Sommersemester 2015, BA/MA Produkt-Design , BA/MA Visuelle Kommunikation , Bildhauerei GreenLab
Stable
In Montessori schools most of the lessons take place on the floor. Working this way is regarded more favorable than sitting on a chair in front of a table, because the children can move and behave more naturally. Another reason is that it also helps the communication, wherefore most of the meetings are held there either.
The pupils are divided by age in several groups, so called learning families, each of them using an own class room. Yet they are free to decide whether they take part in the lessons or study by their own. This meets with the Montessori focus on the individual, with the pupils being free in their choices.
When I visited the Montessori school I got the impression that writing and similar activities on the floor actually did not work so comfortably for the children. They were constantly trying to find a good position to work, using their stools and chairs as a work surface. This inspired me to design a tool which can support their writing in a more ergonomic way, a stool that is already designed to work as a table.
The design of this hybrid object was derived from its double function, yet it looks like a normal stool. Only on closer examination you realize it is two different materialities and surfaces related to its different functions. It actually is divided in a felt and a wooden part, with the felt side to sit on being soft and slightly rounded and the wooden side hard and plain.
The tool has a radial shape so the children can roll it on the floor to move it in the class room. The soft side is rounded, so it is easy to change the angle of the working surface and adjust it to the right position. The children hold the table with their legs, and if they don’t want to sit on the floor they can just flip it and sit on the soft side. The “stable” is easy to use and aligns with the Montessori dynamic study environment.
