Stowaway
- Coat Rack
Commissioned by Director of Ermitage International School
"Visible, Accessible, Built to Last”.
Stowaway replaces a worn outdoor storage box with a functional, child-friendly coat rack. Designed at child height, it makes items visible and encourages independent use while standing up to daily outdoor wear. Its modular construction ensures stability, durability, and safety, with carefully chosen materials and finishes for long-lasting maintenance.
The project emphasizes practical problem-solving, balancing simplicity, robustness, and usability to create a thoughtfully designed fixture that meets real-world needs.
Dimensions: 1640 x 800 x 1730 mm
Sustainable Thinking
User Focused
Built to Last
Practical Design
Real-World Solutions
Treatment & materials
Designed for durability, stability, and long-term outdoor use.
Designed with its intended use in mind, the structure incorporates 26 pinned joints, allowing the timber to expand and contract naturally without compromising strength. Aluminum inlays along the top rails reduce wear from coat hangers, preventing damage to the softer pine surface.
Adjustable feet accommodate uneven ground while limiting direct contact with the floor to reduce moisture exposure. Multiple cross beams and angled supports provide rigidity, preventing twisting over time, while the rails are tested to support loads of up to 300 kg.
Process photos captured throughout the build.
Key challenges included achieving precise angled joinery, ensuring the wooden rails remained stable without movement or warping, and selecting materials and finishes suitable for long-term use.
This project reinforced the importance of designing for real-world use, balancing durability, safety, and long-term performance through material and structural decisions.