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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2005

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

(HOUSTON, Feb. 9, 2005)—Industrial Design students at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture are folding paper to make spoons. They are also using cardboard to make tables. The assignment is part of a two-week lesson on responding to needs of disaster victims.

“When the tsunami hit, I was thinking of what we could do to respond as educators,” EunSook Kwon, director of the UH Industrial Design Program, said. “To eat is basic, and as industrial designers there is much we can do.”

The assignment was to create a disaster supply kit. The theme was Food for Survival. The challenge for students was to research the culture of tsunami victims and design practical items that could be used at mealtimes. Inspired by Japanese origami, Kwon encouraged students to consider the art of folding paper as a practical way of designing needed items.

“I wanted my design to be compact, sterile and not take up a lot of space,” student Michelle Lam said. Her design kit includes perforated pieces of paper with instructions on how to fold them into a bowl, cup and spoon. A set of pictures conveys folding instructions. The bowl design includes an indentation in the middle so that it can be easily grasped with one hand. The paper items can be used from one to 5 days. “This makes use of light materials that are functional and biodegradable, so they won’t create waste.”

Other designs include paper lap tables that double as carrying cases for extra food items, and a supply kit that also served as a water purification system. Each design adheres to rules of cost, manufacturing and shipping efficiency.

“I wanted them to think creatively, to use materials creatively, as future industrial designers,” Kwon said.

One student considered the psychological stress survivors of disaster experience.

“I thought back to where I felt the most like a family, the warmest and the safest,” student Jared Vanscoder said. “It was at the dinner table. My cardboard design allows people to physically sit around a small ‘table’ as they eat whatever food is provided. For a moment they’ll have their own space.” The design includes cutouts that easily can be folded into bowls.

Though funding prevents the students from pursuing discussions on the actual manufacturing of their designs, Kwon says each design is viable and practical.

The University of Houston is the only institution in a four state region in which students may earn a degree in Industrial Design. The three-year-old program focuses on the design of products for mass production and for quality of life.

For more information on the UH Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture, please visit www.arch.uh.edu

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