Rethinking Children’s Furniture
Multi Crib
Furniture Prototype - Waste Management (2022)
Australia produces around 76 million tonnes of waste every year and still increasing. About 27% of said waste goes to landfill, negatively affecting the natural environment and the next generations. Speaking of which, children’s furniture plays a vital role in this situation. As they grow up immensely fast, the furniture parents purchased over the years will inevitably become waste.
Thus, with the design opportunities of stimulating alternatives to buying and owning products and inspiring new narratives that go beyond endless mass production and consumption, Cupboard (our hypothetical design collective) proposes the idea to encounter this concerning issue - a multifunctional and upcycled baby crib.
The Multi Crib comes in a recyclable cardboard box, consisting of tools and recycled components from old furniture, along with an instructional manual. The instructions illustrate the ways in which the crib could be used, transforming this simple crib into children's furniture after the toddler outgrows it, ranging from a toy storage unit to a desk and bookshelf. The crib also requires very basic assembly skills with no heavy and dangerous tools needed, encouraging parents to share this activity with older children to educate the younger generations on the importance of upcycling and sustainability. Not only educating the younger generations, but raising awareness of conventional baby furniture and waste to modern families and parents, inspiring them to reuse and repurpose their old furniture, either for their home or for the children.
A Minimal Approach to Maximise Function.
Moreover, Multi Crib reflects upon the problem of consumerism and that conventional furniture serves mainly commercial interests and fashionable trends, by employing a minimalistic yet highly functional form in its design. Less is more, the less material used, the less carbon footprint and waste will be contributed to pollution and climate change.
