RESEARCH

DESIGN SPRINTS 1 AND 2: Research

During the fieldtrips and the visits of the museums, we took pictures and videos to use as visual material.

Then we chose some references between the products produced in the workshops and started to investigate the already existing products placed on the market, together with the ones produced by other companies that work with people with Handicap, like Side by Side.

We were also asked to make connections between the new product and the territory features of Vinschgau we discovered during our trips, also taking inspiration from the objects produced by the farmers in Dietenheim.

DESIGN SPRINT 1: Excursions

Excursion to Vinschgau Duration: 3 Days

Visit to the workshops of Latsch and Prad: structures built for the rehabilitation of disabled people, the socalled clients. In these workspaces the clients are taught to take care of themselves and their surroundings by exercising important values like punctuality, consistency, and discipline. These principles are indeed fundamental for the integration in a working environment. The main activities are gardening, carpentry and cooking in Latsch, and painting, wood carving, sculpting and sewing in Prad. Indeed the two workshops have different approaches: Latsch is more centred on teaching their clients specific jobs in order to become more independent despite their disability, while Prad is pointing to enhance their self-expression through arts and crafts.

Wood workshop in Latsch Equipped like every normal carpentry, a place where human manufacture and technology come together. Here clients produce wood boxes, simple geometrical objects, parts of assembled shelves, bird houses, raised beds (hochbeet) etc. The

Greenhouse in Latsch Gardening activities inside and outside, here clients plant seeds, take good care of the plants and keep the working environment nice and clean. People from outside, customers, can come to buy gardening products and the structure is also willing raw Materials are pine and larch. The carpentry keeps clients occupied thanks to a systematic series production, that as Design-students we were asked to implement, in order to give to these people the opportunity to have a stable workplace and earn money.

to offer other activities, like cutting flowers to make bouquets, picking up herbs to make infusions etc. During our visit we had the chance to eat a meal cooked by the clients, it was made from fresh vegetables and homemade pasta...delicious!

Wood workshop in Prad We have met Bertold and his band: clients that share a common space full of musical instruments. Edoardo (the man in the back of the second picture) works also in the carpentry, he produces the so called Keschtnriggl,

Painting and sewing Workshop in Prad Here we met women like Mrs. Maria, an old sweet woman, who’s lost part of her sight but continues sewing beautiful and incredibly precise drawings on cloth (detailed cars, houses and flowers). Every client we met was open to dialogue and a chestnut basket made of wicker work. Despite his physical and mental Handicap, he works with extreme precision and focus. Indeed, he is an excellent example of how working can help people with conditions regaining control of their mind and body.

extremely happy to get in touch with us. This young lady in the picture above has a severe mental disability and the structure in Prad provides her a safe place, where she can enjoy all sorts of activities like learning to count through volumes that fit into shapes.

DESIGN SPRINT 1 Museums

Visit of the St. Benedict church, Mals

It is part of the historical cultural heritage of Vinschgau, as the oldest church of the territory. The round arch doors and windows are characteristic of the St. Benedikt’s Church. In the interior of the church behind the round arched windows, there are three altar niches and two pre-Romanesque pictures of the founders. These frescoes, dating from around eight hundred, are amongst the few remaining examples of Carolingian mural painting.

Visit in the “Ora et labora” Museum, Benedictine abbey, Marienberg

The show rooms on the ground floor of the Marienberg reflects the history of the monastery and the region. Artworks and artefacts dating from the 11th century take visitors back to the early days of the monastery, almost 1,000 years ago.

DESIGN SPRINT 2 Museum

Guided visit in the Volkskundemuseum, Dietenheim

We got in touch with the rural life in the so called Masi, with a particular focus on the utensils the farmers had to fabricate in order to follow some working activities. The maso is a typical rural dwelling in which people used to live and work, surrounded by meadows for fodder collection, pastures where cattle graze and forests for wood collection. It is a self-sufficient microcosm in that raw materials such as cereals, flax, meats and cheeses are produced there, necessary for the livelihood of the family.

FARMERS USED TO MANUFACT EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED, THEREFORE EVERY PIECE HAD ITS SPECIFIC FUNCTION.

DESIGN SPRINTS 1 AND 2: References

As source material for the first Design sprint I was particularly interested in realizing something that would embed the landscape features that characterized the territory. I took inspiration from the so called Waale, water canals dig to collect water and irrigate fields. I came fast to the idea of realizing a cutting board and therefore researched proper materials, sizes and shapes. On the contrary, for the second design sprint I started from a collection of objects, exhibited in the Volkskundemuseum in Dietenheim. In particular I was inspired by a squared cutting board for hard bread that had three of its four sides lifted, creating a sort of box.

The older cousin of the cutting board is the butcher Block: it differs from it because of the thickness, therefore the butcher block is still used in butcheries, as the name suggests. I researched some examples of this objects and found interesting that they can also be used as a piece of furniture.

Traditionally made of hard Maple, it requires a proper care for longevity of the material and food safety.

If the material is regularly exposed to water and not properly cleaned mould can form. The seams where the wood is joined can buckle as the wood expands and contracts. Keeping the material well oiled allows it to maintain a rich colour and its water repelling properties.

To properly care for the butcher block any foreign material should first be removed, it can be disinfected with vinegar (or in extreme cases, bleach), allowed to dry well, and refreshed with mineral oil or other food safe sealant.

Everyday use objects easy to manufact and to handle - Super Normal objects. I focused on the already existing cutting and presenting boards and I found an enormous quantity of products. These are just some examples:

Thanks to the excursions I had the chance to meet wonderful people and visiting the workshops helped a lot to face the reality of machine disposal, raw materials and manufacture. We started ideating with limitations in mind and were encouraged to find smart solutions through smart products. We also spent times with the clients and understood their needs together with their difficulties, in this way from the beginning of both design sprints we were fully involved Regarding the products I learnt a lot about materials for cutting boards, as there are many, and the way the surface should be treated after each use and how to avoid hygienic issues caused by cross contamination. After gaining this knowledge I already started thinking: how can I make a cutting board that stands out from this massive already existent collection of products?