Temporary Habitats

- field Objects and Experiences, Product Design, Sustainability, Systems and Services
- By Spencer Shaw
- Supervisor Dr. Malte Wagenfeld
Camping music festivals illuminate the hinterland, where thousands of people come together to form a temporary community. Within this community, people create habitats; groups of tents where people can interact or rest. Here the tent is more than a shelter; it enhances the experience and comfort of festival camping. However, one in five tents are left behind at some music festivals, a result of the tent not fitting its user.
Current tents are designed for an adventurous camping culture. Looking into nomadic dwellings and glamping creates an understanding of the tent as a home and luxury habitat. By expanding research into the work of practitioners such as James Turrell, Jonathan Chapman, Donald Norman and Richard Sennett, the design of the tent can be informed by experience design, emotional design, user centred design and craft. Light and materiality are used to enhance experience, and the user-object relationship is explored through a series of interviews and discussions. Observing how people experience shelters within a festival environment gives insight into the festival dweller and their habitat.
The making stage of the project collates a range of materials with traditional and contemporary processes. Leather and canvas are manipulated with technology, giving the design the capacity to be manufactured on scale, while still retaining its craft aesthetic. Commercial viability is addressed with a service system, allowing the user to hire the tent, and increase product lifespan through repeated use.
- field Objects and Experiences, Product Design, Sustainability, Systems and Services
- By Spencer Shaw
- Supervisor Dr. Malte Wagenfeld