Hugo Garcia

 Design & Research for a more-than-human world.
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CASCARAMade by the rain of London
YEAR:
2023 CLIENT:
MA/MSc Innovation Design Engineering
Network  :
Concrete Canvas

HIGHLIGHTS:
Exhibited at the Great Exhibition Road Festival 2023
The Cascara Chair emerged from a desire to explore a new manufacturing process that embraces nature, specifically the most common element in London: rain. The chair is made from Concrete Canvas, a material that resembles a thick, heavy rug filled with concrete. When wet, the material hardens, retaining the shape it was molded into. The challenge was to design the perfect shape that could serve as a mold without compromising the strength of the final product.

Inspired by the work of Spanish architect Felix Candela, who mastered the use of thin concrete structures with curved designs to enhance durability, I applied similar principles to the Cascara Chair. The curved form helps manage the material's tensions, ensuring the chair is both strong and lightweight.

The design process began with sketches and scaled models to understand the ergonomics and refine the form. I then used CAD software to finalize the geometry, ensuring it could be easily manufactured. The design was tested with digital load simulations to confirm its strength. Once the mold was created, all that was left was to place the Concrete Canvas over it and let the rain do the rest, hardening the material into a durable and unique chair.
Research

Design a durable chair for for public spaces that is based on sustainable and durable materials.




Although the final chair was made using Concrete Canvas, I tested other materials such as Lime Mortar and Linen. The sustainable material version was too challenging to complete.



Process

Use computer-aided design combined with prototypes of different scales to study ergonomics and achieve a final shape that is resistant and uses minimal material.





Outcome, Mould.

In the end, the mould became a chair by itself due to the simplicity of the shapes.





Outcome. Concrete

The final version was achieved using Concrete Canvas. The chair is resistant and very easy to manufacture.
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Design & Research for a more-than-human world.    

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