Concave-Convex
Mortise and Tenon Blocks for Shanghai Art and Design Academy
The tenon and mortise building blocks are 211 pieces in total, extracted from the traditional Chinese tenon and mortise structure and simplified into 30 simple tenons and mortises (such as square dovetail, T-shaped tenon, etc.) suitable for young children to play. The tenon and mortise are made of dark black walnut wood and light beech wood, respectively. The natural color and simple wood sense make children feel the power of nature in play, and learn the wisdom of the ancients.
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Concave Convex by Sha Yang
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Mortise and Tenon Blocks by Sha Yang
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Sha Yang Mortise and Tenon Blocks
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Unique Properties
The tenon and mortise building blocks are 211 pieces in total, extracted from the traditional Chinese tenon and mortise structure and simplified into 30 simple tenons and mortises (such as square dovetail, T-shaped tenon, etc.) suitable for young children to play. The tenon and mortise are made of dark black walnut wood and light beech wood, respectively. In the process of finding partners for each tenon, children can learn the wisdom of the ancients.
Tags
Traditional culture, mortise and tenon structure, educational toys, preschool children
Production Technology
Woodworking machine carving and manual detail processing
Design Challenge
This toy has high requirements for the accuracy of mortise and tenon joint clearance. The joint between mortise and tenon cannot be too loose or too tight. The manual polishing process requires more costs.
Project Duration
Start in September 2022 and end in March 2023，Shanghai
Operation Flow
This set of building blocks simplifies the complicated details of traditional mortise and tenon in the design scheme, and simplifies 30 kinds of mortise and tenon structures as the main building source. The design has three levels of difficulty: basic version, advanced and high-level version. 1）The basic version is aimed at children over 18-month-old, finding the corresponding mortise and tenon for each color, understanding the mortise and tenon structure, and exercising the ability to solve problems;2）Based on the cognition of the mortise and tenon structure, the advanced version is suitable for children over 3 years old to play. With the specific material form as a reference, by assembling two or more basic mortise and tenon, the combination can be built into specific forms such as butterflies, sun, rockets, chairs, etc., to enhance children's graphic imagination and creativity;3）The high-level version is based on the mortise and tenon structure, and focuses on the modular design of building specific material forms, such as the construction of micro-architecture scenes, the construction of story theme background and other complex large-scale space construction, which improves children's spatial imagination and logical reasoning ability, and is suitable for children over 6 years old to challenge.
Research
Mortise and tenon, it is a main structural method of traditional Chinese architecture, furniture and other instruments. It is a connection method combining concave-convex parts on the two components. The protruding part is called tenon (or tenon); The recessed part is called mortise (or mortise, mortise). The utility model is characterized in that the nail is not used on the object, and the mortise and tenon are used to reinforce the object.
Inspiration
The project takes Luban lock as the design source, and obtains new inspiration from the mortise and tenon structure of Chinese traditional culture. Luban lock is difficult to remove and build for the children under the age of 6 .Therefore, this project attempts to design by simplifying the mortise and tenon structure, combining mortise and tenon with building blocks. The goal is to encourage children over 1 year old to complete the free assembly of simple mortise and tenon.
Image Credits
Xiaoyang Feng Huan Liu Sha Yang
Project Overview
Concave-Convex Mortise and Tenon Blocks has been a Bronze winner in the Toys, Games and Hobby Products Design award category in the year 2022 organized by the prestigious A' Design Award & Competition. The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
Bronze Recognition
Sha Yang was recognized with the coveted Bronze A' Design Award in 2023, a testament to excellence of their work Concave-Convex Mortise and Tenon Blocks.
Sha Yang Press Releases
Our press releases on Sha Yang and their work are made freely available for press members looking to add depth to their content. Instantly access 4 press releases, available exclusively for journalists.
Introducing Concave-Convex: A Unique Mortise and Tenon Building Block Set for Children
Sha Yang unveils a new educational toy set inspired by traditional Chinese culture and designed to encourage children's creativity and problem-solving skills.
Sha Yang Newsroom
Dive into Sha Yang Newsroom to explore celebrated designs and projects.
