UCO Interior Deign students make treasure from trash

May 5 , 2006

Students from the University of Central Oklahoma’s Interior Design Department recently went dumpster diving to find materials to complete the final project in their Custom Furniture class.

The students were required to research, design and construct a piece of furniture from trash. UCO Professor Amy Jacobson-Peters says the assignment was meant to familiarize students with the concepts of green design and sustainability.

“As responsible designers of the twenty-first century, these students must be able to specify materials responsibly with an awareness of how they impact the environment,” Jacobson-Peters said.

The students worked in teams and gathered debris from an auto salvage yard, the recycling bins on the UCO campus, dumpsters and local businesses.

They turned the debris into furniture as diverse as an upholstered bench built from old lockers, a coffee table fashioned from a discarded box spring and a club chair crafted from empty water bottles.

Student Diana Tomova, from Bulgaria, said her team’s inspiration came from the 30-40 million empty water bottles thrown away each day.

“We looked at the product that created the most waste and from there it was a matter of tying all the bottles together in a way to make the chair balanced and stable,” said Tamova.

M’lea Briggs, from McAlester, said the class project helped her to realize how easily trash can be fashioned into something useful.

“It’s fun to challenge yourself to find something and see what you can do with it. You have your limits, but then you also have your possibilities,” Briggs said.

The students’ furniture will be on exhibit beginning May 11 at the Donna Nigh Gallery on the fourth floor of the UCO Nigh University Center.

Page updated 5/05/06