HEXIX

HEXIX, 2017

HEXIX is a custom-made furniture piece based on the theme ‘inside outside’, designed and made by Erin Marsh, Jessica Sellinger, Maddeline Grisdale, Natalie Hogan and Kevin Nguyen. The design focuses on geometric shapes, precision, repetition, tessellation and exposing the plywood grain, or the “inside”, to evoke the inside outside theme and achieve a sense of illusion using lines and positive and negative space.  

A multi-functional design, HEXIX can adapt to suit many modes of seating such as side on, reclined or perched, and the semi-enclosed hexagonal forms create resting and storage spaces for objects. The key design element of this piece is the sliding mechanism, which is concealed within the ply and is made up of a steel rod and grooves. It lengthens the seating area on one side, providing a place to recline casually.

Ergonomics were heavily explored with this piece to ensure a comfortable and universal design was achieved. Through models, initial prototypes and testing it was found that to ensure correct ergonomics, the hexagons could not be equilateral. The form seen today was decided upon, and the corners rounded for added comfort. 

Overall, HEXIX is a functional, playful and intriguing piece of furniture, designed with the user in mind and adaptable to any setting it is placed in. It makes a hero out of a common material and utilises the plywood grain as one of the main design features, it is adaptable to a range of settings and uses marine-grade ply so can be used externally as well as internally.

Image: HEXIX, 2017, plywood. Photo: courtesy of the artist.