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Furniture Design Syllabus

Advanced Design II - 21679 - ID 4012 A

Senior Studio: Furniture Design and Manufacturing

Advanced Wood Products Laboratory

Industrial Design Program

College of Architecture

Georgia Institute of Technology

Spring Semester 2008

Class Schedule: M, W, F 8:00 am-12:00 pm

Credit: 5 credit hours

Class Location: AWPL Mezzanine Classroom

Instructor: Alan Harp

alan.harp@arch.gatech.edu

404-463-2557

AWPL Office/Shop Hours 7:00am – 4:00pm

Course Description

This course serves as an introduction to the furniture design and manufacturing industry through field trips, instruction and hands-on furniture design and construction. Throughout this course, you will be exposed to traditional and state-of-the-art technology used by the furniture industry. The course consists of field trips to manufacturing facilities if scheduling permits, and retail furniture stores. There will also be a trip to High Point , NC to see the Furniture Market, a 10 million sq. ft. collection of the newest furniture about to hit the market.

In addition to the field trips, the course consists of CAD/CAM instruction, CNC (computer numeric control) machine instruction, and two furniture projects. It is expected that the furniture created during this class will be of very high quality design and finish, such that each student will be entering their pieces into one national competition for each piece created. The furniture presentations will be held in front of a jury of design and furniture professionals.

Facilities

The course will be taught in the Advanced Wood Products Laboratory at Georgia Tech. The AWPL is a CNC prototyping and demonstration laboratory for wood and polymeric materials. The laboratory contains advanced CNC sawing, drilling, routing and machining capabilities. The lab also contains equipment for thermal conditioning, mechanical testing, and heat forming of thermoplastics.

Suggested Web Sites

http://www.iwfatlanta.com/DesignEmphasis/GeneralInformation/tabid/379/Default.aspx

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/default.aspx

Other sites of interest

www.furnituresociety.org

http://www.museumofdesign.org/

http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/index.php

http://www.asfd.com/index.php

http://www.designboom.com/eng/index.xtml

http://www.atlantainternationalmuseum.org/index.asp

http://www.mortensenwoodwork.com/index.html

http://www.southernstaircase.com/

www.dexigner.com

Course Objectives

General goals

Provide an overview of form making processes based on visual principles.
Introduce vocabulary and design terminologies.
Inform fundamentals of 2D and 3D visual forms and their relationship to product design.
Demonstrate basic sketching and modeling techniques related to 3D form making.
Introduce basic visual and verbal presentation techniques.

Studio related goals

1. To provide an overview of the current state of the furniture market and design

2. To provide an introduction to CNC equipment, programming and its uses in manufacturing

3. To allow exploration of new and traditional techniques in furniture manufacturing

4. To gain national exposure through student furniture competitions

5. To create high quality furniture

Evidence

Students will need to have the following evidence to receive successful grade in the course:

Primary

Apply principles related to 2 and 3D composition.
Ability to produce 2d and 3d forms based on visual principles.
Ability to conduct visual and physical exploration through drawings and models.

Secondary

• Ability to think critically and evaluate a visual form/design.

• Ability to make good verbal and visual presentations.

Course Deliverables

1. CD of all photos, scanned sketches and CAD/CAM files on each furniture project

2. Various scale models

3. Final physical products

Attendance Policies

Attendance and class participation is mandatory in this course. You will not be permitted to use the CNC or any machines at AWPL unless you are present for all of the presentations regarding the use and programming of the machines, and safe use of traditional machines and tools.

If you are physically incapable of attending class due to illness, doctor visits, family emergencies, etc, you will have the opportunity to make up the missed assignment, provided that you produce a doctor's note, funeral notice or the like. If you miss a machine presentation, you will be required to make an appointment of my convenience to receive the proper training.

Grading

Grading on design projects is of course, quite subjective. For this course, the standard for grading on Projects 2 and 3 is based on the quality of production furniture and high end custom pieces. This is the level that is expected and on which your designs will be judged. Additionally, these projects (2 and 3) will be graded by the instructor and critique guests.

Project 1 Small Product 10%

Construction Quality 60%

Finish quality (paint, oil, lacquer) 40%

Project 2 The Crate & Barrel Project 50%

2D Design concepts by due date 5%

Three ¼ Scale Model by due date 5%

Color/finish swatch by due date 5%

Full scale mockup by due date 5%

Piece completed by due date 5%

Time sheet by due date 5%

CAD, instruction sheets by due date 5%

Presentation board/price point iterations 5%

Design 25%

Construction quality (joinery, sanding) 20%

Finish quality (paint, oil, lacquer) 15%

Project 3 Designer's Choice 40%

Design concepts by due date 5%

Scale Model by due date 5%

Color/finish swatch by due date 5%

Piece completed by due date 5%

CAD, time sheet by due date 5%

Design 30%

Manufacturing 20%

Marketability 15%

Workmanship 10%

Late Projects Policy

A series of due dates are provided on the schedule found at the end of the syllabus. These are provided to keep the course on schedule, and to help you schedule your time during the semester.

For the due dates during the course of projects 2 and 3, you will receive a grade of 0 (zero) for that item if you do not have the required item on the due date. There is no grace period for these items.

If you do not make a final presentation for a project or are late to the presentation time, you will receive a 0 (zero) for the project, regardless of previously completed items. The only excuse for missing the final presentation is illness or death in the family, for which you must show written proof.

Disability Policies

It is requested that the student inform the instructor of any disability that would affect the student's participation in this class. This notification must be done in writing, with documentation to confirm the student's disability. Reasonable accommodation will be provided as needed so that the student may fully participate in this class.

Materials Required

Plywood of various types and sizes

Solid wood

Fasteners

Other stuff

All materials used in this class will be purchased by the student. Yellow glue and all standard router bits for the CNC are included in the class.

Safety

All students will be instructed in the safe use of the equipment and safety policies at the Advanced Wood Products Laboratory. Regardless of the student's previous shop experience, it will ultimately be up to the opinion of Mr. Harp as to the shop competency of the student. If it is deemed that the student is acting in an unsafe manner, the student will be shown proper technique, and will be asked to demonstrate such before shop privileges are reinstated.

All students must have completed the AWPL shop release form before any shop use is allowed at AWPL.

Changes to Course

This course, its deadlines and content are subject to revision due to unforeseen issues and events. In the event of any change, the instructor will notify the students as soon as possible to avoid any conflicts.