Terra for the new Era- Concepts
Rishiraj Ghosh
2nd year Industrial Design
National Institute of Design, Andhra Pradesh
Simple Product Design- Conceptualization phase
After refinement of the final design brief, we needed to identify factors that we need to dig deeper into.
Along with identifying the factors, the target was also to interview experts from different fields to have vivid ideas and inputs from people’s fields of expertise.
After this conversation, many materials were found, which can be used as a barrier material on the product-electronic interface. Also, the second goal was to experiment with the efficiency of those materials.
the experiment was done by applying some of the materials on locally available earthen cups and keep them in a set-up to observe the heat flow.
the cups were filled with hot water and were kept in a tub of water of normal temperature. And the temperature was recorded at three different time intervals.
This experiment, despite some imperfections, gave a lot of clarity on how the materials are absorbing heat and releasing them and the speed of the activities. This experiment also helped to study the surface absorption of water of those substances. Still, I wish to repeat this experiment in the opposite heat direction to have a more vivid understanding.
the terracotta potter I visited showed me how the manufacturing of earthen cups is done. These comprised mainly use-and-throw tea bhār( cup in Bengali), curd and sweet containers(100ml, 200ml and 500ml). The clay they use are found from the banks of Ganga( Hooghly in local), then they are cleared of stones, small beads and a refined form of clay is collected. the refined clay is then moved to the wheel, and over a thousand cups are made each day with two-man craftsmanship.
With these field visits, I was also developing some concepts which primarily consisted of a positive volume, while all these craftsmen work on negative volumes generally. They suggested other places where I can find craftsmen who work on things closer to what I was looking for.
Meanwhile, the concepts developed were-
I started up with basic forms, focussing on the function as a key aspect. I came up with ideas of where the laptop is to be kept on a platform, and that platform has to cool itself to absorb the heat away from the computer.
I drafted concepts where there will be a hollow earthen tank, which might be filled with water or water-absorbable particles like granules, sands etc, and the tank will cool itself in the same principle on which our desi matkas( pots ) keep the water cool. I also ideated heat maps to communicate the idea better.
I was also inspired by the heat sinks that how they use the maximum surface area for heat loss, and also incorporated that principle on the platform so that it can absorb and release heat faster along with the evaporative cooling capacity of terracotta.
By this time, my faculty suggested looking into the venturi effect F1 cars use for aerodynamic aspects. This literally got me excited and I dived into studying what venturi effects are and reminiscing the high school science lessons of Bernoulli's Principle.
After getting a grasp of the scientific phenomenon and its practical application in cars, I made up some concepts
I was trying to amplify the heat management of terracotta by amalgaming it with fluid dynamics, air cooling and liquid cooling and was also looking forward to exploring aerodynamic cooling!
I also visited Kumortuli( the biggest potters hub in Kolkata) and found a variety of earthenware products and had insightful conversations majorly with clay idol makers and also got locations where large-scale manufacture is practices of terracotta products.
By this time, I interviewed a Ceramic artist based in Kolkata who is specialised in terracotta and has been practising for many years, and sone a lot of works in the famous Durga pujo pandals.
During the conversation, I learned about the material limits while manufacturing i.e., if we make hollow cuboidal forms with slabs they might have cracks after firing, thus we divided the form into two separate bodies while minimising the possibility of cracks in the surface.
And now, I wanted to combine the latest manufacture-friendly feature with the venturi tunnels I ideated,
and also a tower-based concept inspired by cooling towers in power stations.
with further functional refinement, the next target is to develop it ergonomically and aesthetically.
to be continued…
