Vested Interest

To design her sofa, Emily Xu, a 2002 TP graduate (Diploma in Product & Industrial Design), needed to find sponge.

Not any kind of sponge, mind you. She explained. "I have to look for a sponge of the right density. I also took a long time deciding on the material."

"Verstyl" , a sofa designed by Emily

The hectic hunt was worth it. Emily emerged champion in the students' category of the annual furniture design competition (FDC). 

Organised by Singapore Furniture Industrial Centre, the competition in 2002 saw an array of innovative creations based on the theme "limitless possibilities". Entrants were encouraged to put up design items challenging the conventional.

Her competitive piece, "Verstyl", a sofa pieced together in a modular structure, had parts that could be re-assembled creatively depending on the needs of the users.

She said, "The name is derived from the word 'Versatile', meaning flexible. I wanted my furniture to be flexible, modular to suit the different postures and positions of the user." (see video clip )

	Tommy Loh, the lecturer who worked with Emily during the entire duration of the project, was full of praise for his ingenious student. He enthused, "The work was thorough. Emily took into account the ease of manufacturing when she decided to incorporate the use of high-density foam with low-density foam. She has done away with the conventional fixed structure with the modular concept." The beautiful piece was the result of two months of intensive work. At one stage, she had used PVC for the prototype covering, but to her dismay, the modular pieces came off easily. Later, she changed this to friction-laden material. Emily was taken aback by the win as she had work on it as part of a project requirement. "I did not expect to win. I just took it as an experience… it's a pleasant surprise. I think I was just lucky as the theme was 'limitless possibilities', so we were free to do what we wanted." she said modestly.
An overview
A close-up of the "Verstyl"

*Pictures courtesy of Emily and her lecturer, Tommy Loh; video clip produced by TP Library.