Made-to-measure home office
One size does not fit all; this is particularly true for our Need-Knower. Working from home has become the norm due to COVID-19, and Juan is spending a lot of time in a work space that doesn’t allow him to study and work comfortably. Our challenge is to design a home office that meets his study needs and adapts to his unique physique, specifically his small stature.
We are a group of university professors, designers and high school students who came together to design a home office for our Need-Knower Juan Fernando. Juan is a dedicated student of electronic engineering, who has a physical disability that causes him to have short stature and other skeletal abnormalities due to a rare condition known as Mucopolysaccharidosis type IV.
To complete this challenge, first we visited Juan and took his anthropometric dimensions. Second, we talked to him to understand his needs as an engineering student. Third, we researched and proposed solutions for home offices for him, focusing on the creation of a product with the manufacturing flexibility and adjustability to offer a made-to-measure ergonomic solution that adapts to Juan’s unique body type and shape
Stress analysis
We decided to construct a desk and a chair made of interlocking panels of wood which are cut out by a CNC router machine and assembled using only sockets within the wood. The desk’s surface inclination can be adjusted at three different angles to give Juan the option to perform different activities. It also has caster wheels for easy transportation.
Ideation:
Construction Process
Building Instructions
Testing Model:
Juan tested the design, and we made some modifications on the thickness of the cushioning to make it more comfortable. The design proved to be easy to adjust and customisable as the interlocking assembly method allowed us to change and create new parts without the need to fabricate a completely new object. We also attached a head rest for Juan so he could have a more comfortable and natural working position.
