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Ex_Lab: Experimental Furniture Futures (ABPL90361)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Ex_Lab: Experimental Furniture Futures is part of a suite of electives, the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives. In these electives students have the opportunity to build and demonstrate expertise and competence in the understanding and application of contemporary design tools that inform and shape design process and thinking. Digital Design and Fabrication Electives are based on a culture of experimenting and making – applying contemporary design and making tools to create advanced physical and digital artefacts and environments. For more detailed information concerning the respective tutors, design approaches and previous examples as well as other offerings in the Digital Design and Fabrication Electives suite please check on the ADD+F Research Hub website under teaching and learning: https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/addf

Ex_Lab encourages students to re-examine everyday materials and invent new ones. This process driven design suggests an alternative approach to provoke innovation, by compelling designers to uncover latent opportunities that only become evident through open ended experimentation, while developing an understanding of what things are made from. Students demonstrate their capability to design and fabricate a piece of furniture that is the outcome of a process of experimentation and research with both fabrication techniques and materials.

In Ex_Lab student will exemplify how the constraints of materials and making processes can be manipulated and used to the designer’s advantage, driving the design process to result in creating an innovative, aesthetic, and functional object.

Students will receive specific training in the operation and potentials of different fabrication equipment within the MSD makerspaces.

Costs to Students:

  • Students will be required to purchase all materials used for the development of their design and the production of the final piece.
  • In combination with prototyping and fabrication students should allow for a minimum of 300-600 AUD to cover material costs; costs often depend on students’ choice of material.

NOTE: This subject has a quota of 16. See “Additional delivery details” under “Dates and Times” for more information.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of the subject, students should be able to:

  • Develop a design agenda and concept from an experimental, iterative process that focuses on making techniques and material qualities
  • Demonstrate a deep understanding of the chosen materials qualities and take advantage of these in the design of the furniture piece.
  • Show a thorough understanding of making processes and how the selected processes take advantage of the material qualities use for the furniture piece
  • Create a highly resolved and functional furniture piece finished to a high quality standard with refinement of details.
  • Communicate and test ideas and design propositions through iterative use of prototypes, material and making tests, orthographic drawing, 3D-modelling (digital or physical), photomontage, renderings, and animations;
  • Apply critical thinking to the assessment of design proposals, and to make changes and improvements based on that assessment through iterative design processes;

Generic skills

  • Critical design thinking and analysis;
  • Introduction to and advanced use of a range of fabrication and making techniques
  • Ability to work with different design methodologies
  • Physical and digital prototyping and its translation process
  • Time management and project management
  • Constructive acceptance of feedback and criticism.
  • Ability to integrated digital tools and physical prototyping in design process.

Last updated: 22 February 2024