RE-FURNISHING BEIRUT
A swift response from the design community to Beirut’s 2020 blast aftermath.
ROLE: DESIGNER
FOR: BERYTECH FABLAB
STATUS: COMPLETED
In response to the 2020 Beirut blast aftermath, Berytech launched #BuildForBeirut, an open call for product designs to support the reconstruction of Beirut. The Berytech Fab Lab rounded up a global community of product developers, makers, designers and engineers to build a library of global open-source furniture designs that could be easily and affordably produced using digital fabrication tools. With funds from Field Ready, the Berytech Fab Lab team was able to CNC-cut and produce 82 pieces of furniture delivered to Beit El Baraka, a Lebanon-based charity, to be distributed to people affected by the blast.
Impacted by this, the University of Lima CEFADI (Student Club for Digital Fabrication) students came together and produced over thirty Open Source designs, which were then sent to Berytech Fab Lab, where they were fabricated and promptly used as part of the emergency relief measures for the victims of the 2020 Beirut ammonium nitrate blast, refurnishing the emergency shelters and providing transitional furniture for all affected housing in process of reconstruction.
Projects - Set of Instructions for Open Source Furniture.
The parametric design of the furniture allowed for readjustments and resizing in case needed. Some of the furniture pieces were also flexible in design, such as the Adult Sized Bed, which can be reconfigured to fit a twin or full size mattress or sleeping pad. The available material for all designs was mostly limited to wooden boards of standard size, with few to none nails, nuts, bolts, or glue available. Because of this, the designs heavily relied on inserts built into the two-dimensional sheet format, considering the resistance of the material for the joints and spans between supports.
Photos of process and finalized furniture designs. Courtesy of Berytech Fab Lab.