Forma
Useful information
- Team members
- Jordi Ardanuy Gabarra Joan Marc Ortiz Radio
- Country
- Spain
- Keywords
- Personalisation SocialInnovation Ecodesign MetaObjects CreativeCommons DistributedManufacturing
Short Description
FORMA is an open platform that allows users to configure products according to their needs.
Detailed Description
As industrial designers and architects, we have always had the vision of different producing and consuming models, one that doesn't rely on far-away production and mass-production. One that can be adapted to people's needs, one that is open source and gives more than what it takes, and one that allows people to participate in the process, minimizing their costs and learning along the way.
That's why we have created Forma (one of the winner projects of Ciutat Proactiva 2021, a grant from BIT Habitat, Aj. de Barcelona) an open platform that nowadays hosts 2 products designed through eco-design principles, and has been co-created by communities around the Ateneus de Fabricació, and allows its configuration to users, in a 3D immersive interface, providing the digital manufacturing instructions on the fly. The products are registered as Creative Commons for non-commercial uses, so makers can use the platform freely, and other users can connect to manufacturing partners to have their object
Project Details
- Does your design take social and cultural challenges and human wellbeing into consideration?
Being able to personalise your objects and adapt furniture to your spaces is important for people with limited living spaces. The objects have been co-created with communities of NouBarris neighbourhood and different actors of Barcelona, to develop products that are aligned with the realities and needs of the city, and the people that live in it. Finally, being free to use for everyone, allows makers all over the world to have ready-to-make instructions for digital manufacturing.
- Does your design support sustainable production, embodying circular or regenerative design practices?
Allowing distributed manufacturing is an important factor to make production sustainable, minimizing transporting costs and emissions. On the other hand, the objects designed are monomaterial (plywood) and can be assembled without the need of fixations, being dismountable for transportation, repairing or recycling. Finally, we ecourage users to use recovered material to upcycle waste and to experiment with other materials such as recycled plastics and biomaterials.
- Does your design use principles of distribution and open source?
The use of the platform, including configuration of products and downloading manufacturing instructions, is completely free. Designs are registered as Creative Commons for non-commercial use.
Besides that all the results of the project, including the source files, will be hosted in github (expected in July 2022) and included in the presentation that will be shared with everyone in order to allow his access to the community, both with the objective that the results obtained in the project may be replicated.
- Does your design promote awareness of responsible design and consumption?
The main edge of communication of the project is to promote awareness of design and consumption. In our social networks we have pointed out three main issues: far-away production, waste excess and poor management, and mass-produced products that are not user-centred. Thus, the project and its communication of distributed production and eco-design principles are related and coherent.
Images
