Felsted's entry for the TDI Awards 2020 takes the form of a sculptural cello. The awards are for Technology, Design and Innovation and so the cello sculpture was an idea formulated to bring together a wide range of skills, some teamwork and an opportunity to produce something new, hence the innovation aspect of the competition.

Due to the coronavirus lockdown our students have had to resort to producing a 2 minute video to showcase their efforts to the TDI competition panel.

Matthew R and Scarlett W-H have worked hard to bring the project to fruition in time for the competition and described their entry as follows...

"In response to a design brief our aim was to create a functional cello that could also be used as a statue to show off the different aspects of creativity at Felsted such as those in DTE,  Art, Music and Performing Arts. The design incorporates different aspects of musical instruments to create a modernistic ensemble that is simultaneously playable and aesthetically pleasing. We made the bulk of it from laser cut stainless steel sheets with a sand-cast aluminum fingerboard. Though the materials used make the cello heavy it is supported by a steel frame so that it is stable once set up outside, this accompanied with a ball and socket joint attached onto the endpin will make sure that it can be easily manoeuvered and supported when it is being used by the cellist".    
 
We've all been pleasantly surprised by the end result and the volume from a product with no real soundbox to speak of. It will be nice to see it played properly at some point in the future with more of a performance.

Design Technology & Engineering at Felsted