Utworek

DESIGN: Katarzyna Gierat

Poland

make me! 2015

“Utworek” is a school furniture set for self-assembly and arranging space for children aged 6–9 years with the help of caretakers. The basic kit consists of a seat, table and bookcase. Elements and their combinations allow to build furniture or toys. The use of the elastic properties of plywood and a permanent band enable the furniture to be more light, stable, secure, easy to install and relatively cheap. The project has an educational and pro-social character. The author also took into consideration economic aspects (furniture are possible to produce by non-industrial method, eg. by a local carpenter). “Utworek” is the result of collaboration between the designer, a user and an anthropologist. The idea behind the project is to actively involve children in deciding about the shape of their surroundings. Children become acquainted with the properties of the material and design of furniture and become users of complex objects. The project is an invitation to explore the objects again. The aim of such actions, in addition to activation of cooperation and integration, is to encourage a critical look at the environment which we can affect not only by decorating them, as it was the case so far, but also by constructing them.