Design and construction of wooden school furniture for children in developing countries (Central America)

Eva Haviarova, Purdue University

Abstract

The education of children in developing countries has long been regarded as an important element of economic development. Although well-designed school furniture has been shown to contribute to the learning process, school furniture used in these countries often detracts from rather than facilitates education. Often the furniture is of low quality, has rough writing surfaces, falls apart quickly, and does not fit the children, yet it is relatively costly and consumes a disproportionate amount of limited educational budgets. The purpose of this thesis is to address school furniture problems using a multidisciplinary approach combining design, product engineering, and material engineering to create furniture that is ergonomically correct, strong and durable, low in cost, requires little maintenance, and can be made by local industries from largely residue materials. The intent of the actual research was to design, construct, and evaluate one or more types of chair and desk constructions that would satisfy the previous criteria. Two types of construction were selected, namely solid wood construction and cross-lap laminated construction. Results of the research indicate that attractive, well-designed, durable furniture can be produced from locally available woody residues, mainly plantation thinnings, using only the simplest machining and joinery processes. Production techniques may vary from those best-suited to cottage industries to those more appropriate for small factories in more developed areas. Thus, school furniture and the accompanying production processes can be matched to the level of development of essentially any targeted country. Furthermore, neither the processes nor the materials involved in the construction of the frames are inherently costly. Thus, schools should be able to obtain durable, affordable, often locally-made furniture in essentially any region of the world.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Eckelman, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Wood|Technology|Design|Interior design|Economics|School administration

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