Michael Burns

10 posts

Organic Desk Fountain (Sculpture) Final

April 28, 2021

Post 11: Final Report 2021 Part 2: How

Organic Desk Fountain (Sculpture) Final I want to make a Water Fountain that can sit on my desk. These systems are often battery or USB powered with a small pump to bring the water upward. I have seen these in offices acting as a calming visual and auditory element. An example of a Desktop Water…

Organic Fountain – Top 5 Specifications and Constraints

April 7, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 9: Top 5 constraints, top 5 specifications, Student Work

Top 5 Specifications and Constraints Specifications: Organic Aesthetic The first and arguably most important specification for my project is achieving the Organic Aesthetic. As seen in the figure below I believe I achieve this with my Topology Optimization output of the Fountain Head as seen below: Figure. 1 Topology Output Bottom Isometric View …

Organic Desk Fountain Design Preview

March 30, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 8: Design Preview Report, Student Work

Organic Desk Fountain Design Preview I want to make a Water Fountain that can sit on my desk. These systems are often battery or USB powered with a small pump to bring the water upward. I have seen these in offices acting as a calming visual and auditory element. An example of a Desktop Water…

Organic Desk Fountain Update

March 16, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 7: Main project aesthetics – plans and alternatives, Student Work

Organic Desk Fountain Update Since I have had my Final Project in mind for quite a while, my plans for it are generally locked in. Because of this I won’t go to far into alternatives for my project but instead will highlight the progress I have made so far. As I described in my fifth…

My Personal Aesthetic

March 10, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 6: My Personal Aesthetic 2021, Student Work

My Personal Aesthetic My Personal Aesthetic I would describe ad functional with elements of comfort and softness. A good way to think about it is being between a cube (functional) and sphere (comfortable). I attached an image below representing this concept. Figure. 1 Functional, My Aesthetic, Comfortable (Left to Right) My core aesthetic is in…

Organics Inspired Desk Water Fountain

March 3, 2021

Michael Burns

Post 5: Main project plans and inspirations

Organics Inspired Desk Water Fountain For my final project I wanted to experiment with a process I have played around with the past. This process is the Topology Optimization tool in SOLIDWORKS which maximizes the stiffness to weight ratio of a given component. Basically, Topology Optimization strategically takes away material from the part while attempting…

Patchwork Aesthetic: Japanese Gi Inspired Bomber Jacket

February 22, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 4: Upcycle Final Report, Student Work

Patchwork Aesthetic: Japanese Gi Inspired Bomber Jacket This blog post will show my final product of the upcycle project. I made a Japanese Gi Inspired Bomber Jacket following the Patchwork Aesthetic. However, before detailing the outcome of my project it is important to recap a few things that some people might not know if they…

Upcycle Progress: Japanese Gi Inspired Patchwork Jacket

February 10, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 3: Upcycle progress, Student Work

Upcycle Progress: Japanese Gi Inspired Patchwork Jacket The first step in this project was planning. I had all the scrap material laying around but needed to know exactly how I was going to cut and sew it together. To figure this out I took a crew neck long sleeved shirt that I liked the fit…

Japanese Gi Inspired Patchwork as an Upcycle Aesthetic

February 3, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 2: Upcycle Aesthetic, Student Work

Japanese Gi Inspired Patchwork as an Upcycle Aesthetic I have chosen to use the same aesthetic in my upcycle project that I wrote about during the aesthetic exploration blog post on, that being the Patchwork Aesthetic. However as to not restate what I have already covered in my earlier post I want to discuss the…

Patchwork Aesthetic Exploration

January 26, 2021

Michael Burns

2021, Post 1: Aesthetics Explorations 2021, Student Work

Patchwork Aesthetic Exploration The Patchwork Aesthetic ranges from professionally made, highbrow, works of art to strictly utilitarian pieces. Often it is a mix of both, providing something with tangible uses while still being aesthetically pleasing. At its core, the Patchwork Aesthetics relies highly on sewing which can be traced back to around 25,000 years ago.…