i + D - May/June 2020 - 18

Materials
Protective Equipment

3.

ALL IN
1.

In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, design professionals
and product manufacturers pivoted their daily businesses
to contribute as they knew best: by creating solutions.
While the government debated enacting wartime
measures to direct plants to produce necessary items,
many in the design world already were at work, needing
no further prompting than the desire to be helpful in
the unprecedented circumstances. Textile companies
donated yards upon yards of fabric and began sewing
masks; architects and designers developed new protective
face shields for everyone from front-line workers to
foodservice employees; product designers created
safety barriers to be used in hospitals, pharmacies,
supermarkets, and more; and the list goes on and on.
The efforts of the design community during the pandemic
could fill volumes. Here, i+D shares some of the inspiring
results we witnessed along the way.

4.

5.

-Jennifer Quail
2.

1. EVENTSCAPE. With its team of engineers, craftspeople, designers,
and fabricators, Eventscape donated face shield kits (a box that includes
the necessary pieces to fabricate 100 face shields that can be assembled
in minutes onsite) as well aerosol boxes (a tool to protect healthcare
workers who are providing COVID-19 care) to front-line workers in
the United States and Canada.

5. RED LAND COTTON. Moulton, Alabama-based producer of luxury
cotton bedding, Red Land Cotton-which also created Room &
Board's Sommerville collection-pivoted operations to produce masks
for the University of Alabama Medical Center. The manufacturer
also partnered with wedding dress designer Heidi Elnora on fulfilling
nationwide mask requests.

2. STYLEX. Seamstresses and craftspeople at Stylex produced washable,
protective masks for COVID-19 healthcare workers. The New Jersey-based
company donated the masks to local hospitals with the intention of doing so
for as long as there is a need.

6. STEELCASE. Resources at Steelcase were diverted to manufacture
essential protective equipment including fabric masks, face shields, and
separation screens for healthcare workers and medical facilities. To aid
in a coordinated global response, the company also looked to expand
production to other countries and share design specs and assembly
instructions for other manufacturers to use as a guide.

3. AMERICAN LEATHER. Best known for its recliners and sleeper sofas,
American Leather shifted the focus of its Dallas facilities to producing
masks and gowns for healthcare workers earlier this spring. And now it's
launched a website to sell masks to the general public, and a portion of the
proceeds will benefit the North Texas Food Bank.
4. MASSIMO IOSA GHINI. Italian architect Massimo Iosa Ghini of Iosa
Ghini Associati, with offices in Bologna and Milan, devised a conceptual
design for a new transparent protective mask that is available to be
produced. The adjustable mask that fully encloses the face can be worn
repeatedly and allows for the visual maintenance of human connection.

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7. BURGEON GROUP. Phoenix-based Burgeon Group developed
London Box, an intubation shield for doctors to use when connecting
COVID-19 patients to ventilators. The company, which specializes
in creating interactive learning spaces for kids, distributed prototypes
to hospitals across the United States.
8. LOLL DESIGNS. Using durable, sanitary, recycled high-density
polyethylene (HDPE), outdoor furniture maker Loll Designs crafted
an emergency hospital field bed, which could be assembled onsite
and allow hospitals to admit more patients. HDPE is hygienic, easily
cleanable, and 100 percent recyclable.

i+D - May/June 2020

20-05-20 17:02
i + D - May/June 2020

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