P. 03/40
The 19” Living Rack is an open-source variation of the
standardised 19” computer server rack (or cabinet). It is designed
to be distributed in domestic environments for personal or
small-scale community use, and can be combined with additional
functions to address the needs of this new context (small office/
home office).
In a clear reference to the famous Eames toy, the modular
House of Cards project, the 19” Living Rack comprises a technical
’Base’ that can then be combined and customised into three
different formats: ‘Office’, ‘Home’ and ‘Garden’, to create a personal
and somehow undersized data centre.
In each configuration, air flows have been taken into consider-
ation both as factors of design and constraints of functionality:
The air in the front part of the rack remains temperate before
entering the rack and cooling the servers, while the back and top
air flows are warmed and dried up due to the heat generated
by the computers. ‘Office’ functions therefore take place mainly
in the front part of the rack, ‘Home’ at the back where elements
can be warmed and dehumidified, while ‘Garden’ functions are
located at on the top, where there are humid plants which clean,
re-humidify, perfume and cool the air.
Project developed
by Léa Pereyre.
The different versions of the 19” racks were produced as part
of Inhabiting and Interfacing the Cloud(s), a joint design research
project and form part of the Cloud of Cards kit.
This research project was led by Prof Patrick Keller (ECAL)
and Nicolas Nova (HEAD – Genève).
www.cloudofcards.org
→ A small-scale domestic data centre configuration that uses the 19” Living Rack ‘Base’, with additional ‘Home’ and ‘Garden’ extensions.
Four servers are hosted in the racks while, at the back, the 5 Connected Objects can be connected to the 5 Folders Cloud hosted by
these servers, or by the remote Cloud of Cards network, somewhere else…
Blueprints, assembly manual and recipes
Cloud of Cards Kit
19” Living Rack
(A)
→ Base
→ Office
→ Home
→ Garden
Additional information about the
19” Living Rack can be accessed directly
on the research blog
Recipe
P. 04/40
Base
P. 05–07/40
Home
P. 08–10/40
Office
P. 11–13/40
Garden
P. 14–16/40
