The Alba System
A case study on sustainability and parenting
Project Type: Senior Thesis
Duration: 30 weeks
Credits: Special thanks to Lara Goulart, Lorianne Resch, Kim Sherman, Fabiano Sarra, Rolf Hoeg, Will Tracey, Christian Badach, and Will Cornfield.
This case study acts as an opportunity to show the value of sentimental belongings and design’s ability to increase the longevity of physical goods. Within the first two years of your baby’s life their crib is used as a vessel for safety and rest. After that time has passed, this crib is able to become part of the larger family dynamic and serves as a reminder of the memories created within the early years.
State of the Art
But there is a disconnect between the static design of baby products and the growing nature of a family. Kids grow so fast and many products on the market do not support this growth.
Insights from Parents
Parents want to make better purchasing decisions & invest in their family’s future.
“Sturdiness needs to be first priority.”
“There is a lot of kid debris that I have, but don’t want to look at.”
“A toddler bed didn’t seem like a worthwhile purchase.”
Project Intention
Grow with a Family’s Needs through simple & timeless design.
My goal is to design a crib that is able to be disassembled after its typical product lifespan and be reassembled into smaller pieces of furniture that encourage organization and relaxation for the family.
Competitive Benchmarking
The Caravan Crib
Kalon
Current Convertible Cribs
Inspiration
Many companies sell convertible cribs, but you have to buy conversion kits and it not disclosed how many parts transfer from the original crib.
Through my conversations with parents, they expressed that they would not purchase a toddler bed because it seemed like an unnecessary middle step.
West Elm
Mid-Century 4-in-1 Convertible Crib
The Alba Crib
The crib allows for many open ended transformations to mold to families’ needs.
Alba is a hardwood crib made with longevity in mind. The crib promotes zero waste living, and every part of the crib acts as an input to the next pieces of furniture is it made into. All of the the secondary pieces of furniture were designed with flexibility and organization in mind.
Conversion Kit
The kit comes with 15 pegs,
8 steel legs, and fasteners.
It comes in a quality plywood box reused as another form of closed storage after the conversion pieces are in use.
Unlike other converting cribs on the market, Alba’s conversion kit is included with the initial purchase of the crib.
The design utilizes more durable cam-locks than typically found in this type of furniture. The crib can be disassembled and reassembled into a crib as many times as needed.
This crib is designed so that every single piece of material can be repurposed.
The conversion kit that comes with the crib holds accessories such as pegs and table legs to assist in transitioning and makes it possible.
The Base Board
The base board is suspended within the crib with mounting pieces that are attached across the end boards. The base board and mounting pieces transform into a wall-mounted peg board.
The mounting pieces are repurposed as a French cleat to mount the base board as a peg board.
The Mounting Pieces
The crib comes with two mounting pieces. These pieces keep the end boards together, center the base board in the crib, and are able to be incrementally moved down as your baby grows.
The End Boards
The end boards are temporarily attached with high quality cam locks in crib form.
Then they are detached and paired with 8 steel table legs to create a modular open storage and table system.
The Rails
The two maple crib railings are able to be turned 90 degrees and placed against any wall to become open storage for blankets, scarves, or towels.
Modularity
They are able to be configured into furniture like a TV stand or coffee table, and they can also be stacked for storing toys or books.
The serendipitous nature of this crib means this crib can be your child’s first crib and then their first coffee table.
Within the first two years of your baby’s life their crib is used as a vessel for safety and rest. After that time has passed, this crib is able to become part of the larger family dynamic and serve as a reminder of the memories created within the early years.
This crib acts as an opportunity to show the value of sentimental belongings and how making uncommon connections can increase the longevity of the fewer physical goods as the next generation actively tries to prioritize experiences.
A Changing Mindset
Continual Nurture
Materials & Processes
To minimize the of tools required assembling and reassembling the crib mainly requires an Allen wrench and Chicago-style fasteners.
Simple manufacturing means more opportunities to invest in quality materials that are meant to stand the test of time.
Only three materials were used in the entire design: solid maple wood, cabinet grade plywood, and powder coated steel.
Assembly
Ideation
Scale Model Iterations
With the many moving parts in this crib, 3D sketches were the best way to isolate successes and failures within the design.
These parts explored panel construction, relationships between parts, and I based designs prior to settling on my final design.
Refinement
Assembly
The last part of my refinement process was to construct a quarter scale model. This model was meant to serve as a physical representation of the fully constructed crib and conversion kit would look like.
Fabrication
I used a series of automated and manual techniques to create my proof of concept.
What ever I was not able to accomplish on my own, I enlisted the support of location businesses and friends.
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