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R. Suppin, M. Aling, U. Aschenbrenner, F. Schafschetzy, E. Sommeregger, S. Weiner, unifithteen_Research, J. Körner, M. Boltenstern, K. Al-Rawi, P. Jaritz, ToTa, L. Kulnig, D. Podmirseg, C. Tonko, Zosima, Aphenotype, J. Voordouw:
"Silver Linings";
Beteiligung; veranstaltet von: EyeTry, supported by Akademie der bildenden Künste, Kurator: E. Sommeregger, F. Schafschetzy; Katalog: "Silver Linings:12 Unique Approaches Towards Architectural Experimentation"; Akademie der bildenden Künste, 09.10.2015 - 17.10.2015.

REPAIR MY SERIES 7
A Prototype

CONTEXT
In 1955 Arne Jacobson designed the "Series 07". The plywood chair, designed according to high aesthetic and functional values within its historic context, and optimized towards the respective production process, was sold over 5 million times since then in numerous editions. However, the lifetime of products does not necessarily correspond to the amount of effort and knowledge that is put into their design and production processes. The chair suffers from material fatigue after several years of use, as layers of plywood crack in the area of the highest material stress.

How is it possible to selectively intervene in the common life cycle of objects (mass production, mass consumption, mass fatigue, mass disposal), by making use of contemporary methods, tools and materials?

CONCEPT
In 2015 the project "Repair My Series 07" searches for an investigation, which points out the relation between evolving production methods and material technologies in regard of the lifetime of products.
As every design process starts with the definition of a problem of any kind, the point of departure of this project focuses on the area of malfunction inside the existing material with the aim to bring back its functionality.

A repairing procedure with the use of contemporary CAD and CAM technologies is designed to multiply the lifetime of an object: A broken chair (found object) is 3D laser scanned for generating a digital model that allows to analyze the material stress inside the objects´ geometry. The area of potential material fatigue is visualized through the FEA (finite element analysis) simulation, defining the geometry for the necessary intervention. The resulting shape serves for an automated removal (milling robot) of the material under highest stress. This subtraction is further replaced with CNC cut layers of carbon fiber sheets that are laminated into the former section of malfunction as a new prosthesis.

Instead of merely corresponding to the cultural value of the piece by restoring its functionality (historic preservation), the accessibility of contemporary tools and materials could expand the objects lifetime, enhance its ideological value, and further make a step outside the cycle of mass production towards a new possible culture of industrialized reparation.

CAD - CAM - structual analysis - industrial reparation