Hello! Through the following posts we will present you our concepts for the challenge. Any doubt, do not hesitate to leave a comment.
This idea consists in boxes that are all connected by an articulated bar. It was first thought to be on the floor but after discussing the advantages and disadvantages we figured out that it would be uncomfortable for elderly people to bend down in order to let their shoes as well as the possible instability that this structure presents.
Taking this into account we created this other version where the middle box is anchored to the wall and every box can be moved around this axis. This design presents two main positions. First the one when is closed and compact:
Second, boxes are horizontal at a suitable height for an average person.
Concerning the mechanism, the first thought was to do it manually, either with a rope and pulley or just pushing but it is considered to put a small servo motor in the axis or a simple crank to take the boxes from one position to the other one. The idea is also to be able to have an equilibrium position in the middle of the two main positions in order for the smallest ones at home to reach their box.
Finally, these boxes are thought to have a removable separator (also placed with sliders) so that more than one pair of shoes can be stored in the box or, if the shoes occupy a lot of space, the separator can be removed so that there is more space. In addition to this, the separator makes cleaning the boxes easier.
ODEI | DESIGN TEAM 20
Hello!
Firstly thanks for your effort, this concept have a quite potential in terms of usability. We only have some concerns about horizontal usage of the shoe storage. Because people generally live in flats, the place for horizontal usage is quite limited. There is a chance that the storage might limit the neighbour’s entrance so the concept below which with the one having a motor system in it’s axis might be better especially if it can be adjustable for different angles. And as a last point, we really liked the seperator parts but for different size of shoes it might be better also using it adjustable, maybe there can be multiple slots that you can place seperator at different levels to adjust width according to shoe sizes.