Exploratory Design, Augmented Furniture?

This chapter explores the poetics of everyday objects, and their abilities to elicit meaningful interactions. Our focus is on a special kind of everyday objects: a chosen set of “augmented” chairs and tables, especially designed to gently disrupt usually associated emotional/social responses, and to shake habitual ways in which people interact with – and through – furniture. We address the physical, relational, and cultural qualities of these objects in terms of the objects’ “presence” and “personality”, and we discuss their abilities to engender amusing incongruities. We conclude by speculating on the need of using exploratory, non-mainstream design methods as a means to understanding and thinking through innovations in human-computer interaction. Several cases of augmented furniture will be presented to illustrate the raised points: i) therapeutic furniture (Robotic Massage Chair and Squeeze Chair) and ii) furniture that mediates human transactions and aides self-reflection (Conversation Table, Stealing Table and Table Childhood).