Another Man's Treasure

Overview:

One of the key objectives of ‘Another Man’s Treasure’ was to design a sustainable and environmentally friendly product with a focus on a circular economy. In comparison to the popular steel A-frame airers we see far too regularly, my design is aimed to utilise waste from the construction industry and reduce the amount of material going to landfill.

Excess Garapa Decking Timber, which has earned a 100% FSC certification for sustainable forest management, salvaged from construction sites constitutes 99% of the design. This species of timber is extremely resilient, hardwearing and resistant from moisture making it the ideal material for a clothes airer. The remaining materials, stainless steel hardware and polyurethane finish were sought after not only for their aesthetic properties but for how they can contribute to the longevity and prolong the life of the clothes airer. The high-quality materials and components in a strong and durable design enable the prototype to outlast multiple steel clothes airers and inflict a much lower environmental impact and embodied energy by the end of its life cycle.

‘Another Man’s Treasure’ is designed to see generations of use and be passed down as an heirloom, though overly engineered to be very durable and robust, if a component breaks for any reason this will not become the end of its life. Designed with circular economy in mind, the frames can be easily removed with only 2 bolts and either replaced by a supplier/ manufacturer or repaired by a local woodworker/ keen DIY enthusiast, recirculating it back into the linear design path with the smallest environmental impact possible. The distinction in function I strive for in my design compared to traditional clothes airers isn’t concerned with how it performs while in use, but how it functions while not. Most clothes airers have been designed to be purely functional with the assumption of temporary use. In any living situation I have experienced, leaving an empty A-frame airer set up or out in plain sight becomes a visual hindrance to the space it consumes.

The idea behind the functionality of ‘Another Man’s Treasure’ is that if you have the space, you’ll leave it set up, on exhibition, ready for the next use. If you’re limited on space or only drying a small load of laundry then fold all the arms and legs up on one side and use the other side and central frame for drying, effectively maintaining 2/3 of the hanging bars while consuming just over half the floor area. If you are very tight on space then all arms and legs can be folded up and the packed-up air drier can be put aside, but under no circumstances should you feel the necessity to keep it out of sight as it provides a beautiful addition to a room in any configuration.