WISHING WELL & WISHING NET

SUSTAINABLE FURNITURE DESIGN RESEARCH

Inspired by folklore across different cultures, I designed the Wishing Net and Wishing Well in the Memorial Orchard of Stave Hill Ecological Park to invite people make a wish.

Aims of Stave Hill Ecological Park:

• Provide a new habitat for urban wildlife.

• Enable ecologists to discover more about the nature of urban ecology.

• Offer city residents, including schoolchildren, the chance to enjoy nature and learn through hands-on experience.

• Demonstrate the value of ‘creative conservation’ – an ecological approach to the creation of new landscapes.

Design Direction 1:

2 pavilions , one for man and one for birds. An installation for people to relax and interact with birds.

Design Direction 2:

An intervention(s) in the Memorial Orchard that references the dockland past of the park and fufill people's emotional needs. Visitors are encouraged to actively engage with it, shape the design with their own memories and stories, the tree can be their emotional support in the physical world.

Over the 30 years the park is open , people love the park because it is what it is. It made me think more about the rationale of the idea. It must not create further damage to the park. Hence, I did not move forward with this idea.

I moved forward with this idea because this idea suits the aim of the park, every tree in the memorial orchard is planted in memorial of a lost person. We have to look forward to life, I want to pass on positive energy through my design and give visitors spiritual sustenance.

MATERIAL TEST- TIE KNOTS

Net Making

I made nets with 2 kinds of techniques , the Modified snake knot and Crown knot for making cargo nets, the net making connect to part of the history of the park. I used different materials, such as old T-shirt strips, Sisal rope, and twine. Reflect to the diversity brought by park visitors to the design.

Historical Overview

Whaling pot

This large cast-iron cauldron was used to render whale blubber into valuable oil. Nets were used to catch fish back then.

Cord With Nettle

Image Shows Night Fishing With A Lamp And A Net

This image revealed how people catch fish with nets in the past, connected to my idea of making the net for the Memorial Orchard.

Experimenting with Nettle (a natural fibre scourced in the park)

MEMORIAL ORCHARD- WISHING WELL

Building a Wishing Well to avoid the damage caused to real trees, as well as the process of sourcing materials (Ivy and Willow) onsite and connecting people's emotional value is at the core of this project.

The Wishing Well is a term from European folklore to describe wells where it was thought that any spoken wish would be granted.

Test with structure

Making Process

MEIJI SHRINE in TOKYO

Wishing tree full of wooden blocks with written messages/wishes from people all over the world.

Problem

Structure loose and leaning.

Solution

Adding more willow sticks to enhance the tension.

Wishing Wells from the UK

Finalising making

After I added more sticks in and weaved more Ivy on, the whole structure has became much better, it is looking more lively and blended into the environment . Although I know the leaves and the grass will go away very soon, the structure will stay there for a longer period of time.