Jeeyea Kim and Dorian Bybee · CLIENT: Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design, Indiana University
UnBespoke is a modular tabletop object made from Indiana limestone. Four triangulated stone pieces are designed to hold tea light candles or small plants. The pieces can be arranged as a square, as an equilateral triangle, or in other formations chosen by the user. The design stems from the Haberdasher Puzzle, a mathematical problem that shows how to cut a square into pieces that form an equilateral triangle. When the pieces are rotated, the undulated interior edges of the square appear on the perimeter of the triangle. The object is modelled in 3D and cut by CNC machining.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- UnBespoke is an investigation in to the use of a natural material, Indiana limestone, in the production of a contemporary design object and a modular table accessory. There are four triangulated stone pieces that are designed to hold tea light candles and/or small-scale plants. UnBespoke can be arranged in a variety of formation - from square to equilateral triangle or in any configurations as the user experiments with them.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 230 mm (width) x 230 mm (length) x 50 mm (height)
- Tags
- limestone, tabletop object, tabletop accessory, object design, candle holder, planter
- Production Technology
- Limestone has been used as a building material for thousands of years because of its beauty and durability, especially for many classical architectures. Our design goal is to produce a contemporary design objects in various scales using limestone, and UnBespoke has given limestone a renewed legitimacy as a decorative design object. Unbespoke is designed with an advanced 3D modelling and fabricated by CNC technology.
- Design Challenge
- The small scale of the design was challenging for fabricating limestone. The fabrication facility that we utilized for CNC is not familiar with such a small scale object product, so we had to convince the facility to fabricate with a extra care.
- Project Duration
- The design process of UnBespoke started in April 2019, and hatiKB fabricated first prototype models in August 2019. The work has been exhibited through New and Next Exhibition in January 2020 at the Museum of Evansville in IN, USA.
- Operation Flow
- The basic formation is either a square or an equilateral formation of the Haberdasher Puzzle from which the design of UnBespoke was derived, but the users can arrange four stone pieces in a variety of formation as they experiment with the pieces.
- Research
- UnBespoke is a small scale object design that continues to investigate our rigorous research utilizing a local material, Indiana limestone, in a wide array of contemporary design applications. UnBespoke brings a whimsical use of the material in a human living environment as the users have options to arrange as they intend.
- Inspiration
- The design stems from a famous mathematical problem, the Haberdasher Puzzle, how to dissect a square into pieces that can then be reconstituted into an equilateral triangle. When the pieces are rotated from the square to the equilateral triangle, the undulated interior edges of the initial square are revealed on the perimeter of the triangle. The design is also inspired by the previous project that utilized overlapping circles as a design language with a different metallic material.
- Image Credits
- Photos credit of Jeeyea Kim and Dorian Bybee, and Anna Powell Teether Photography
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