Team: Isabel Pittman, Keli Tokunaga, Aspen Anderson, Alissa Chavalithumrong, Jennifer Noud, Rachel Slezak
Bed frames are bulky, expensive, made of environmentally hostile materials, and typically do not accommodate varying sizes of bed. A cardboard bed frame can solve these issues, while inviting individuals to rethink how and what products are constructed of, developing both curiosity and a green perspective.
The cardboard bed frame must be easy to assemble, lightweight, and able to transform into a smaller and packable design for easy transportation. Cardboard is fully recyclable, biodegradable, and predominantly made from recycled materials, making it an affordable and readily available material option. New areas of marketing have started to go deeper in sustainable products. Green marketing is one of them: it defines segments inclined to consume a product like cardboard furniture. The modularity and customizability of cardboard structures can allow for flexible mattress sizing options.
To meet the standards of current bed frame designs, the cardboard design must be sturdy enough to support the same or greater amount of weight. In order to meet this criteria, creative and innovative design must be used. Due to the inherent properties of cardboard, such as foldability, rigidity and impact resistance, it can also lend itself to the creation of a strong, ventilated and insulated bed frame.
Our solution is to create a lightweight, affordable, eco-friendly and biodegradable bed frame that has the ability to grow or change with the user and is locally available to the U.S. market.
ME-04 Lighting Talk