Vanguard is a speculative product which places itself at the start of a broad and branching conversation around healthcare's personal protective equipment and those who wear it. It proffers up a near term possibility, a response to the current global pandemic, but ultimately it is about discussing the future. A move from disposable back to reusable, creating protective barriers between staff and patient while removing personal barriers.
Variations: garments help to make PPE less impersonal. In many ways, protective gear is worn like clothing but lacks any of the social integration that clothing can have. If the clothes make the man then what do scrubs make of a person? I think it is important that we revisit protective gear as more robust attire that respects the wearer.
A cowl and flexible frame protect the head from straps and abrasions while the under-chin filter and sculpted visor reduce fogging.
These exploratory drawings foresee strange variations of our world, possibly decades in the future. I have tried to look through, consider and pass beyond the current social stigmas and limitations surrounding PPE. What forms might we embrace to protect ourselves? How do new technologies augment the human?
3D printed scale model
The Vanguard concept came about as a synthesis of two ideas, the frame mask which is a response to the images shared on social media of healthcare workers with terrible ruts in their faces from mask/goggle straps and also the veil which is more science fiction in proposing a personal atmosphere.
This design seeks to combine the veil of a beekeeper’s outfit with the encapsulated atmosphere respiratory device. It offers excellent vision through the protective bubble of transparent polymer. The ‘hat’ and mantle create a large space around the head which reduces claustrophobia, keeps breath from directly striking the mask surface (fogging) and enables a freedom of movement.
The Frame Mask is a concept for mediating the mask and eyewear barrier. It proposes a form fitting plastic frame which acts as a gasket. Air from the mouth and nose is forced to exchange through the filter and never up inside the eye protection. It also takes on the role of anchor point for the mask and eyewear. This means that the number of straps on the face is lessened, with wider straps to distribute the forces more.
