Learn the theory of Windsor Chairs and how the use of wood in tension can create a chair like no other. This class will cover techniques necessary to the Windsor system of building while working through design decisions that will culminate in a completed chair. Students are encouraged to embrace process and parameters in a direct and hands-on manner. Through small projects, students will learn how to balance wood strength, aesthetics, joint strength and ergonomic considerations. These principles will be applied to a carefully considered, finished chair. Topics covered will include: selection of wood, turning, seat carving, complex radial layout, several types of joinery, and finish techniques.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $200.00

Open to Junior, Senior or Graduate Furniture Design Students.

Elective

This research elective class will focus on the myriad opportunities for the sustainable practice of design. The somewhat humbling point of departure is the fact that many, if not all, of the problems we currently face are the direct result of previous design solutions. There are numerous topics to cover under each of the following domains. Our aim is to expose students to meaningful comprehensive and anticipatory sustainability thinking. The focus of the class will be on the development of a comprehensive, operationally useful "sustainability lens" through which to evaluate design decisions as they are being made in hopes of avoiding the Law of Unintended Consequences on the front end, rather than seeking to simply design without regard for the potentially negative outcomes that require fixing on the back end.

• Material: The 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics, Material choice, material sourcing, life cycle analysis, the containment of entropy.
• Economic: Full Spectrum Accounting. Bring all externalities back onto the balance sheet
• Life: Creating conditions conducive to life.
• Biomimetics: Learning from Nature not just about Nature. The preservation of biodiversity.
• Social: How does your object contribute to the quality of life for maker and user, and other organisms as well? Appropriate human behavior in the biosphere.
• Spiritual: An exploration of how students' work contributes to the "Great Work", embracing uncertainty and cultivating wonder.

Estimated Materials Cost: $50.00

Open to juniors and above.

This course will focus on the art of upholstery design. It will teach the basics of traditional techniques and materials; cover historic influences; and explore methods used in mass production. The course will survey nontraditional materials and review unconventional methods. There will be an emphasis on ergonomics including shaping, angles, and scale and how upholstery impacts comfort. This is a hands-on class where students will gain experience applying the techniques of upholstery.

Estimated Cost of Materials: $100.00

Elective

Championed by utopian thinkers of the 20th century like Buckminster Fuller and Frei Otto, the idea of doing more with less has become ingrained in the development of new building systems. Design for vehicles, extreme environments, and sports have pushed the field of lightweight structures along, creating a vast array of new materials and building techniques. This course will examine lightweight structures through the lens of material research and exploration. Emphasis will be placed on developing assembly systems that are integral to the particular materials being explored. Topics introduced in this course will include but not be limited to tensile structures, space frames, pneumatic structures, tensegrity, frozen fabrics and the various form finding strategies associated with each. This course will also examine the various ways that this topic can be approached through both physical and digital model making. Computer modeling experience is preferred, but not required.

Open to Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.

Elective

This course focuses on material and process investigations that lead to a higher degree of technical proficiency providing students with an expanded foundation on which to carry out their ideas. The content of the course emphasizes how exploration and application operate in both pragmatic and unorthodox ways and reinforces ideas of how critical making and material investigation can lead to innovation. The technical aspects of production and outsourcing will also be examined.

Estimated Materials Cost: $150.00

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Furniture Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Furniture Design

This course concentrates on the exploration of personal design aesthetics and the development of furniture projects that exhibit a high degree of technical proficiency.

Enrollment is limited to Graduate Furniture Design Students only.

Major Requirement | MFA Furniture Design

Witness trees, as designated by the National Park Service, are long-standing trees that have witnessed key events, trends, and people in history. In this joint studio/liberal arts course, students have the unique opportunity to study and work with a fallen witness tree, shipped to RISD from a national historic site. The course will involve three components:

1) a field trip to the tree's site at the beginning of the semester

2) classroom-based exploration of American history, memory, landscape, and material culture

3) studio-based building of a series of objects from the tree's wood, in response to both the site and students' classroom study

Overall, the course will explore both how material artifacts shape historical understanding and how historical knowledge can create meaningful design.

This is a co-requisite course. Students must register for HPSS-S732 and FD-2451.

Open to Sophomore, Junior, Senior or Graduate Students.

Elective

This course explores advanced design processes and methods of construction. The evolution of a project through a complete design process is required including conceptual and design development phases.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Furniture Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Furniture Design

This course concentrates on projects that begin the thesis body of work. Advanced design and technical processes are continued as part of this process.

Open to Graduate Furniture Design Students only.

Registration by the Furniture Design Department; this course is not available via web registration. Please contact the department for permission to register.

Major Requirement | MFA Furniture Design

The graduate seminar is a forum for discussion and research outside of the studio setting. Through a series of topical investigations, lectures and presentations, students will explore current design issues, professional practices, directions, and developments within the field, and other topics that will help to formulate the basis of the graduate thesis work.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. First preference is given to Graduate Furniture Design Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Furniture Design