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#NTUDEGREESHOW Spotlight: Matthew Brunt

This week's Spotlight piece features BSc (Hons) Product Design student Matthew Brunt

Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019
Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019

In the run-up to the Art and Design Degree Show, we will be sharing a series of student projects from across the 26 participating courses through #NTUDEGREESHOW Spotlights.

Quake-Safe

On the 28th September 2018, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Indonesian city of Palu, killing an estimated 4,340 people. The poorest in the region were affected the most with large swathes of housing destroyed with the resulting destruction displacing 211,000 people. Poor construction methods and implementation were the root cause of much of the destruction, with very few of the structures built in the area designed to have any resilience against earthquakes.

Quake-Safe was designed to combat this. Located at the base of walls on rebuilt structures, Quake-Safe displaces the seismic vibrations from the earthquake reducing the strain on the structure and reducing the likability of collapse. Quake-Safe is designed to be used on structures rebuilt after earthquakes, and aligns itself with recovery buildings constructed by governments and NGO’s. Quake-Safe will improve the resilience of these structures whilst using sustainable materials sourced from the local area.

Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019
Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019

Homes are a vital part of anyone’s life. Un-protected homes not only endangers those living within them, but their destruction damages the history and culture of the area.

Made from materials easily sourced in Indonesia, Quake-Safe compliments the building traditions and cultures of the area, respecting the user’s desires to have their own bespoke home. Rubber is used as the dampener membrane to dissipate the seismic vibrations generated from the earthquake, as Indonesia is the second largest global producer amount of rubber.

Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019
Matthew Brunt, Quake Safe, BSc (Hons) Product Design, 2019

Quake-Safe not only protects the user’s livelihoods, home and loved ones, but also does it in a way that does not encroach on thousands of years of building tradition.

Initial ideas looked at multiple ways of reducing the risk of collapse. Inspiration was taken from the skyscrapers and hospitals of New Zealand and Japan which use high tech damping technology to reduce vibrations felt by buildings during earthquakes.

These initial ideas focused on taking this technology and simplifying it for use on a small scale. These ideas looked at redesigning flooring, foundations and wall components of a structure looking at how they could be designed to utilise different methods or materials.

Matthew Brunt

Find out more about the BSc (Hons) Product Design Degree Show here.

Published on 27 May 2019
  • Subject area: Architecture and civil engineering
  • Category: Current students; School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment