Archeology of Futures

This Future:

Industry, as an institution, had become unsustainable. New, shiny, advancing technology became so out of reach for the vast working majority, there formed a call for the return to nature. It flipped the way everyday culture functioned.

But, a lapse in education on pastoral ways, and the already injured environment led to mass scarcity. Drought and famine combined with rising temperatures created a new rendition of the dust bowl for the working class. This cyclical nature of restriction and overworking pushes design in a direction similar to an economical past by repurposing and reconfiguring the outdated technologies into simple survival items.

I wanted the form of the furnace to feel old school and cobbled together. Therefore the corners of the box are warped, the legs are at odd angles, and there is no symmetry to the construction.

With a collapse of most industries, the burden of survival would fall into each person’s hands. Everyday people now could no longer rely on transportation of manufacturing, and thus would have to become extra resourceful.

Things like cars, now with no access to fuel, become obsolete and are thus used for scrap. Things like furnaces become more in demand due to their multifunctional abilities. So what better use for an abandoned car, than to become a furnace.

Design Result:

The car window takes its new purpose as a viewable door to the front of the furnace. The tail pipe and muffler now become the furnace’s vents. Even the metal door handles become impromptu legs for the construction.

The shape in neither beautiful not masterfully constructed, as it is cobbled together by the person that will use it. There is no stylized manufacturing process here, just an attempt to repurpose and move forward.