MODULES
First Year
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Furniture Craft: This module focuses on making skills. Students are taught hand skills and machine skills alike. Two projects normally produced are a small table with a veneered top and a hand-dovetailed jewellery box.
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Technical and Visual Communication: one part of this module is students will create a sketch book focusing on their drawing ability. The second part of this module is creating a portfolio of CAD drawings (using software like AutoCAD and Fusion 360).
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Design and Make: There are two projects for this module. The first is a scaled model (some years this has been a bench for a public space). The second project is a table design and make (students have made console tables, bedside tables, side tables, etc.).
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Manufacturing and Material Culture: Two short essays are written for this module exploring aspects of Timber Technology and Furniture History
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Second Year
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Advanced Technical and Visual Communication: This module is split into two: A research project to create a case study of Gordon Russell furniture, with emphasis on 2D visual communication skills and 3D professional scale model making skills. A CAD-based project creating drawings using presentation drawings using software including AutoCAD, Fusion 360 and Photoshop.
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Furniture Production: The focus of this module is to further develop the students’ machining skills (including introducing aspects of digital manufacturing, such as CNC and laser machines) with an emphasis on designing for batch production. This is achieved through a set training module, followed by a design and make exercise and a final report exploring the issues around designing for production.
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Advanced Design and Make: Our two design and make projects are sponsored by industry leaders. The first is a collaboration with Latham with guest expertise from leading designers throughout the project (previous visiting lecturers have included Sebastian Cox, Gareth Neal, Fred Baier, Matthew Burt). The second is a collaboration with Ercol to design and manufacture a dining chair, working with the design and technical teams at key stages of the project.
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Advanced Manufacturing and Culture: A 3,000-word research project that explores the cultural and historical significance of design through a subject matter of their choice about furniture history. Students will be encouraged to debate current issues, deepen their understanding of design and its infrastructure and develop critical skills in analysing design publications and design theory.
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Please note these modules are regularly reviewed so may slightly differ from description above.