Tulane University 

Architecture Studio Furniture

for Milder Furniture

2017

Background

Milder Furniture was approached by AOS, an interior design firm working with Tulane University’s Architecture department, to develop desks, mobile partitions, and storage units for approximately 230 students. 

Design Brief

Among requests from the university were that the desks be “strong enough to dance on”, include power distribution, pin-up space, a replaceable or repairable work surface, and flat storage for large-format architectural drawings. Additional storage was to be lockable via student-supplied padlocks, and mobile partitions would be used to reconfigure the space for general studio time, critiques, and presentations. Additionally, all furniture would need to ship flat-packed for onsite assembly. 

Process

A variety of initial concepts were proposed. After feedback and discussion with AOS and Tulane University, prototype units were fabricated and sent for evaluation.

Resolution

The final desk design utilized an extremely rigid double-top construction method which also provided flat storage directly below the work surface. The addition of a shelf above the pinup surface allowed the back of the desk to be segmented in a way that made more efficient use of materials. An easily replaceable self-healing cutting mat was fit to the top of each desk. 

A small, lockable, mobile storage unit at each workspace could provide an additional work surface or temporary seat when moved from under the desk.

Full-height mobile magnetic markerboards were used for partitions, rather then nesting markerboards or partitions with integrated storage, as they provided the best mix of privacy and ease of movement. 

Parts were sourced from CNC mills in upstate New York and central Pennsylvania, finished and partially assembled in Philadelphia, then palletized and shipped to Tulane. 

All units could be easily assembled using knockdown fittings, which mostly remained hidden after assembly.