why my major is baller.

the following is a recap of probably my favorite project completed in my four years at cornell for a class called "dancing mind/thinking heart":

assignment: create a new book concept using the method of morphological forced connection.

i chose the following categories for book characteristics: shape, material, color, size and use.

after compiling lists of choices for each category, i had my roommate randomly choose one from each category. these are the characteristics i ended up having to use in creating my new book concept:

round, wood, warm color, humanscale, advice

i brainstormed for a while, randomly sketching on abandoned scrap paper from the mann library printers, and eventually came up with this sketch below:
the concept:

::the tree of trance::

when in need of advice it is natural to crave a nice quiet place to think. on the inside this "tree of trance" acts as a book itself, giving you the advice you may need (and places to write your own as you mature) along with that secluded thinking place most needed during times of self-reflection and contemplation. on the outside this acts as book storage for you to start your collection of the stories that inspire you. it stretches the concept of "book" to a whole new dimension.

for class we had to come up with a 3d mockup to be able to give a visual and tactile dimension to the project. i made mine a scaled down model (seeing as a week is not enough time to make a humanscale mockup) out of femo, plaster and wire mesh:
now imagine if we had a room full of these full scale "trees of trance" in every university library. maybe the soul-crushing that occurs during exam time wouldn't be so taxing if you could chill out/study/converse/nap in one of these babies. it would completely change the connotation of a library into one of comfort and mental restoration.

and this is why design & environmental analysis is the shit. the end.