The Student Challenge
In September 2019, Professor Christian Blyt from the Emily Carr University in Vancouver approached Forbo Flooring Systems and Danish retail brand BoConcept about the possibility of doing a collective project with his third-year Industrial Design students.
Very quickly, a collaboration was formed that allowed his students access to Furniture Linoleum , a unique and sustainable material made by Forbo, and the opportunity to design and build a multifunctional cart for compact urban living spaces with close input from an international furniture brand.
The purpose of the project was to create a piece of furniture that can adapt to today’s compact living environment by providing multiple functions for the user through the juxtaposition of a static and dynamic state of movement.
In addition, the project aimed to address, and potentially find solutions to the environmental impact caused by the furniture industry by considering the life cycle of the product in its entirety.
BoConcept’s business model of clean, functional design and personal customization and Forbo’s furniture linoleum that is flexible, both literally and figuratively provided an excellent foundation for 6 three-person teams to start designing and prototyping. The overarching goal of the project was to utilize the best qualities of both companies to produce a design that is versatile, resilient, and ecologically responsible.
Over the 14-week semester there were three major presentations/critiques where the student teams formally presented their development to the partners and invited professional designers. From these sessions valuable feedback and suggestion was given that allowed the teams to develop their designs from 2D abstract concepts into a full-scale finished working prototype.
Curious to see the finished results? Click on the tabs above to view each finished prototype and read more on the design process.