Pusterom
My bachelor project resulted in the product «Pusterom»
Designed in collaboration with two fellow students. The product is made with the goal of giving patients living in an institution a break from their surroundings. The product consists of a partition wall covered with plants and a concrete bench. The design is modular, allowing the product to be adapted to the customers needs. We have collaborated with the Norwegian correctional facilities.
A close collaboration with an institution has been key for the development of the product. A combination of material experimentation, model building and testing has given us an understanding for the experience of the product. Interviews, workshops, and collaborating partners has helped us understand the needs of the target group in their everyday life. This has been key in our development of the product. Living in an institution is tough, especially in the start phase of the treatment. We discovered a need among the patients to better be able to take a break and distance themselves from their surroundings at the institution. We saw this as an opportunity to remind the patients, their next of kin and the employees that what they are going through does not define them as a person.
Social sustainability is a very important element to our product, the production at the jails help train the incarcerated to be reintroduced to society and «Pusterom» will give the patients a free space in the treatment process.