ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
ETHAN BRAMMEIER
Hands-On Work
Coffee Table
Fall 2011
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During my sophomore year at Rend Lake, we were assigned an individual furniture design project. Anticipating my move to Carbondale the following year, I chose to design and build a functional piece of furniture for my future apartment. Prioritizing functionality over form, I created a table featuring two built-in outlet sockets beneath the tabletop, which power concealed LED lights. The power cable is neatly hidden within the table leg for a clean look. The LED lights are music-activated and can change colors using a remote control. To view this design in greater detail, click here.
New Deck
2012 - 2013
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The deck surrounding my parents' patio was in need of repair. While in college, they removed the old decking and landscaping and sought my input and construction assistance. By then, I had gained four years of construction experience. Due to limited time outside of work and school, the project took longer than anticipated. The deck was built with treated wood framing and composite decking. The custom flower boxes contain outlets, switches, speakers, and, of course, flowers. The upper perimeter of each box is lined with a 12V LED strip, providing ambient lighting around the entire deck. To see more of this project, click here.
Personal Projects
2013
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These projects include a desk organizer and an LED picture frame, both created for personal use during my free time. I began by drafting the designs in AutoCAD to facilitate laser cutting at the school's digital fabrication lab. Each piece incorporates LED lights that illuminate through an acrylic panel. The acrylic panels are interchangeable, allowing for easy customization. To view these projects from start to finish, click here.
RSO Group
Fall 2014
The Registered Student Organization (RSO) group I am a member of is called "Student's Composing Space". The group is open to all college students, but consists of mainly architecture students. The group was started Fall 2014 by our president Don Olsen and I was the vice president of the group. The goal of this group was to take recyclable materials and turn them into experimental sculptures.
Furniture Project
Spring 2015
For this furniture project we were assigned to build the “Red and Blue Chair.” This chair was designed in 1917 by Gerrit Reitveld as one of the first explorations by the De Stijl art movement. The original chair was made with unstained beech wood and was not painted until the early 1920’s. Part of this project was to have a concept with our design. My concept focuses on the joinery of the vertical and horizontal elements of the chair and also the use of reclaimed lumber. To see more of this project, click here.
Kawai Tsugite Joint
Spring 2015
This piece of joinery was made for an assignment in my history class, Global Traditions. I chose to re-create a piece of japanese joinery called the "kawai tsugite joint". This type of joinery was created by Shinobu Kobayashi while lecturing at Tokyo University. This form of joinery can be rearranged in 3 different ways; either a straight joint or 2 corner joints. To see how it's made, click here.
Taliesin Lamp II
Summer 2015
This lamp was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1925 to be a furniture piece in his home, hence the name "Taliesin Lamp." He designed 2 lamps with this style, one a floor lamp, the other a table lamp (Taliesin Lamp III). I decided to build this lamp because we were suppose to build something that related to our thesis. I used a prairie style design in my thesis and this lamp uses those same design techniques. To see how it's made, click here.