tótem
Prospective design
The purpose
The 2020 pandemic changed the way people interacted and the fear of risks gave us a stronger emotion: the hope of reconnecting. The Lozanía Community Tree was a prospective design exercise resulting in a space that allows group dynamics safely.
People will be able to feel close to others and the outside again in a way that does not feel invasive, but natural. We seek to resume activities that have been carried out for years in a popular way around a common point and return the emotional connection that has been lost due to the pandemic to achieve work goals.
Tec
2021
Research, moodboards, prospective thinking, 3D modeling and rendering
Solidworks, Ai, Ps, Visualize
The process
The goal is to rethink how offices will transform in a "post-pandemic" future, transitioning back to a new normal in 2021-2022. We also aim to establish a safe way to return to workspaces, enhancing the positive emotions of being surrounded by many people, while avoiding invasive socialization. Through research and ideation, we determined that outdoor objects adaptable to the "new normal" would be appropriate.
Since the project had to be done in a group, we had to choose an important need to address, and we focused on designing a meeting room that would allow people to gather while keeping them safe and adhering to hygiene standards.
For this project, we created future designs with various scenarios, which were later adapted to the return in 2021-2022. During our initial research, we identified three interesting topics that could improve the return to the office: the implementation of lighting, office gadgets, and outdoor objects. Our team chose the latter because, after being confined at home for a year, people wanted to get outside.
We realized that the primary activity in offices, beyond working, is socializing, which we wanted to maintain in our designs. Finally, we gathered data on the dimensions and uses of meeting rooms to generate the best solution.
Initially, we sought to integrate technology into the outdoor space; however, we realized that, aside from the complexity of such products, we could create much more natural and innovative objects that would allow us to create a more pleasant work environment and foster interaction among people while maintaining the required social distancing.
As main ideas, we took inspiration from Christmas trees and bonfires, where people often gather, using a central object to avoid invading personal space while encouraging interaction. This is how the totem was born, a figurative representation of a tree that allows a group of workers to gather safely outdoors.
The design
The totem tree is a collaborative workspace where various activities can take place, such as work meetings or group discussions. It has a maximum capacity of six people to ensure proper social distancing. The design is based on the repetition of modules and stereotomy, with changes in the direction of the leaves.
The functionality is simple, consisting only of benches, a table, and leaves to provide shade, making its use logical and intuitive. A person simply needs to choose a spot, sit down, and start their meeting. This tree helps prevent crowding in an interactive, safe, and creative way while following pandemic sanitary guidelines, allowing meetings to take place naturally and, above all, safely.
An important aspect of our project is that it can be considered part of the circular economy, as the wood can be reused after a certain period of use, avoiding pollution and allowing for the renewal of the object without causing significant harm to the environment. The wood used is walnut, and the leaves are made of plexiglass in various tones chosen by the clients, with simple cutting processes. Additionally, the wood will only have a polyurethane varnish coating to prevent wear from outdoor exposure. Lastly, the product’s dimensions are designed to ensure that each person has a comfortable individual space while still feeling close to the others. Overall, we've created an object that fosters community while respecting individuality.
The main strengths of this design are its visually pleasing appearance, ease of understanding, and maintenance. Meetings can take place in a dedicated space where each worker has their own space, while the design encourages good collaboration. Furthermore, the leaves not only provide shade but, due to their translucent material with varying tone options, can create a series of interesting effects in different areas that invite workers to sit and feel comfortable.
On the other hand, an area for improvement is the assembly and packaging process, as the height is quite large, requiring more than just a couple of people to assemble it efficiently. More people are needed to ensure the best results.
The impact
Overall, I found the project very interesting because we had the opportunity to generate proposals that we hadn’t explored before, which encourage us to rethink a new way of socializing while not forgetting the importance of being outdoors after the lockdown during the pandemic. I also think it is interesting to encourage people to stay connected and feel safe during their work, especially since many are hesitant to return to in-person meetings due to the risk of contagion.
We fostered dialogue and team formation through a non-intrusive object, using a natural form of gathering for people: the circle. This form of gathering has always been seen, and in this project, it was important to highlight it.
The totem tree is closely related to the future research we conducted in the first phase, as the scenarios we liked the most were about the ecological aspect of STEEP. In that research, we noticed and took into account that after the lockdown due to the coronavirus and the rapid technological advancements, people will experience a nostalgia for nature and will gradually start to incorporate it again. Keeping this in mind, one of the most difficult parts of the project was the initial ideation and finding a form that we all liked and that would align with the ideas and principles we had about the users and their needs. Initially, we had grounded ideas, but we didn’t know what form each module should take, whether in terms of ergonomics or space.
Once we had the final idea, all we had to do was detail everything so that it was fully resolved. From there, things became easier, and defining the details to align with other teams’ work was straightforward. Some forms even helped support other teams’ designs, and everything came together as a cohesive collection. The result is very satisfying because the selection of materials was perfectly aligned with the chosen forms.
I want to highlight one source of inspiration: Christmas trees. They have always been seen as objects of unity and magic, and I believe that through our object, we can create a similar effect that could be implemented in other places. Like this, our tree doesn’t just serve as a seating area and look aesthetically pleasing.
Our tree shows how easy it can be to feel part of a group or community while being connected to nature, fostering a wide range of positive emotions in users.
Finally, by addressing each stage of the tree, I learned how we can generate forms of interaction through furniture without needing to move it. I also must emphasize that using simple shapes and basic materials can create an aesthetic and emotional effect that is very fitting for what we were aiming for. I believe the results, both in form and content, of our final proposal and our resources were excellent and of high quality, with a strong focus on delivering the best possible outcome.
