Gavel the breakable gavel | 2016
WHAT Gavel is a re-imagination of the classic chairman’s gavel, designed to aesthetically fit the new court house in Lund.
WHY The gavel is an old object and tradition. It has been for hundreds of years a strong symbol of power and authority, it still is till this day. Today the gavel is found in most court rooms in Sweden and the judge only uses the gavel to keep order in court. There are other ways to keep order in court, therefore this would be the last way out. It is even seen as a failure if the judge needs to use it. In the 1950’s, it was common for the district judge to give a gavel as a gift, devoted to the new court house.
HOW I wanted to maintain the old tradition of the gavel being a gift devoted to a new court house. By getting inspiration from the architecture and interior of the new court house in Lund, the design and materials was carefully chosen. Since it is seen as a failure to use the gavel, I played with material combinations which would break the gavel if ever used.
product design | design research | prototyping | lathe machining
