UCSD students get schooled in laminate application, which will influence the design of their chairs for the competition.

We have been covering this year’s Wilsonart Student Chair Design Competition, lead by Grace Jeffers, Design Historian and materials specialist. This year, students from San Diego State University (SDSU), under the guidance of professor Matt Hebert, have been designing and building chairs on the theme of BORDERS / BOUNDARIES / MASHUP. The competition sponsor, Wilsonart, is asking the students to explore this theme utilizing Wilsonart’s signature laminate materials in their chair designs.
Clinton Motley laminates his cube. Photo by Matthew Hebert
Cube Class is a hands-on experience where students have a chance to actually fabricate with laminate. It is often a powerful moment of change and a class that transforms their understanding of the material. ?Having taught this class for more than 10 years, I know there are predictable moments when everything changes for the student,? noted Program Manager Grace Jeffers. ?As they work with laminate, their understanding shifts and many students realize they need to modify their planned chair designs. Because most of our students have never fabricated with laminate before, they have a preconceived idea of what the material is and how it behaves. Cube Class changes everything.? Molly Mancuso laying on the water-based contact cement. Photo by Aleya Lanteigne
In order to familiarize students with the...