Eating lunch at NuVu can be hard because of the lack of space. We created a table that expands to accommodate more people with storage hidden throughout. It’s storage takes advantage of all the space and can be folded up to take up less space.

The overall theme of our project was lunch space and how to make the space for eating less cramped. The problem we were faced with was that here at NuVu there is a lack of designated space for eating lunch. The solution we came up with was to create a table that can be stored in a small amount of space, but then can be unfolded to accommodate for more people eating at the table. We originally got our inspiration from the unfolding sewing box mechanism that can fold and unfold so that you can access multiple compartments. We ran into lots of problems along the project with sizing of the table and the mechanics. We had to redesign to fix these issues and move along the project.

We went through many iterations to get to our final product. We started by looking at a sewing box mechanism and how it can swing out. The issue with this design is it folds out in different levels. We took this as inspiration and created something that would work the same way but would fold out flat. We made 4 boxes stacked in sets of two. When folded in they would be compact and small and then fold out into a bigger table, allowing more people to sit. You would also be able to store plates, forks, cups, or anything else in the table which had 5 inches height for storage. The issue with this is the table was too thick when folded in so no one could fit their legs under it. Our solution was to make the tables less thick and add storage space in the middle. The tables became 3 inches thick and we added draws in the middle.