Selected Entries

ELDER

Cantonese (original) / English

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, precision, stability and durability have been at the heart of technological manufacturing. Widely-used industrial joints are made with extreme precision. However, they still lack the flexibility, elasticity and buffering qualities that biological bones possess. They also lack the potential of integrated mobility. We believe this is where the shaping function of bones can be exploited.

Bones comprise the basic supporting structure of mammals and humans, with their unique shapes having evolved to perform specific movements. Can we replicate their shaping function through design? Through bionics, ELDER refines bone structure and combines it with industrial hardware as tendons and muscles. Scrap wood is used to make a backbone, giving wood a new structural potential by restructuring its connecting parts. ELDER is an art installation that imitates the movement of bones and joints. Like a living organism, it changes and leaves traces of its existence over time.

JONO Craftspace

Our idea behind this design comes from bones and its function as the basic supporting structure for mammals and humans. Together with muscles, tendons and the nervous system, they form joints to help us move.

If the other organic parts are removed, the bones will lose their mobility, leaving only their functional shape.

Elder is a design with twelve fingers lying on a sand tray. Each showtime lasts for 15 minutes, where a finger would orderly or randomly move from a static state to a contracted state every minute and resetting to its beginning position in the remaining 3 minutes. This way, audiences can encounter a different shape everytime they come to the show.

I think its usefulness lies in its ability to create a new joint structure which is tough, elastic and with a buffering function, by combining modern technology from industrial hardware and the functional shape of skeletal joints. And for its uselessness, we think it may not meet the design criteria for modern industrialized mass production because of its rather sophisticated design that gives it a lower production efficiency.

JONO Craftspace

Founded in 2019 by Dojo Studio and Dino Design, JONO Craftspace is “a space for craft; a crafting space”. Begun as a carpentry workshop, JONO Craftspace explores design ideas and makes experimental prototypes, with projects ranging from small scale woodwork to architectural exploration.

Selected Entries

ELDER

Cantonese (original) / English

Ever since the Industrial Revolution, precision, stability and durability have been at the heart of technological manufacturing. Widely-used industrial joints are made with extreme precision. However, they still lack the flexibility, elasticity and buffering qualities that biological bones possess. They also lack the potential of integrated mobility. We believe this is where the shaping function of bones can be exploited.

Bones comprise the basic supporting structure of mammals and humans, with their unique shapes having evolved to perform specific movements. Can we replicate their shaping function through design? Through bionics, ELDER refines bone structure and combines it with industrial hardware as tendons and muscles. Scrap wood is used to make a backbone, giving wood a new structural potential by restructuring its connecting parts. ELDER is an art installation that imitates the movement of bones and joints. Like a living organism, it changes and leaves traces of its existence over time.

JONO Craftspace