Furniture Design and Construction, Fall 2016, 48400

LaurenKrupsawF14

ShivaniJainF15

JacquelineYeungF15

AileenaGrayF15

48400FurnitureDesignandConstructionStudio,Fall2016,SyllabusInstructor:ScottSmithArchitectureShop,CFAA9Monday,Wednesday,andFriday1:30to4:30IMPORTANTNOTE:StudentsenrolledinthisclassmustcometotheFIRSTclasswithseveralsketchesof3differenttypesoffurnituretobuild.

CourseDescriptionThereisacreativecoreinpeoplewhichismuchmorecloselyrelatedtothehandthantothehead.Thiscoreisuniversalandisthesourceoftheconnectionthatallpeoplecanfeelwithsomethingwellmade.Itisthesourceofanintrinsicmeaningthathandmadeobjectshaveandthatallpeopleunderstand.Thisclasswillattempttoconnecttheinexperiencedmakerwiththeuniversalmeaningsthatemergeinobjectsmadebyhand,andsweat,effort,commitmentandpersistence.Thecoursewillteachyoutotrustyoureye,hand,andintuition.Thistrustisthesubstanceofself-reliance.Handmadeobjectsexpresstheperception,physicality,sensitivity,andpassionofthemaker.Makingthingsinthisclassislikecookingfromscratch.Constructinganobjectfromscratchopenslevelsofdesignopportunitynotavailablewhenyouselectoptionsofftheshelf.Itinitiatesanintimacywiththedesignprocessfrominceptionthroughfinalproduction.Itlinksformwithmaterialthroughthehandandtouchesyouinawaynotaccessiblethroughregulararchitecturalpractice.Itcanprovidedeeppersonalsatisfaction.

Thisfurniturestudiowillseektogenerateformindirectresponsetothematerial,guidedbythecapabilitiesofmachines,theexperienceofthemakerandthetoolsavailable,whilerespondingtoergonomicconsiderations.Theemphasiswillbeontheusehandtoolsandpowermachinery.Itisprimarilyanon-digitalstudio.Computeraideddesignwillbepermittedonlytofacilitatethehand.

BrianBollensF15 DanielGomezLatorreF15

Thestudiothisfallisopenbothtostudentswhohavealreadytakenshopminisandelectives,andthosewhohaven’ttakenanyshopcoursesbeyondthefirstyear.Buteveryonewhotakesthestudiomustcomewithawillingnessanddesiretoacquire,practice,andperformtheskillsneededtogiveformtotheidea.Theprincipleobjectiveofthiscourseistocompleteafunctionalobject.Oftenhowever,completionisnotachieved.Thecourseisalsoaboutfindingapath-exploringit,assimilatingthelessonsitoffersandintegratingthemintoacoherenttravellogofyourjourney.Thetravellogistheobject,butiftheobjectisnotcompletethis“travellog”maybecomethepointoffinalevaluation.Underlyingthecourseisthenotionthatmodernsculptureprovidestheaestheticcontextformodernfurnituremaking.Thestudiowillstartwithaprojectknownasthe“littleNoguchi”.Noguchiisoneofalistofsculptorsaboutwhichthestudentswillberequiredtoreport.TheprojectisanassemblageofinterlockingslabsfollowingNoguchi’saestheticandvocabulary.Noguchiusedstoneslabsinhissculpture,thestudentswillusewood.Theprojectwillputallclassmembersonacommonfootingfromthebeginning.UponcompletionofthelittleNoguchi,workwillbeginonthemainprojectofthesemester.Studentswhohavetakenshopclassesalreadywillchoosethepieceoffurnituretheywillbuildwithinspecificparameters.Studentswithoutthisshopexperiencewillbeassignedthepieceoffurniture.Thisyear,theconstructionofatleastonefullsizeprototypeofyourdesignwillbeusedtointroducestudentstothemakingofwoodjointsandthebestfabricationtechniques,andtoresolvedesign.Greatemphasiswillbeplacedonproducingfurniturethatisbeautifullymade,functional,durableandcomfortable.Thatis,thosequalitiesVitruviussaidarchitecturemusthave:utilitas(functionality),firmitas(structureandstability),venustas(aesthetics/beauty).Thestudiowillrequirehandworkindrawing,designandfabrication.Computersmaybeusedtoassistdesigningeneratingalternatives/variations,butthefinaliterationofthedesignwillbehanddrawnfullsizeonply.Allwoodfabricationwillinvolvenondigitaltoolsandmachinery.Thiswillservetostrengthenthoseimportantlinksbetweenhandandeye/mind,perceptionandintuition,touchandunderstanding.Thedevelopmentoftheseconnectionsbetweenbodyandnervoussystemwillbeestablished,practicedandreinforcedthroughrepetitiontopromotemusclememorythatissoessentialinallsportsandperformanceskills.Similarlythislinkageconnectstheeyewithhandtomakedrawingmoreautomaticandtherepresentationofanidea/imagemorespontaneousandexpressiveandimmediate.

Becomefamiliarwithanumberofsignificantmodernsculptorsandwoodworkers:

AugustRodin,IsamuNoguchi,ConstantineBrancusi,HenryMoore,AlbertoGiacometti,JoseRivera,AlexanderCalder,ThadeusMosley,EduardoChillida,LouiseNevelson,DavidSmith,MartinPuryear

WendellCastle,JamesKrenov,SamMaloof,StephenHogbin,GeorgeNakashima,ThomasHucker,HankGilpin,TageFrid,WhartonEsherick,WendyMaruyama,TomLoeser.

CourseGoals&Objectives:• Tolearnmoreaboutthebasicqualitiesofmaterialsbytheirdirectuse.• Toacquireandimprovethehandandmachineskillsnecessaryforgoodcraft.• Tounderstandhowthechoiceofprocessandthequalitiesofmaterialsaffectdesign.• Todevelopageneralknowledgeofconceptsandapproachestowoodworkanddesignin

contemporarystudiofurniture.• Todevelopadesignsensewhichisinformedbythefabricationprocesssothatforms,

structureanddetailsspeakaboutthemethodswithwhichtheyaremade.• Tomakeawellconstructedanddesignedfunctionalobject.• Tohelpthestudentplanaprojectthatiswithinthescopeofthecourseintermsoftime

andtechnique.• Toappreciatetheinherentmeaningthathandcraftandlaborcanbringtoanobject.• Toexaminetherelationshipbetweenbeauty,meaning,andcraft.• Developunderstandingofthelogicofsequenceoffabrication.• Developandstrengthentheconnectionbetweenhandandeye.

ProjectsforFall2015FurnitureStudio1) MakeasmallsculpturelikeIsamuNoguchi’s1945interlockingshapedslapsculpturesoutofwood.

Usethesamestructuraltechniques,methodsofinterlock,andvisualvocabulary.Seeprojectstatement

2) Decideonasinglepieceoffurnituretomake.Theobjectsmustincludesomecurvature.MakeaxonometricsketchesANDorthographicplanandelevationsofthesinglepieceorthetwotogether.IMPORTANTNOTE:StudentsenrolledinthisclassmustcometotheFIRSTclasswithseveralsketchesof3differenttypesoffurnituretobuild.

TypicalAssignmentsandSchedule(subjecttochange): First3weeks

• LittleNoguchi• Make3sketchesofvariationsforeachmodel(ninetotal)• Making1½”modelsofadesignproposal• Makea3”=1’0”(quartersize)modelshowingjoineryandactualfabricationtechniqueof

strongestidea.FourthWeektoMidSemester• Fullsizedrawing• Fullsizeprototypeinpine,poplar,orbass(ofthewholeobject,notjustaconnection)SecondHalfofSemester• Constructionoftheactualobjectinselectedmaterials.

ReadingList:Required:Miscellaneoushandouts TheNatureandArtofWorkmanshipbyDavidPye,CambridgeUniversityPress(tobeissued)

Recommended:

FineWoodWorkingonPlanesandChisels,TheTauntonPress

DesigningFurniturebySethStem,TheTauntonPress

TageFridTeachesWoodworking,Book1-Joinery,TheTauntonPress

UnderstandingWoodbyBruceHoadley,TheTauntonPress

TheUnknownCraftsmanbySoetsuYanagi

FineWoodworkingonJoinery,TheTauntonPress

TheFineArtofCabinetMakingbyJamesKrenov,VanNostrandReinholdCo.

TheArtofMakingFurniturebyJohnMakepeace,SterlingPublishingCo.

TageFridTeachesWoodworking,Book2-ShapingandVeneering,TheTauntonPress

Grading:Thecompletionandqualityofeachassignmentwillbeevaluated.Themidsemestergradewillbederivedfromtheseassignments.Attendance,participation,involvement,anddesigndevelopmentwillbefactoredintothisgradeaswell.Thisisyourmajordesigncourse.Itisexpectedthatyougiveitthehighestpriority.Theprincipleobjectiveofthiscourseistocompleteafunctionalobject.Oftenhowever,completionisnotachieved.Thecourseisalsoaboutfindingapath-exploringit,assimilatingthelessonsitoffersandintegratingthemintoacoherenttravellogofyourjourney.Thetravellogistheobject,butiftheobjectisnotcompletethis“travellog”maybecomethepointoffinalevaluation.

Assignmentsshouldbedonethoroughlyandthoughtfully.Hastysketchesdoneimmediatelybeforeclassarenotacceptable.Alternativestoideasandexperimentationshouldalwaysbedocumented.

Thefinalgradewillbederivedprimarilyfromthebuiltobjects,however,again,attendance,involvement,anddesigndevelopmentwillbeconsideredinthegrade.Theobjectswillbeevaluatedfordesign,craft,function,solidity,understandingofmaterials,sensitiveuseofmaterials,andresolvingissuesintoacoherentandharmoniousobject.

Whileregularattendance,consistentinvolvement,gooddesign,andtotalcompletionwillalwaysresultinahighgrade,theawardofanAalsodependsuponhardertodefine“extra”elementsthatcanincludedifficulty,risk,superiorcraftanddesign,aswellasfulfillmentofwhatastudentiscapableofproducing.

Asstatedinthestudenthandbook,“Innocasecanastudentexpecttoreceiveapassinggradewithoutregularattendanceandparticipationinclass”.Simplysubmittingprojects,regardlessofquality,atmid-semesterorattheendofthesemesterwillnotbesufficientforapassinggradewithoutregularattendance.

Participationandregularattendanceisextremelyimportantandwillbemonitored.Absencesmustbeexcused.Twounexcusedabsencesarecauseforloweringyourgradeonelettergrade.Beinglatetwicewillbeviewedasoneunexcusedabsence.Seethestudenthandbookfordefinitionofexcusedabsence.

Studentsmustbepreparedtoworkduringclass.

Incompleteprojectsforcetheinstructortogradeattendanceandperformanceratherthantheobjectanddesign.Itupsetsthelevelfieldofevaluation,creatingdifferentgradingcriteria.Inaddition,thefailuretocompleteworkontimecancausecancellationofthefinalreview.Guestreviewerswillonlybeinvitedifthereissufficientcompletedworktoviewanddiscuss.

ToolsandMaterials:StudentsmustprovidetheirownutilityknifeorExactoblade,straightedge,5mmpenciland#2pencilwitheraser,andasixinchrulerwithfinelineetchedmeasurementsin16ths,32nds,and64thsofaninch.Aluminumstraightedgeswithprintedmeasurementsareunsatisfactory.Materialsforexercisesandfinalprojectsmaybepurchasedfromtheshopinventory.Materialsnotinstockwillbethestudent’sresponsibilitytoacquire.Materialsfortheexercisesshouldcostlessthan$25.Materialsforthefinalprojectsmayrunbetween$75and$350.Theshopwillprovidemostothertools(althoughassemblingyourowntoolcollectionisencouraged).Adviceonthebesttoolstogetisavailable.

Storage:Limitedstoragespaceisprovidedintheformofcompartmentsinthestorageroomoffthepinuphallwayonthemezzanine.Materials,worksinprogress,andpersonaltoolsandsuppliesmaybestoredinthesecompartments(withyournameclearlyvisible).Putyournameoneverypieceofwoodormaterialwhichisimportant.Securitycannotbeguaranteed.Shoptoolsshouldnotbekeptintheseboxes(theymustbereturnedtothetoolroom).