Table of Contents s100

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents INSPIRATIONINSPIRATIONINSPIRATION

1. Brief

What is it?

The Ottoman

An ottoman is a custom of couch which typically has a head but no back, though sometimes it has neither. It may have square or semicircular ends, and as a rule it is what upholsterers call “stuffed over”, that is to say no wood is visible. In American English, an ottoman is a piece of furniture consisting of a padded, upholstered seat or bench, usually having neither a back nor arms, often used as a stool, footstool or, in some cases, as a coffee table. Ottomans are often sold as coordinating furniture with armchairs or gliders. An ottoman can also be known as a footstool, tuffet, hassock, pouf or pouffe. Many ottomans are hollow and used for storage. Ottomans can be used in many rooms; they can be used in the bedroom, gaming room, family room and guest room. Leather and bench ottomans are used as alternatives to sofas.

Background History

The ottoman was brought to Europe from the Ottoman Empire in the late 18th century. The word ottoman to refer to furniture appeared at least as early as 1729 in French. In the Ottoman Empire itself, an ottoman was the central piece of family seating and was piled with cushions. In Europe, the ottoman was first designed as a piece of fitted furniture that wrapped around three walls of a room. The ottoman evolved into a smaller version that fits into the corner of a room. Ottomans took on a circular or octagonal shape through the 19th century, with seating divided in the center by arms or by a central, padded column that might hold a plant or statue. As clubs became more popular, so did the ottoman, which began to have hinged seats underneath to hold storage.

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2. The Aim

Design Report

The ottoman I am achieving to create and to design, will incorporate the theme of indigenous Australia and the surrounding native lands. My Design will be inspired by the renowned intuitive design of the indigenous bark dugout canoe. The Aboriginal Canoes were a significant advancement in canoe technology. Dugouts were stronger, faster, and more efficient than previous types of bark canoes. The Aboriginal peoples' use of these canoes brought about many changes to both their hunting practices and society. The Australian Aboriginal people began using these canoes around the 17th century in coastal regions of Australia. As the popularity of dugouts grew their use quickly spread across the continent. As such an important piece in Aboriginal history it was hard not to incorporate this aesthetically, ergonomically and symbolically to my design.

Aboriginal canoes were constructed much more easily than previous types of vessels, such as bark canoes. This ease of construction played a significant role in the dugout canoes’ widespread use. While earlier vessels required a great deal of labor and time-consuming sewing to make, dugout canoes were constructed easily and in a shorter period of time. First, one would have to cut down a tree and shape the exterior into an even form. The sides of the canoe were shaped in one of two ways. They were either carved straight up and down or in a "u" shape, curving in towards the centre of the boat. In some early dugout canoes, Aboriginal people would not make the bottoms of the canoes smooth, but would instead carve "ribbing" into the vessel (ribbing was used to stabilize the canoe. The wood used in the construction of dugout canoes was essential to its strength and durability. A wide variety of trees were used depending upon the location of a particular tribe, but in most cases the Aboriginal people used a type of native sycamore possibly Silver sycamore, White sycamore, Satin sycamore, Bastard Sycamore, Pink Sycamore or Mountain sycamore. Sycamores are strong and extremely durable, making them suitable for use in the construction of dugout canoes.

When I was researching ottomans I found that majority of them had legs so I thought, how I can incorporate indigenous history to a sofa leg. “The Waddy Stick”. A waddy, ‘nulla nulla’ or hunting stick is an Australian Aboriginal war club. The first of these names comes from the Dharuk Aborigines of Port Jackson, Sydney. A waddy is a heavy club constructed of carved timber. Waddies have been used in hand-to-hand combat, and were capable of splitting a shield, and killing or stunning prey. In addition to this they could be employed as a projectile as well as used to make fire and make ochre. They found further use in punishing those who broke Aboriginal law. They were made by both men and women and could be painted or left unpainted. Their construction varied from tribe to tribe, but they were generally about one metre in length and sometimes had a stone head attached with bees wax and string. The shape of the ‘Waddy’ is ideal to making legs for an ottoman, both length, durability, and aesthetically symbolic.

4. Inspiration

5. Hand-Drawn Sketches

6. 3D Model

7. Final Design Solution

The ottoman I have achieved to create, has incorporated the theme of indigenous Australia and the surrounding native lands. My Design is inspired by the renowned intuitive design of the indigenous bark dugout canoe. The Aboriginal Canoes were a significant advancement in canoe technology. Dugouts were stronger, faster, and more efficient than previous types of bark canoes. The Aboriginal peoples' use of these canoes brought about many changes to both their hunting practices and society. The Australian Aboriginal people began using these canoes around the 17th century in coastal regions of Australia. As the popularity of dugouts grew their use quickly spread across the continent. As such an important piece in Aboriginal history it was hard not to incorporate this aesthetically, ergonomically and symbolically to my design.

The first step would have to be to cut down a tree and shape the exterior into an even form. The sides of the canoe were shaped in one of two ways. They were either carved straight up and down or in a "u" shape, curving in towards the centre of the boat. In some early dugout canoes, Aboriginal people would not make the bottoms of the canoes smooth, but would instead carve "ribbing" into the vessel. The wood used in the construction of dugout canoes was essential to its strength and durability. A wide variety of trees were used depending upon the location of a particular tribe, but in most cases the Aboriginal people used a variety of native sycamore possibly Silver sycamore, White sycamore, Satin sycamore, Bastard Sycamore, Pink Sycamore or Mountain sycamore. Sycamores are strong and extremely durable, making them suitable for use in the construction of dugout canoes.

I incorporated indigenous history to the sofa leg. “The Waddy Stick”, or hunting stick is an Australian Aboriginal war club. The construction varies from tribe to tribe, but they were generally about one metre in length and sometimes had a stone head attached with bees wax and string. The shape of the ‘Waddy’ is ideal for the support and weight ratio for an ottoman, and is an excellent aesthetic symbol.