are three main categories. The first one is similar to Apple’s Duck- a very successful product, which fixes the device with its connector. The second simply place iPhone or iPod on the top of a flat or a table. The third is similar to the navigation system in cars, which fixes the device in a small box; yet it is not suitable to be placed on the desk.

Vertical, Horizontal, Plugged or Unplugged. “Turning, tilting, and rotating iPhone” is Apple’s important and new concept at that time. In order to echo it, the idea becomes the key to our design discussion as well. iPhone can be in either horizontal or vertical placement; it can be plugged or unplugged. Does it need a claw-like component? Lying platform or a groove stopper? Finally, through some investigation and research, I found two most important contact points (shown in the right figure). It will be sufficient to hold iPhone with the two contact points; in addition, the holes under can be avoided, too. Thus, we solve the problem of placement, which can be vertical, horizontal, plugged or unplugged.

The second issue is how to try not to scratch iPhone and secure it on the table, that is, material and centre of gravity issues. In response to the problem, I proposed a three separated concepts, from top to bottom are maple, cement, and stainless steel. This will allow products be placed at the bottom like a tumbler; and the wood itself, with a certain degree of flexibility which can avoid serious scratches on iPhone. Furthermore, the combination of cement and wood itself is a very attempting idea; a material combination like this can be expected to be quite beautiful.

An additional requirement of this task is that this holder should not have any forms of electronic components and it should be made from materials other than polyester fiber or plastics. In order to differ our holder from three current products on the market, we must create a whole new concept. After a series of discussions, I expressed the idea of an antler-like and genuine holder.

Speaking of materials, my first thought was concrete. For urban residents, cement is a kind of common material which has been neglected in their daily lives. It surrounds us. It is cheap and with unlimited possibilities. In cities, cement can be seen everywhere. At the same time cement has proved itself to us that it has limitless potential and inclusive character. However, creating a small scale cement production is not an easy task, but fortunately, one friend specializing in cement gave me a lot of technical assistance.

It begins with the acrylic model of the male die then dig out female die with silicon. Perfusion of cement experienced many failures where bubble volume control, mixing uniformity, and the ratio are all new experiences to me. Moreover, each time it turned out differently; there is no way to anticipate the result, so expecting stripping is a matter full of surprises. After stripping, it is necessary to strengthen and protect the surface and hardness of cement by painting it.

In terms of modeling, a composition of cement, wooden bracket, and stainless steel base is not only stunning but also harmonious. Its characterized function is that iPhone can be placed wither horizontally or vertical, plugged or unplugged, which is a feature cannot be seen on the market currently. Besides, excess wire can be wrapped up around the bottom of the pole, which is fairly convenient. The weight of cement and stainless steel help to stabilize and the maple bracket is light in weight and it does not scratch. In addition, with regard to the relationship between the angle of supporting bracket, such unilateral rather than bilateral symmetrical structure, is the result of careful consideration and experiment, but not only the preference of style. It is full of hand feel and the design is simple and with lightweight.

LEISURE ON A BOAT

PoChih — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 00:04:39 +0000

The pepper and salt cans drifting through the table let me try to use the wood with geometric ratio and accurate expression to express the warm and tranquil feelings. Organic and vital wood, constructed in the pure geometric perfection, functional, warm, rational and able to work together to achieve complete harmony.

Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) poet Su Dongpo in China wrote in his “A Night Trip in Cheng Tian Si “, the experience of being sleepless and wandering with Zhang Huaimin in the middle of the night, having empathy in two places. I often imagine that one day will I have the opportunity to look at the sky with my friends and just let my mind drift away aimlessly? Due to my preference of modernists’ design philosophy, I am enthusiastic on designing production which can be manufactured easily with cool look. The style of solid wood with paint is not only beautiful but also wearable. Size set at 6 cm with cubic shape is the “just right proportions” found after continuous attempts. The exit ramp allows extra salt or pepper returns automatically, besides, it makes the cube out of stiffness.

Patience and Workmanship To my surprise, because of the flexibility of the wood with Taiwan’s humid climate, the structure of a cube is just a strong structure enough to sustain. However, far from my imagination, because of the tiny model size, it is difficult to achieve fully seamless while combining the parts. Instead, it took me a considerable amount of time before the model components can be accurately joined together; so it is a handmade work which requires a lot of patience. For me, through this work, I learned patience and fine workmanship.

pepper is gray, as salt is white. Having a slit on the exit ramp, where allows salt to go through, and of course, where salt returns. Finally, after the stoving varnish process, people will understand immediately that pepper is gray, as salt is white. Base shape is full of unlimited imagination, it is carrying the two of the top leisurely. Apart from a small boat like vessel, the length of the lid is also suitable to be opened, thus can be filled or clean-up with elegance.

WOOD / PENCIL

PoChih — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:08:43 +0000

For me, this is a more poetic work.

I have come from the woods,gone back to wood;

imagining myself returning to the nature,

yet was dressed in the clothes of industry.

This work is done through continuous self-examination and reflection. Perhaps in the end, we will try to make a large number of hypotheses, critiques, and ideas, building on the social convenience we tend to forget. So I would like to remind myself from time to time by creating it.