design portfolio

STEVENBUKOWSKI

of

industrial design

CONTENTS

TransplanterBFA thesis exhibition

A.M.P.

Blamp

Butterdose

Sake set

Guerillabode

Résumé

URBAN FARMING: TRANSPLANTER

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The alienation inherent in modern food production and urban design effects people in a negative way socially, economically, and emotionally. This stems from both environments which do not allow the people to interact with the community and instead remain isolated and disconnected.

RESEARCH BRIEF & CONCLUSION

People would like to re-connect with their community and nature.

People would like to save money on food.

Most yards have inadequate sunlight or room to grow.

Rooftops have potential to support plant life and serve as community space.

A thorough survey revealed important information about urban gardening and urban dwellers’ patterns of thought regarding this issue. It was boiled down to these main points:

A product that uses or creates a social space (rooftop) in which to engage one another through the practice of urban gardening.

How can it counter the negative effects of an alien living environment and food production system while also creating an economically viable way of producing one’s own food to reconstruct the lost connections to food and community?

Hypothesis

IDEATION

- A tool for interaction.

- A tool for creating social space.

- A tool for growing food.

The product must be...

I began looking into tesselations and patterns in nature for modular solutions that allow for flexability of space.

A way to connect with community.

The means to grow food.

A space for interaction.

SOLUTION: TRANSPLANTER

Arrange to fit needs of community and maximize space.

Seat

Planting bed

MULTIPURPOSE & MODULAR

STARTER POTS

Nests in handles when outdoors.

Recycled paper fiber - decomposes when planted in large bed.

Simple way to start sprouts indoors or outside.

Maximizes vertical space.

Easy to transport or store.

STACKABILITY & NESTING

5 mm

MATERIAL PROPERTIES

Ceramic foam is a stiff, lightweight, porous material. Manufacturing techniques include impregnating open-cell polymer foams or organic material internally with ceramic slip and then firing in a kiln, leaving only ceramic material.

This allows for thinner walls and a lighter, stronger product. It also cuts costs and time because single firings are possible.

TRANSPLANTER

BACHELOR OF FINE ARTS: THESIS EXHIBITION

URBAN GROWING COLLECTIVE

The Urban Growing Collective (UGC) was founded in 2009 by Steven Bukowski, Timothy Skehan and Trevor Marzella. UGC is a collaborative project that is working toward sustainable political and ecological conditions.

For my thesis exhibition, I chose to present work I had been doing for the collective. This work included 3 main things: zines, seed sprouts and seed bombs for free distribution. I was interested in giving viewers the means to interact with the exhibition, while providing an extension outside of it through the objects I supply, thus becoming participants in an effort to green the urban landscape.

There were two different zines (100 of each) that were designed and assembled by hand: A Basic Guide for Practicing Random Acts of Gardening and Plant Life & Pollutant Remediation.

Seed sprouts intended for guerilla gardening were mostly vegetables (30 of each) such as spinach, fennel, scallion, and kale, but also included moss. They were grown and distributed in recycled paper planters.

Seed bombs were made from dry soil, spent coffee grounds and fresh seeds that were pressed into a mold. They were molded to look like a chocolate bar for the functional properties — pieces could be broken off one at a time to be tossed. These seed bombs used specific types of seeds: plants that act as phytoremediators, or plants that suck toxins from the soil and ground water.

The tables in the space were made from upcycled doors and pallets and the placards used recycled cardboard and paper.

ZINES

Zines shared tips and strategies for guerilla gardening and provided information on plants that can be used to suck toxins from soil and ground water (phytoremediator).

PLANT SPROUTS

Plant sprouts gave visitors an opportunity to start a garden or practice guerilla gardening.

SEED BOMBS

Seed bombing is an easy and cheap way to distribute plants all over the city. Just toss them into an abandoned lot and in a few weeks it’ll be green.

These basic seed bombs contained sunflower and pine seeds - two excellent phytoremediators.

OTHER PROJECTS

BLAMP

Blamp is constructed so that light is emitted only through the X,Y, and Z axes. Blamp only truly functions in a perfectly dark room because of the shape of light emitted through the axes. It also imposes and simultaneously calls into question the idea and function of a lamp. It is not nearly bright enough to use functionally. This encourages closer inspection of the object and emphasizes the source of light.

GUERILLABODEGuerillabode is a terra cotta birdhouse meant to be installed in the urban environment through guerilla actions. Because it is hollow on the backside it is meant to be applied with construction adhesive for quick installation on a building, wall, bridge, etc. Since terra cotta is a low-fire material, it is breathable and a suitable, tough material for this type of use and application.

The bottom piece is filled a little bit with water, while the butter is placed into the top piece. When they are put together the top and bottom form an air-tight seal because of the water, which in turn keeps the butter soft and fresh.Butterdose is made of high-fire cast porcelain.

How it works

BUTTERDOSEInspired by the French butter crock, Butterdose allows one to keep their butter on the counter without going bad. It is designed to fit a normal stick of butter instead of a dollop, like the French version.

top

bottom

butter

water

A.M.P.: AUDIO MAGNIFICATION PROJECTOR

AMP also has a small hole near the bottom that lets users connect their cord to charge or sync.

AMP allows iPhone users to amplify their music without using traditional speakers. By employing natural properties of reverberation, the porcelain dish amplfies the sound up to two times.

SAKE SET

This sake set features a two-piece tray. It elevates the Tokkuri (sake server) so a tealight can keep the sake warm.

The set is made of high-fire porcelain and a reclaimed wood base.

tokkuri

tealight

ochoko

ceramic tray

wood base

Objective

May 2010: BFA Industrial Design - Cleveland Institute of Art

June 2010-Present: Production assistant - Perch! Ceramics, Brooklyn, NYSpring 2009: Sponsored project - Fisher-Price, baby productsSummer 2009: freelance, UltraNeedle Eagle Eye, Medical device, Dr. P. Bigeleisen MD2008: Wood shop assistant

2009 - 2010: Gallery Assistant at SPACES Gallery, Cleveland, OH2009 - 2010: Gallery Assistant at Reinberger Galleries, Cleveland, OH

Adobe Illustrator CS4Adobe InDesign CS4Adobe Photoshop CS4Autodesk Showcase 2010Studio Tools Alias 2011ceramic/porcelain/plaster mold-making & castingdrafting/sketchingmodel buildingsewingwood bending & lamination

2010 - CIA President’s Traveling Scholarship - finalist, 1 of 202010 - 64th annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition Co-chair2010 - 64th annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition - featured work2010 - Prizm Art Award - Student Independent Exhibiton 642009 - Billes Products International Design Contest - finalist, 1 of 102009 - 63rd annual CIA Student Independent Exhibition2009 - CIA Award for Excellence in Industrial Design - featured work2008 - F.ID industrial design furniture show2007 - H.T. Greenlee Honorary Scholarship for Excellence in Industrial Design2006 - CIA portfolio grant 2006 - Community for a Greater Buffalo scholarship

Education

Related experience

Other experience

Software & skills

Activities & achievements

STEVEN BUKOWSKI.COM BUKOWSKI.STEVEN@GMAIL.COM

716.907.0515INDUSTRIALDESIGN

A position as an industrial designer for a small studio utilizing knowledge and skills in a variety of materials and technologies.

design portfolio

STEVENBUKOWSKI

of

industrial design