Daniel Cochran

Dwelling Furniture, Product, Design Language Studio - The goal of this studio was to make a conceptual pre-manufactured home, and then develop the design language of that home into a piece of furniture accompanied by a product to be used in the home. The home is supposed to be a weekend home of 800 square feet or less for one person or couple in mid Michigan.

Research - The first step I took for this project was to research pre-manufactured homes. There are several ways to pre-manufacture a home; these images show just a few of the different ways. With so many different ways to pre-manufacture a home there are no design limitations.

Research - The pre-manufactured home is designed to be a weekend home. Since the home is a second home I wanted it to be energy efficient. Ecomall was a great source of information on ecological energy saving devices. Some ways I found to ecologically save energy while designing a home include thinking about position, insullation, landscaping, wall mass and material, and roofing materials.

Research - Keeping with the theme, energy saving I found that more windows on the south side of a home will keep the home warmer while less windows on the south side of the home will keep a home cooler. I also learned about super cranes - devices that are larger than barns and can pivot on a dime. Now this pneumatic system may be a little expensive for a small weekend home, but with a little more research I found the manual turning turntables of trolleys, and trains.

Ideatoin - Drawing the floor plans I found that 800 square feet is an extremely small space. I wanted the house to feel as big as possible so I decided to create a two story house with very few walls. An open bedroom upstairs with an open kitchen and great room on the main floor the house would feel much larger. I created a few quick models to determine realistic proportions. The design on the right was declined due to the cost of custom windows. The model on the left led to my final design.

Final Direction - This is the final direction I went in for my pre-manufactured home design. It has one wall of windows which slide over to one side, opening up the entire house to the outdoors. It is placed on a turn table, and will be made out of prefab faux log walls to give it a mid Michigan feel.

Floor Plan - This is the floor plan of the house. I chose to keep the house open so that almost every room can utilize the window wall which will increase the feel of space in the home. The first floor has an open kitchen that flows into the great room, and just off the great room is an office/study. Going up the spiral stair case there is a bathroom and an open bedroom. The bedroom gets full use of the window wall while still being concealed from the great room.

Computer Model - This is the final model without surfaces and textures to show the true shape and proportions of the home and the simplicity of the design.

Pre-Manufactured Pieces - These are the pre made pieces used to construct the pre-manufactured home. It is made from 11 main pieces no longer than 30 feet, no taller than 11 feet, and no wider than one foot. These dimensions allow this entire home to be shipped on one semi truck (excluding the foundation and turn table system), which will save on shipping cost and time.

Final Renderings - This is an illustration of how the whole house can be opened to enjoy nature and naturally cool the home with a nice fresh breeze.

Final Renderings - This is an illustration of how the whole house can be opened to enjoy nature and naturally cool the home with a nice fresh breeze.

Product Ideation - For my product I decided to create a light fixture. Continuing with the contemporary cabin theme I wanted to design a contemporary light fixture relating to an old oil lantern or lamp.

Product Final Direction - For my piece of furniture I wanted to create an outdoor piece that would sit right at the edge of the turn table. To do this I incorporated the ark of the round turn table into a picnic table.

Furniture Ideation - For my piece of furniture I wanted to create an outdoor piece that would sit right at the edge of the turn table. To do this I incorporated the ark of the round turn table into a picnic table.

Furniture Final Direction - This is the final direction of my picnic table. It is a very sleek design with rich mahogany wood and inlaid ebony stripes on the table top. I incorporated an arc in the stainless steel legs to tie in with the turn table.