The furniture in the new Rhode Island School of Design dormitories might just be the furniture of the future.
Ergonomic, sustainable and recycled, the rubber, bamboo, plywood, sustainable fiberboard, beech and recycled polyester pieces were designed specifically for college students by a trio of RISD Furniture Design faculty.
In spring 2004, RISD Director of Residence Life Brian Janes approached Rosanne Somerson RISD '76, who was the head of the Furniture Design Department at the time, asking her to assist in making furniture selections for a new dorm to be located in the former Rhode Island Hospital Trust building on 15 Westminster Street.
According to Somerson, however, it quickly became apparent that no line of furniture in the range of the predetermined budget would be suitable.
"It's a beautiful space," Somerson said, "and there was nothing I was aware of that would be appropriate or ideal. We wanted to make a line of furnishing more in line with the feel of that building."
Somerson and RISD faculty members John Dunnigan RISD '80 and Peter Walker sought approval to design their own line of furniture for the 500-plus students who would be living in the new dormitory. Although each of them is a studio artist whose pieces sell for $10,000 or more, and time and money were both in short supply, the three formed a small company called DEZCO llc and submitted a proposal to RISD.
The three visited a variety of dorms at RISD and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get a better feel for how students use their furniture. At first they jokingly thought of giving students "a mattress in the middle of the floor and a disco ball," Dunnigan said. But in the end, the general consensus was that the furniture should be simple, highlight the beauty of natural materials and be easily customizable but not easily adjustable.
They also decided to use eco-friendly materials and a U.S. manufacturer because of the damage outsourcing has done to the domestic furniture industry. "It was important to us to demonstrate responsible and good design practices," Dunnigan said.
DEZCO spent the summer of 2004 designing two lines of furniture with 15 pieces each. A design review committee comprised of students, designers, architects and other members of the RISD community gave them feedback, which they incorporated to create a final line - a hybrid of the original two.
After picking manufacturers - Adden Furniture in Lowell, Mass. ,for the bulk of the line and Bergeron Enterprises in Assonet, Mass., for the soft-cover seating - DEZCO had to enter a phase of redesign so that they could accommodate the manufacturer's capabilities.
"We made lots of compromises, but working with Adden was terrific," Dunnigan said.
The final 12-piece line was delivered on time and under budget and includes a "flip bed" that is easily lofted for those students with limited storage space, as well as chairs with convex seats - "to force students to sit up, which is good for spinal health," Somerson said - and a dresser with rubber rather than stiff handles that Somerson said seeks to "engage the senses." The line also includes couches that can be combined into a number of different seating arrangements.
The dorm on Westminster Street opened to rave reviews this fall, but most of the students seemed unaware of the story behind their furniture.
Because the furniture looks so simple and natural, and students were not told about how environmentally friendly the line was, some students thought that the furniture might even be wasteful of environmental resources.
"It looks nice. It's a lot nicer than the junk we had before," Tim Smith, a junior graphic design major, told The Herald, "but I think they might have been a bit more economical with the wood."
Samantha Hyman, a junior, did not know that the line was eco-friendly at all. When told, she commented, "I like that aspect of it, but the furniture isn't that comfortable. When you're sitting on the couch and watching TV, you're not thinking of how environmentally friendly it is."
Still, both Dunnigan and Somerson noted that student reaction has been very positive.
Some features of the line, such as a solid platform under the beds' mattresses where students can store paintings, were made with RISD students in mind, but Dunnigan feels that the line could be successful in any market. Adden Furniture is currently marketing the line to colleges across the country.
