TOM@University - Kaim

Design Factory Melbourne

Carrying items in a wheelchair

As part of the TOM@University program in partnership with Tikkun Olam Makers (TOM), Occupational Therapy (OT) students worked to create human-centred design solutions that can enhance the lives of people living with disabilities, a.k.a the ‘Need-Knower’.

One of these Need-Knowers was Kiam, an amputee with a prosthetic leg. Due to his diabetes, he also often uses a wheelchair at home, and would like aids to help him carry more things around his home independently. Concepts that address Kiam’s need include:

TrayABLE – a tray which can be attached to Kiam’s wheelchair, providing sturdy, non-slip support for cups, bowls and cutlery to be carried whilst Kiam is propelling his wheelchair. Team: Belinda Cane (OT), Caitlin Huynh (OT), Monika Theilig (OT) & Susan MacPherson (OT).

Meals on Wheels Deluxe – an attachable tray made from ferritic stainless steel, allowing custom dinnerware with magnetised bases to attach and detach from the tray securely. Team: Allan Dang (OT), Jasmine Vakirtzis (OT), Kelly Wilks (OT), Liana Di Stefano (OT) & Piyumi Lakshika Gunasekara Thuththiripitiyalage (OT).

Stable Table – a non-slip, lip-edged tray with a cup holder. The tray connects via clips to two arms on the wheelchair, allowing the try to sit at an appropriate height for Kiam to carry his meals. Team: Tessa Guthrie (OT), Georgia Ramacciotti (OT), Eddy Dart (OT), Alana Pane (OT) & Megan Ramsay (OT).

K. I. AM Design Table – a retractable table connected to Kiam’s wheelchair through an adjustable gooseneck arm, with additional silicone leak-proof cup holders and a spring-loaded bowl and plate to ensure secure positioning of dinnerware. Team: Ankitha Joshi (OT), Dirk Xanthos (OT), Jonathan Stakos (OT), Penelope Walt (OT) & Sonia Giardina (OT).

Industry Partner: TOM: Melbourne

Untitled

Acknowledgement of Country

The School of Design and Architecture respectfully acknowledges the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners and knowledge-keepers of the lands, waters and sky that surround us, where we work, learn, create, communicate and make place. We recognise that sovereignty has never been ceded and this always was and will always be Wurundjeri Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who continue to make a better world through design.

We extend our acknowledgement to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff, students, alumni, real-life clients, and knowledge keepers, who have contributed to our own education diversity and growth. We will continue to ensure that staff and students respectfully honour ancestral connection to Country and Place in everything that they do.

We are dedicated to the notion of design to make a better world and we acknowledge that making tools, shaping place, sharing stories, making meaning, wayfinding and collaborating have long been and continue to be both central and integral to First Peoples' cultures. We recognize that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ cultural contributions have continued relevance to design practice and commit to: reconciling ancestries of design and contemporary practice as well as pursuing culturally and professionally appropriate ways to engage with a diverse population of colleagues, industries and clients. In a time of treaty-making and voice we understand that there are overlaps between caring for Country and the sustainable production of goods, services, experiences, products and buildings.

Guided by the principles of respect, reconciliation, and reciprocity we undertake to indigenising and decolonising design practice by dismantling colonial structures and challenging biases that have marginalised Indigenous voices and design.

As students of SoDA you will be given opportunities to both engage with and educate yourself in Indigenous creative practices and cultural protocols through a lens of inclusivity, diversity, respect, mutual understanding, inter-cultural dialogue in all aspects of design practice. Indigenous people have been telling stories, making tools, and connecting to Country through visual media, placemaking and place marking for more than 60,000 years and these practices are part of an ongoing, evolving and live tradition.