Final

Josh Roy

Have you ever been at a park or common and just wished you had a seat? Did you ever want to carry more than just what you could fit on your back? Well, there is now a solution, called the wheel of life.

Technically, it’s not a wheel. It’s actually a dodecahedron, a regular polygon with 12 sides. It is 7.5 feet tall, and a user can stand inside it. Since it is rather large, the best mode of transportation is actually walking inside of it, and it is built for a person up to 6.5 feet tall.

Regularly, walking inside of a giant wheel made of plywood would be difficult, due to the weight of the plywood. To combat this issue, the wheel has been made of multiple “frames” of wood that reduce the weight.

The solid pieces can be used as storage or as seats. Although the quarter scale model does not have doors, the full scale version will have locking doors so that your baggage does not simply fall out. There are 4 of this units on the wheel.

The table units are aptly named, since they can be used as tables. They are exactly like the vanilla pieces, but they have a top table portion. In this model, the table cannot be detached, however, the final version’s tables will be able to be taken off. There are 2 of these units. On the quarter scale model, there are two types of tables. The first is a solid table, and the second is a table made of beams. On the final edition, both of the tables will be made of beams.

The vanilla units have a bottom and two sides. They make up half of the polygon and are used mainly for walking on. They can also be used as a place to lie down or sit in the different configurations this structure has.

When a user is ready to settle down, whether he wants to sit or lie down, one of the vertices of the polygon can actually detach, which would allow the polygon to unroll. Using these unrolled pieces, the wheel can be folded into many different structures. These include a bed, a lounge chair, and a tabled sitting area. Although the structure is relatively light, it is actually very sturdy. In full scale, multiple people would be able to sit on this structure without causing any damage.

To the nomad, this structure is useful because it is a mode of transportation, carries luggage, and allows interaction with the local community (through the use of the different configurations). For example, the polygon can unfold into a dining table.