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Genesta Walz

Form meets function

Coffee enthusiasts may soon be able to add artistic flare to their daily caffeine fix. As part of the SAIT Innovative Projects Fund, three second-year Mechanical Design students have received an $850 grant to complete a project that’s one part high-end coffee maker and one part work of art.

“We thought a coffee maker would let us innovate a lot and give us a lot of freedom to express our design,” said Brennan Sheremeto, one of the students involved with the project.

The students have been building a visual prototype of their creation since last fall, and it will be unveiled this April along with 27 other projects.

“We want to take the project as far as we can right now to get more experience doing that type of work out of SAIT,” said Sheremeto.

He said the most enjoyable part of the process has been collaborating with his classmates and creating a unique final product, even though the project has been met with some skepticism.

“Everyone we’ve talked to thinks we’re just nuts (because of) the way we’ve designed it,” he said. The coffee pot is spherical with eight-inch spheres of glass that are hollow. The coffee runs through these spheres as it’s heated by a stove.”

Sheremeto said this design is what brings the visually engaging element to the product since the entire brewing process can be watched.

Amanda Delamer, co-ordinator of Student Initiatives in Applied Research and Innovation Services, said the fund provides a positive learning experience for students and allows them to practice proposing ideas in a safe environment.

“If the students are excited about it and they’re wanting to do something new and it’s helping them bring their ideas closer to the market, that’s why we fund them,” said Delamer. “It’s great that SAIT offers them the opportunity to do these projects.”

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