Post 3

For this post I wanted to discuss some of the ideas I have for using magnets in furniture. I will then use these ideas as jumping off points for the next series of research.

First off I am taking a furniture evolution class, and we are doing a project which requires us to imagine what the future of design will be like. Our topic is joinery, so my prediction is that furniture in the future will be held together by magnetism. My idea is to design a chair or table where you run a current through the piece so that the joints connect. Then once the current stops the piece will be permanently joined together. To remove the joints you could reverse the current so the magnets release.  I want to research if this is in any way possible, and to see if that magnetism will be harmful to the user. I will be contacting the creators of the two pieces I showed on here last week , and asking them if the magnetism in their works affect things such as technology and the user overall.

My other idea is to have all the joints magnetized so they will always hold together without the current having to connect them. As I learned in my research, two permanent magnets connecting creates a stronger bond than having one permanent magnet, and one ferromagnetic material. How to get them apart once they are connected is the problem I will have to address.

Another idea I have is the idea of a levitating seat. This has been a conceptual idea for years, but I want to look into the idea and see if it can actually be realized. Imagine being able to sit down and not having any pressure to sit against. Physically floating in space. We have seen how magnetism can be used to levitate things of a certain weight. I am curious if that same technology, just on a larger scale, will make levitation a person possible. Maybe even a thing layer of magnetized fabric (carrier), which could act as the seat, which is then levitated by the base.