nut shell by aditi agrawal from india

Nutshell is a seating for outdoor public spaces.
It can liven up any street corner, public garden, waiting area or even a beach.

Nutshell as the name suggests is based on shell shaped structures, which derive strength from the form itself. Its quirky and playful form attracts young and old alike. It has got really thin casting of only 25mm and yet it is durable and sturdy due to its form. It invites people to sit on it and spend more time in public spaces.

Nutshell is made in ferrocement. It is a low cost and an efficient technique. It uses cement and steel in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. Properly fabricated, it is more durable than most woods and much cheaper than steel.

Ferrocement construction does not need heavy plant or machinery but is labour intensive. This aspect works well for India, as we are a developing nation with a large unskilled and underemployed labour force.

Nut-Shell was made as a part of my final graduating project as an undergraduate student in industrial design. The project kicked off with research on public spaces. This was done by visiting various local public spaces like parks and gardens, beaches, streets, market places and many more. Here observations were made on the postures, interaction patterns, usage patterns of the people there through sketches and photographs.
Based on this research ideation was done various public space elements like lighting, seating, tree gaurds etc. And finally seating was explored further. Nut-Shell was taken forward as the final design.
Next lay a big challenge to make the prototype. Mould was made and the casting was done. Initial casting had flaws in terms of reinforcement and finish. Therefore changes were made to get a better product in the next one.
As the cost of the product was calculated, it turned out to be quite less. On further analysis, it was observed that the major expense was the labour cost (about 70% of the total). This is a good thing as it points out to the fact that Nut-Shell supports human resources while being low on material usage.
Being a project that promotes usage of sustainable material and developed for public domain, it was supported by the prestigious Ford Foundation Grant and Centre for Scientific Research at Auroville.