Design Process: Material exploration for Sinks

     We have decided to go ahead with the Carousel stove and in order to decide what materials it should be made of, I did a quick research on what materials are used to make sinks today:

(http://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/14443113/list/kitchen-faqs-selecting-your-sink-material)

1. Stainless Steel

- Most popular

- Cheapest ($100 onwards)

- Easy to maintain

- Only problem is that it is noisy

2. Composite Granite

- No scratch or water marks

- Can crack if mishandled

- Price Range $300 to $600

3. Fire Clay

- High resistance to stains, cracks and chips

- Easy to clean

- $400 to $1000

4. Cast Iron

- Very durable

- But also very heavy

- $300 to $900

5. Quartz

- Scratches show easily

- $800 to $1200

     Personally, I favour Stainless Steel and Composite Granite as they are more value for money. It is important that our final product is as affordable as possible. Howver, Composite Granite has a weakness of cracking, hence I went to find variations of Composite Granite. 

BLANCO SILGRANIT® Sinks

     Blanco is a German company specialising in sinks. They are highly durable and much more easier to maintain compared to other variations of Composite Granite sinks. Furthermore, they come in a variety of colours which the company claims that it is "non-fading". This is actually a good feature because as mentioned before in my previous post, the Elderly do favour good designs hence this feature will encourage them to use the Carousel Stove. This will be a good materials for the "countertop" part of the Carousel Stove as we cannot use the same Stainless Steel we plan to use for the sink due to the presence of induction cooktops.

Design Process: Design Solutions

     We started off with 4 different possible solutions to our problem.

     Eventually, we chose to focus on the Carousel Stove as we felt that it will most aid the Elderly to cook for themselves. Moreover, the Stove and the Sink are both of the most used appliance in the kitchen. Hence, the Carousel stove will be a combination of both.

Design Process: Interviews Part 2

     We have interviewed Sally Benjamin from ComfortKeepers® and she had very patiently listened and responded to our questions. Her insights really benefited us as we are now able to understand the problems the Elderly are facing. She mentioned that the problems we must be able to solve are that things should be at eye level for them and that they will be able to reach it easily. We also noted that the Elderly have their own comfort zone that they are reluctant to leave, hence it would be good if our product is easy to use. It is also important that the Elderly would be able to still cook for themselves so that they would not lose even the simplest act of independence. One thing which I found surprising was that the Elderly actually do favour pretty designs. Sally herself had shown us her custom-made walking stick and she commented that the floral design on it is very appealing. Furthermore, Sally had shared with us about her experiences and the products she had seen during her time in the USA which further widened our horizons.

Design Process: Interviews Part 1

     We have started doing Chapter 2 of the proposal and my group and I have chosen to interview experts who are knowledgeable about our topic, mainly: the Kitchen and the Elderly. After finding ways to get in contact with relevant experts, two of them replied to us:

1) Sally Benjamin from Comfort Keepers. Comfort Keepers is a company who is "dedicated to providing in-home care to senior citizens and others who need help with activities of daily living" and their goal is to "allow people to stay in their own homes rather than seeking other care alternatives". We have arranged an interview session with her next week.

2) Dr Jeffrey Rosenfeld, an Environmental Gerontologist who looks at the interplay of aging, architecture, and other design fields. We found out about him through one of the books we browsed for the Bibliography assignment, "Unassisted Living: Ageless Homes for Later Life". He has expressed interest in sharing his opinions with us, but could only respond to us after 25th March as he is currently on holiday. 

We will be asking them these questions: 

1. What are the most common problems do you personally think (or might have encountered) the elderly face in the kitchen?
2. What do you think are the causes for these problems?
3. What changes do you wish were made to the kitchen?
4. Do you have any kitchen products or changes in the layout that have been made in the market thus far that you like / feel that there is potential?
5. What are the qualities that you think they should have? (be it layout or a product) eg. Compact, easy to use, water resistant, etc.

6. If it is a product, what is/are the ideal material(s) to be used?