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Flexible and Modular Furniture Design for Changing Living Environments

Conference Paper · September 2019

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 FLEXIBLE AND MODULAR FURNITURE DESIGN
FOR CHANGING LIVING ENVIRONMENTS

S.Banu GARİP1, Nilüfer SAGLAR ONAY2, Ervin GARİP1, Orkan GÜZELCİ3

1
ITU, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture, Istanbul / Turkey
2
Politecnico di Torino, Department of Architecture and Design, Turin / Italy
3
Istanbul Kultur University, Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design, Istanbul,
Turkey

Key words Abstract

Design Model, This paper aims to present the modular and flexible furniture solutions
Mass Customization, created through the research project “Re-Coding Homes”. Re-Coding
Modularity, Homes is based on creating interior design proposals by generating
Flexibility, numerous furniture layouts with components especially designed to
come together in different ways and configurations for standardized
Multi-functionality,
mass housing interiors. The design model of Re-coding Homes is an
Multi-parameter Layout. attempt to shape living environments in relation to the needs of
different types of users living in a specific place. Therefore in this
research the concept of Mass Customization is handled in the scale of
an all-inclusive living environment that change with their everyday life
and activities requiring different interior layouts.

Corresponding author: Garip S.B., [email protected]

1. INTRODUCTION
Quality of life in living environments is greatly affected by furniture. Furniture supports all
necessary activities taking place in our homes that are repeatedly subject to changes. On the
other hand, the use of appropriate furniture, their relation to each other and to the existing
architectural building envelope is an issue to be discussed.

Aim of the study is to create alternative flexible solutions for mass housing units’ interior
spaces and to examine the issue with an interdisciplinary approach including interior
architects, architects, and industrial designers. The research project Re-Coding Homes
develops an automated design model that generates home environments according to
parameters defined by user needs. All the interior components are part of the same modular
system that allows different configurations at different alternatives. The definition of a three-
dimensional grid creates the relation between the modules and the surrounding architectural
shell maximizing effective use of space. The most significant contribution of the designers to
the design model is the constitution of an expert system in relation to the raw data collected
from the users and their living environment within the case study site. The designers define a
hierarchical order between all gathered data and formulate multiple fitness functions to
generate spatial variations by means of multi-parameter layout design. The spatial variations
embrace different interior furniture modules answering to different activity sets concerning
the basic activities that take place in living units. Furniture solutions are an indispensible part
of the design model as they complete the idea of spatial flexibility by allowing numerous

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configurations that support different activities. Project team worked on detailing the interior
modules by conducting a hands-on study with continuous feedback from modelling and
prototyping studies. In order to maintain the continuity between the phases of design,
production, evaluation, redesign and reproduction, all studies were conducted in the ITU
Model Lab. During prototyping, the final interior design variations generated by the expert
system began to be elaborated by the design team's interpretations and transformed into final
products.

Modularity and modular systems in interior spaces have been applied in different types of
spaces for flexibility, effective use of furniture and ease of production-application processes.
Ericsson and Erixon (1999) define the modular design approach as creating a diversified
product group that is shaped with a strategic and flexible understanding. In this case, new
products can be developed to meet the changing needs and these solutions can be integrated
into the system without disrupting the whole. A well thought-out modular system will reduce
the negative effects of changing needs, increase flexibility and facilitate the management of
the case (Ericsson and Erixon, 1999). According to Wu et al. (2007), modular design allows
multiple different products to come together in different combinations within the framework
of repetitive forms and hierarchical relationships. Thus, modularity can be considered as a
tool that increases flexibility and the potential to respond to changes within living
environments. Baldwin and Clark (2000) note that, a modular system is open and flexible, in
this sense, modularity can meet various needs by changing the necessary parts of the system
without changing the whole system. Modularity also aims to increase efficiency or use value
by reducing complexity. The structure plays a key role in managing complexity, in this
manner, it can be said that modular design is an approach that supports flexibility on product
basis. Within the scope of the study that is presented, the use of modular design principles in
creating a design model has been effective in terms of obtaining product diversity that meets
different uses and preventing complexity while creating various spatial combinations.

Customized interior design, which is the subject of the study, is a complex and multi-criteria
design problem. Multicriteria design problems run parallel processes and traditional design
methods fail to solve such design problems. Today, computational generative design
approaches have been used specifically for solving multi criteria design problems. Generative
systems, with their dynamic processes and outputs, offer a new perspective on both
conceptualizing design processes and working on the optimization designs. In this study, by
means of Genetic Algorithms, an expert system that provides interior design alternatives
according to different user types and uses has been developed. Genetic Algorithms has been
used in many fields such as optimization of designs, spatial layout arrangement and searching
architectural forms within the literature (Gu et.al, 2010). Genetic Algorithms basically act
with the logic of producing and testing, in other words, the design is synthesized and
evaluated (Rosenman, 1997).

2. METHODOLOGY
The main strength and originality of the research project Re-coding Homes is the use of an
expert system in order to obtain the required flexibility in interiors. This expert system
generates spatial configurations by the help of the design parameters defined by the design
team. These parameters are mainly variables that differentiate the solutions according to the
specific requirements of users related to the case study site. The main parameters are
determined (Table1) and categorized as “People”, “Actions”, “Furnishings” and “Spaces”.

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“People” represent the specific user, which gets involved in the design process by making his
choices. “Actions” refers to the possible activities and behaviours of users. “Furnishings”
represent the interior components to be placed in interiors and “Spaces” represent the existing
environment for which the solutions are created. The expert system generates variations by
placing “Furnishings” in “Spaces” considering the input about “People” and “Actions” related
to every single space that is three dimensionally defined inside the system.

Table 1. Main Parameters That Are Considered As Inputs for The Design Model and Their
Influences
Data from field studies The fields that are affected
that can affect the design process by the specified data
Number of beds, single - double bed, arrangement of eating table,
Number of family members
size of sitting area, size of storage, number of toilets
Need for extra bed, configuration of eating table, bed storage,
Presence of guests
arrangement of sitting area
Sleeping, sitting, eating, breakfast, accepting guests, playing,
Activity space relationship
cooking, working
Main problems /complaints Dark rooms, insufficient storage, small kitchen and toilet.
Colors and patterns Furniture design
Socio-economic situation Decision of materials and techniques

The expert system worked with Genetic Algorithms which means designs were worked to be
evolved within computer environment according to meet the fitness functions determined by
the design team (Figure 1). These fitness functions defined the relationship between
Furnishings and interior envelopes of Spaces in order to avoid meaningless and inappropriate
solutions. In this way users could make their decisions in terms of the features of their family
and their specific needs. On the other hand, designers decided on the rules of design by
considering the data from field research while the computer processed all these raw data to
generate successful design alternatives. The expert system also provided the connection
between the design model and the user interface that presented the solutions to users
according to the answers they give to the online questionnaire. The main objective of the web
interface is to provide the user with various interior layout alternatives and modular furniture
that meet their needs. The interface, which includes representation and information on the
different variations offered by the design model, is considered to be a factor that will
significantly increase the applicability of the project. It aims to present all the outputs of the
design phase in a manner that the user will be able to comprehend.

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Figure 1. A matrix created by selecting three alternatives from the designs evolving 5,100,
200 and 300 times respectively for one of the rooms (Saglar Onay et al., 2017)

As furnishings were input for the expert system they were represented as raw geometries in
order to facilitate the production of variations in the computer environment. In the next stages
of the study, they are considered as furniture to be detailed together with considering their
material and details. The design process mainly dealt with this step by taking feedback from
the expert system. During the first establishment of the expert system, numerous trials were
made in order to define fitness functions that guide the genetic algorithms to generate
alternatives. Evaluating this feedback from the system, main furniture design principles were
determined. These principles were:

All components need to be modular or they need to fit in a modular grid. In terms of
modular coordination, 60x60 and 30x30 cm modules are considered to be used in the
plan layout, and a 30 cm grid to be dominant within anthropometric requirements in
the sectional layout.
In the plan layout, living and storage areas are differentiated. While areas close to
windows with more natural light were reserved for multipurpose living spaces, areas
with longer and continuous walls far from windows were reserved for storage
(Figure2).
In rooms where more flexibility is needed, the modules need to be multifunctional
fulfilling all of the main activities that take place in the room. For example, the living
area within the living room was organized to accommodate activities such as sitting,
eating, entertaining (neighbours and overnight guests), chatting, watching TV etc.
Therefore the modules that meet these activities were considered within a setup that
could be used in different forms depending on the increase in the number of users.

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Similarly, the modules that meet the main activities in bedrooms such as sleeping,
resting, sitting, playing, watching TV, hosting overnight guest were setup so as to
meet different needs by being brought together in different ways by the users
themselves when needed. Figure 2 shows the decisions about fixed and mobile
modules. Mobile module zones are identified with dashed line while fixed modules are
shown with continuous line. Grey modules represent the storage zones that can be
higher when needed.
Especially fixed modules will be attached to walls in order to leave the central areas as
flexible as possible for changing needs and furniture layouts created with mobile
modules.
All the design principles listed above are defined to the expert system as design constrains in
order to create rational solution sets. Other than these, many other rules are defined in order to
place furnishings in rooms. The genetic algorithm is launched with these rules or fitness
functions to create design alternatives by simultaneously considering each fitness function
during the installation of furnishings.

Figure 2. The modular layout showing mobile and fixed module zones and decisions about
their height (Saglar Onay, Garip, Garip, 2019).

3. DESIGN PROCESS
All modules and furniture are detailed in a parallel process to expert system studies. They all
fit in the 3D grid of 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm. The furnishings, which were represented in
simple cubic geometry in the previous stage, meet the actual space in real furnishings. All the
modules except some of the modules forming the kitchen counter can come together in

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different configurations. Movable modules are handled in 2 main groups. The first group rests
on the floor and they are raised from the pavement 12 centimeters with metal legs. The second
group is made up of modules that can be placed on modules that rest on the floor. These
modules can be secured on other modules by the help of metal frames that fit in grooves cut in
wooden plates forming the modules. The frames prevent the modules from sliding over each
other and they can be easily assembled and dismantled by users themselves. In this way users
can change the places and configurations of modules according to the activities that will take
place in their living environments.

The modular units can be grouped in categories according to the activity sets they are
designed for. In this sense the modules can be grouped as follows:

Multifunctional seating modules

Multifunctional storage modules (19 modules)
Multifunctional divisible bed/seating modules (3 modules)
Chair and taboret solutions
Extendable table modules

Figure 3 shows the list of modular furniture solutions developed for each space and activity.
Flexibility in each space where multi-use is needed has been discussed within both the general
layout and the modular-furniture scales. The layout and furnishings vary according to the
family types, and the alternatives gathered from the evolved designs of the expert system have
become a basis in this sense. For spaces that require more flexibility, the use of
multifunctional solutions was indispensable. For example for the living room the sitting units
were designed to be used as pouf, coffee table, sofa and bed by only changing the places and
configurations of modules and their components. Correspondingly, for the bedrooms a
multifunctional divisible bed system that could also be used as sofa for sitting was developed.
The same bed modules could be also adjusted as bunk bed in case of increasing users.

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Figure3. List of modular furniture solutions developed for each space and activity (Saglar
Onay, Garip, Garip, 2019).

MULTIFUNCTIONAL SEATING MODULES

The seating module is designed to be adjusted to different uses as it is intended to be used
mostly in the living room where different activities need to be fulfilled. The module fits the
first horizontal grid level of 30 centimeters in terms of modular coordination and it is raised
from the floor with metal frame legs. The front and the backsides of the seating module are
left open in order to place the seating cushion and use the body of the module as a coffee
table.

Seating modules can be arranged in different combinations by the help of metal frames with
dimensions of 46 cm x10 cm x 2.4 cm. These frames are designed to combine modules in
order to maintain sitting and sleeping surfaces according the number of users. These surfaces
can be both situated beside the walls or in the middle of the living room. As the place and
configuration of seating modules can be interpreted in many different ways they are designed
to be as light as possible by emptying unnecessary parts like the back, front and partially the
bottom plate surfaces. Likely the connections of modules are maintained by light metal
frames that fit into narrow grooves on wooden plate surfaces. In this way modules can be
simply fastened to each other and the layout of the living room can be rearranged in minutes
by the users themselves.

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MULTIFUNCTIONAL STORAGE MODULES

Storage modules are the modules that require more variety because of the differentiation in
storage needs and the dimensional differences between various storage areas within home
interiors. All modules fit in the 3D modular grid. Among 19 different types of storage
modules, 9 can be directly placed on the floor, 3 can be placed on other modules and 6 can be
hang to the rails on the walls. Modules resting on the floor are differentiated as chiffonier,
shoe cupboard, coffee table, drawer filling cabinet, rug cabinet and show cabinet. These
modules are all raised from the floor with metal frames and modules that have the same
height can be fastened to each other with horizontal metal frames. Modules that can be placed
over other modules are single drawer module, box module with transparent front and opaque
front. These modules are smaller and lighter in order to allow users to change their
configurations according to their changing storage needs. They are all fastened to each other
by the help of a single metal frame that fits in the grooves carved on the top plates of
modules. This simple connection principle makes it possible to make short-term changes
regarding the configuration of storage modules. The grooves carved on the modules also
create a geometric pattern and underline the modular structure of the system.

Modules that can be hung on the walls are especially designed for small balconies that are
used for many different activities such as planting, drying clothes, storage etc. These solutions
are very important in order to maintain the required flexibility for balconies, which are
evaluated as one of the most precious parts of homes by most of the users in mass housing
units. In this sense the modules are designed to be hung on wooden rails that can be fixed on
the walls according to the modular grid. Hangable modules are differentiated as laundry
module, storage module (with transparent cover) and plant module. While these units are
resolved on wall surfaces, it becomes possible to use balconies for other purposes like sitting,
eating, working etc. If needed these modules can also be used on interior walls. Moreover
additional table modules and taburets that are also designed to be used in small spaces like
balconies, can be hung on the same rail system.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL BED/SEATING MODULES

3 different types of bed configurations are developed by using only 2 different modules and a
steel structure. This steel structure serves to obtain an upper bed level in order to maintain
spatial flexibility and increase effective space in rooms. The single and double beds are
formed by the combination of narrow and wide bed modules using metal frames. Bunk beds
are obtained by the combination of one narrow, one wide bed module fastened to the steel
structure, which holds the modules at the level of 180 cm in the modular grid. The standard
wide bed modules are designed to embrace three wide and one narrow drawers that can be
used to store clothes, bedding, quilt cover etc.

The main concept of bed modules is developed to fulfil two activities with changing needs. In
this sense the combination of one narrow and one wide module simply forms a platform of
90x210 cm raised 30 centimeters from the ground. This platform becomes a bed by placing a
mattress of 15 centimeters with 32 density over it. The same modules can be used as a sofa
and a coffee table when separated from each other. The mattress part remaining on the narrow
module can be detached from the part remaining on the wide module and it can be placed
inside the narrow module. In this case the narrow module becomes a coffee table beside the
sofa module. In the same way the double bed can be transformed into two sofas and one
coffee table when needed. These two different principles of combination simply allow using

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the same room both for sitting and sleeping. Especially in the context of Istanbul and mass
housing units, users usually need two rooms to sit for men and for women/kids.

The bunk bed also allows the room to be used for many other purposes by emptying the floor
level. The space under the raised bed platform can be used to place another single bed, storage
units, a working table, a sofa or can be simply left empty like playground etc. The metal
structure holding the bed modules serves as both ladder and as rails to hang small storage
modules.

TABLE MODULES
Table modules are differentiated according to their purpose. Those that are designed to be
used for eating, counter etc. are intended to be extendable. Regarding the solution used in the
living room, the metal structure holding the middle part of the table can be extended to hold
additional table plates of 60x60 cm from both sides. These additional table plates can be hung
on the wooden rails on the wall surfaces. On the other hand the balcony solution is designed
to be extended by adding 30x30 cm table plates to a plate of 90x20 cm fixed on the wall.
Again these additional table plates can be hung on wooden rails. The table and taboret
solutions are also developed to support the flexible use of space and they can all be folded and
hung on rails.

The integrated working table, TV unit and storage module is designed to be used in rooms.
There are two types of working tables, which differ in depth. The narrow one of 30
centimeters is intended to be used in smaller rooms especially for children. The wide one of
60 centimeters is developed for the master bedroom.

MODEL AND PROTOTYPE STUDIES

The 1/10 model of the whole apartment unit was an important tool during the design process
(Figure 4). The main purpose of physical model was to discuss the concept of modularity in a
holistic way regarding the interiors. The walls were made of transparent plexiglass and the
modular grid was engraved on plexiglass surfaces in order to discuss the relations between
modules and interior envelopes. Led strips were fixed within the walls to underline the
modular grid. The model was also intended to be used in order to discuss the results of the
study and exhibit the solutions.

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Figure 4. 1/10 model of the whole apartment unit in TOKI Basibuyuk Housing (Saglar Onay,
Garip, Garip, 2019).

Physical modelling studies also aimed to create a design language that embraces all of the
modular solutions (Figure 5). The modular grid, material, connection frames, grooves carved
on wooden surfaces were evaluated as factors that help to maintain the common design
language. All storage modules were designed to be raised from the floor with the same metal
legs and they were all designed to be connected with the same metal frames. All the modules
were developed to fit in the modular grid. This principle was vital to maintain maximum
flexibility allowing the combination of different modules. Figure 6 shows a detailed example
showing different configurations of seating modules.

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Proceedings of the 29th International Conference Research for Furniture Industry
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Figure 5. Common design language of modular furniture solutions and 1/10 models (Saglar
Onay, Garip, Garip, 2019).

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Proceedings of the 29th International Conference Research for Furniture Industry
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Figure 6. Example showing different configurations of the seating modules (TUBITAK

Project Report, 2018)

The prototype studies mostly focused on material decisions and connection details. As the
modules are intended to be assembled by the users themselves, materials needed to be as light
as possible. In this sense birch plywood was chosen as an appropriate material as it is light
and it can be used without additional surface treatment. MDF was chosen as an alternative
material in order to reduce costs and create more economic solutions. The dovetail joint was
used for the connection of MDF/ plywood plates (Figure 7).

Figure 7. Examples from prototype studies. (TUBITAK Project Report, 2018).

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Proceedings of the 29th International Conference Research for Furniture Industry
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Figure 8. The horizontal and vertical combination of storage modules (TUBITAK Project
Report, 2018).

The connection of modules was realized by the help of metal frames (Figure 8). These frames
were maintained with empty box profiles of 12x24 mm. In this way, prototypes were
envisioned to be lighter. The frames were used for different purposes such as: connecting
modules, preventing modules from sliding over each other, raising modules from the ground.

In this sense, none of the modules are directly placed on the floor. They are all raised 12
centimeters from the floor by the help of frames. This principle was regarded as a decision
that allows easy cleaning and sterile living environment. The frames used to raise modules
completely fit in the grooves on wood plates. The reason for this is to connect modules
without leaving any gap in between and to maintain continuous horizontal surfaces. On the
other hand, frames used for horizontal connection of modules are interlocked only until the
half of their thickness. In this way the same frame serve to connect not only adjacent modules
but also the modules that are placed above them. So, one horizontal frame can connect 4
modules at the same time.

4. CONCLUSIONS
The design model of Re-coding Homes is an attempt to shape living environments in relation
to the needs of specific users living in a specific place. Therefore, information from the
existing architectural envelope and users is the most important input for the model. On the
other hand, the most significant contribution of the designers is the constitution of the expert
system in relation to this raw data. The designers define a hierarchical order between all this
data and formulate the fitness functions that will guide the computer to generate spatial
variations. Furniture solutions are an indispensible part of the design model as they complete
the idea of spatial flexibility by allowing numerous configurations that support different

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activities. In this sense the model does not have applicability without the understanding of
configurable modules.

The modular interior components designed for the project Re-coding Homes represent a
product family that can come together in many different ways as a result of the modular and
flexible design approach. This approach creates variety both for the spatial variations
generated by the expert system and temporary changes made by the users themselves. In this
sense, the spatial variations are not limited with the ones created by the expert system and
presented by the user interface. The multi-functionality of modules allows many other
temporary variations. Therefore, in this research, the concept of Mass customization is
handled in the scale of an all-inclusive living environment that changes with their everyday
life and activities requiring different interior layouts. Thus, living environments live together
with inhabitants.

Acknowledgment
The research project discussed in this study “A User-Centered Model Research Towards a
Flexible Interior Spatial Design for Mass Housing Units: Urban Renewal Housing” was
supported by TUBITAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)
[grant number 114K279] and ITU BAP (Istanbul Technical University, Department of
Scientific Research Projects) [grant number 39069].

References
Baldwin, C.Y. & Clark, K. (2000): Design Rules: The Power of Modularity. Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
Ericsson, A., Erixon, G. (1999): Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms,
ASME Prss, USA.
Gu, N., Singh, V., Merrick, K. (2010): A Framework to Integrate Generative Design
Techniques for Enhancing Design Automation, (pp. 127-136). CAADRiA 2010.
Rosenman, M.A. (1997): An Exploration Into Evolutionary Models For Nonroutine Design.
Artificial Intelligence in Engineering, 11(3), (pp.287-293).
Saglar Onay N., Garip S.B., Garip E. (2019): Re-Coding Homes Through Flexible Interiors:
Emerging Research and Opportunities. IGI Global Publisher, Hersley PA.
Sağlar Onay, N., Garip, E., Garip, S.B., (2017): A Flexible User Centered Design Model for
Social Housing Units, Tafter Journal, Vol. 97, 11/2017, ISSN: 1974-563X.
TUBITAK Project Report (2018): A User-Centered Model Research Towards a Flexible
Interior Spatial Design for Mass Housing Units: Urban Renewal Housing.
Wu, Z., Rizk, R., Fauroux, J.C., Gogu, G. (2007): Advances in Integrated Design and
Manufacturing in Mechanical Engineering II, Dortrecht: Springer Publisher.

Corresponding author:
S. B. Garip
ITU, Faculty of Architecture, Department of Interior Architecture, Istanbul / Turkey
[email protected]

© Author(s) 2019. This article is published under Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
license.

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