 . . . June 1995
In your house, it's probably a kitchen countertop. In "The Architecture of Objects" class, it could be anything-a lamp, a vase or a chair.
The material's official name is Coriano©, a solid surface material manufactured by DuPont and used primarily for kitchen and bathroom countertops. But with their imagination and craftsmanship, students in the School of Art and the College of Architecture and Urban Planning are turning Corian into objects highly praised by world-class designers.
The course began when Colin Clipson, a professor of architecture, and Shaun Jackson, an associate professor of art, noted that student architects and designers often miss the chance to develop the real-world accountability that comes from taking their designs beyond the drawing stage. So in 1991 they designed a class that would serve as a studio seminar where advanced students could develop hands-on familiarity with materials and processes.
Before DuPont learned of the course in 1993 and agreed to provide Corian materials and financial support, the students and faculty literally begged scraps from cabinet shops. Now, the cooperation between the corporate world and higher education has allowed design students to give fuller rein to their imaginations.
Charged with conceiving, designing and building four interior furnishing items to be judged on the basis of manufacturing viability as well as aesthetics, each student uses prescribed combinations of glass, metal, rubber and Corian to fabricate his or her projects.
Students find Corian relatively easy to fabricate using routers, drills and saws; it can be heated and formed into interesting shapes, and it can be joined with adhesives or mechanical fasteners.
"Another advantage," Jackson says, "is that Corian doesn't split, splinter or chip, and unlike wood, it's not moisture-sensitive."
As the course progresses, the assignments become more challenging, moving to a lighting fixture made of Corian, glass, metal and rubber. The final project-a table, chair or other piece of furniture-gives students the option of using any or all of the four materials.
At the 1994 NeoCon Convention at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago, which is sort of the world's fair for contract designing and furnishing, Clipson and Jackson said, many viewers responded to the U-M exhibit with statements like, "We can't believe this work was done by university students.
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Projects assigned in the class begin with the design and construction of a simple vase using Corian and a rubber hockey puck, and advance to a larger flower container constructed of Corian, metal and rubber.