miuraSITE

Master ︎ Digital Tools and Methods I
Supervisors ︎ Hans Sachs, David Lemberski
Tools ︎ Rhinoceros, Grasshopper
Place ︎ Detmold, Germany
Year ︎ 2018

For the task “Urban Nomad” an adaptive and temporary pavilion or urban furniture should be designed. Taking inspiration in parasite installations and guerrilla urban furniture, the miuraSITE was created with the idea of appropriating existing urban structures to create seating for its users.

Railings are a common urban structure in cities and are always used for leaning by people - when there is no proper seating around available. The miuraSITE is a deployable seat that can be easily carried by the user, extended and then fixed on existing railings, providing more comfortable support.

To make it deployable, a traditional Japanese folding pattern was used. With its chevron-like pattern, the Miura folding provides a stable and regular surface, that adjusts gently to the weight of the user when seated. Made of polypropylene, it is lightweight but loses no strength when folded or pressed.

Designed in Grasshopper and digitally fabricated, the seat comes flat-packed and can be assembled by the user.

The miuraSITE comes in two polypropylene flat sheets.

Each part is folded separately and deployed until the
maximum size of the seat.

Seat and back support are sewed on top and
connected below by flaps folded inside cuts.
This will lock the folding in its maximum size.

The seat can then be deployed
until 1/4 of its size.

With a belt on both sides, the seat can be fixed in railings with vertical posts. The triangular shape gives the necessary stability.