We had the distinct pleasure to interview award winning designer Qiu Liwei about their original and creative L-shape concrete seat design work. Qiu Liwei is an award-winning industrial designer, that makes our world a better place with their original l-shape concrete seat works.
Qiu Liwei ("QL") answered Design Interview ("DI") questions about their award-winning work Public seat L-shape concrete seat. Interview questions prepared by Frank Scott.
QL : As we all known, the concrete public seat is huge and heavy, which makes it difficult to be transported and formed.
QL : We were trying to solve this problem by disassembling. We disassemble the heavy concrete public seat into many L-shape structures.The advantages are as follows: batch production，low cost of production，convenient to be transport.
QL : We hope to find a suitable factory to follow up production and put into market.
QL : The product is completed in June 2014. It takes us four months.
QL : We are always looking for a possibility to produce concrete public seating which is not only quality production, but also convenient to be transported.
QL : We plan to sell or lease the production rights.
QL : To me, design is my interest, doing design is just like a game.
QL : Our team finished this design together by experiments and communicating with each other.
QL : The L-shape concrete public seat is suitable fordisplaying inuniversity campus and public gardens and so on, which creates Interactive space for sever people to communicate with each other.
QL : As public seating, it has following advantages: convenient to be transported, and low cost of production.
QL : The name was given based on the form and materials of itself.
QL : Wooden mold, cutting tools of wood and metal.
QL : The design isunique because we create the L-shape structure. So we manage to disassemble the whole heavy concrete public seat into many L-shape structures. The L-shape structures are easy to be transported and formed. What’s more, the concrete material combines with nature and the pursuit for appealing design brings the product a lot of happiness. In the meantime, the L-shape structure allows itself to be modified and reformed to produce various types of combination, which adapts different size of fields and satisfies multiple demands of usage.As a whole, the public seat is full of sense of rhythm.
QL : The members of our team are teachers and students of department of Industrial Design, we finished this design together by experiments and communications.
QL : To connect several units into one seating.
QL : We find most convenient, fast and low cost way to making outdoor seating through experiments of concrete materials.
QL : In order to make it delicate and be easy to be transported and formed, the L-shape structure is the thinner the better. So it is a big challenge for its forming because the L-shape structure is made by concrete. We tried hard to reduce its thickness from 10cm to 7cm first, and then from 7cm to 5cm, which took a lot of time and effort. Moreover, the size and amount of reserved holes have a significant impact on the forming and turning model of the L-shape structure．We made the turning model success by puttingPVC tubes into the holes in the formwork, which ensure that the formwork can be easily removedand is in good condition.
QL : We wanted to make a better broadcast for this design, and look for more possibility to put it into market.
QL : Design is a practical lesson. Practice can take me more possibilities of thoughts and actions.
QL : The product has not been put on the market, but we are confident to make the product spread all over the university campus and public gardens and so on because of its modern style and bargain price.
