The Legendary Cardboard Couch
- Dec 6, 2018
- 3 min read
In 2006, Adaptive Design moved from its upper west side basement to its current 36th street location, and on that very first weekend Alex and Antoinette built a cardboard couch to fill the vast new empty space. I was volunteering on a weekly basis at the time, building and painting items as necessary, and was thrilled when they asked me to paint the couch. I set to work one afternoon filling the large empty cardboard surface.
"It served as both a comfortable resting spot as well as an educational tool on the power and strength of cardboard construction."
Little did we know then just how significant the couch would be. Over the following ten years, it served as both a comfortable resting spot as well as an educational tool on the power and strength of cardboard construction. Hundreds of people both sat on the couch and studied its design.
Ten years later, I returned to New York after several years working abroad and very happily returned to volunteering at Adaptive Design. I was given a task: repair and repaint the couch. Now, realizing the significance of the couch, it was a challenge that I took very seriously.
There were significant repairs that needed to be made. The seat needed to be replaced, holes needed to be filled, and the entire couch needed to be re-edged. I had to learn new techniques to properly make the repairs. Through the wonderful collaboration of Caleb and Rita, and through the patient expertise of of Alex, Antoinette, Adam, Rocio, and Charles, progress was made.
Soon, the couch was repaired and primed.
As for its new surface, I began by asking everyone at Adaptive Design two questions: “What does the couch mean to you?” and “What would you like included when I paint it?” The answers were diverse. The couch symbolized the stories and community of Adaptive Design. The couch represented the tools and materials at the heart of Adaptive Design’s work. The couch was a source of warmth and friendliness to countless children. The couch represented family. And the couch, ultimately, should look like a couch.
And so, I decided to paint a quilt on one side to represent the nature of community work, and include the tools of cardboard carpentry on the opposite side. Pillows and teddy bears would welcome visitors, while Mallachy the dog would sit at your feet. And in the end, subtle upholstery would remind you that you are indeed sitting on a couch.
As I began painting, I was thrilled to be joined by my longtime collaborator and colleague Anita, who was the individual who introduced me to Adaptive Design fifteen years earlier.
The updated couch sits in its location at the top of the stairs at west 36th street. It bears no resemblance to its original, however, it tells the story of its many years. I look forward to its many more years of service. Thank you for letting me participate in this process.
In honor of Adaptive Design's 20th Anniversary it has launched Design Without Limits. Please support Caleb's add-on campaign by clicking here: https://www.crowdrise.com/o/en/campaign/adaptive-design-without-limits/calebhall1
About the Author
Marianne currently teaches courses at NYU in digital media, animation, paper arts, storytelling, and assistive technology. She is a co-founder/co-director of the Ability Project (http://ability.nyu.edu), an interdisciplinary research space dedicated to the intersection between disability and technology, and a collaboration of ITP, the Department of Occupational Therapy (Steinhart) and the Integrated Digital Media Program (Tandon). Marianne co-founded the Interactive Media Arts (IMA) Program at NYU Shanghai in 2013. She rejoined the Board of Adaptive Design in July 2018.
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