The furniture major aims to develop technical, critical and creative skills relevant to furniture design and making. Furniture represents an intersection of many aspects of material culture, architecture, fashion, technology, craft and sustainability. The furniture workshop approach is grounded in delivering a breadth and depth of woodworking skills, including hand, machine, and computer aided techniques in both solid and laminated timber, from which students venture into a range of other related materials and processes. Through specific project briefs, students are encouraged to collaborate with other makers and designers in their own workshop, across disciplines, and in industry. The studio-based academic environment ultimately trains students not only in furniture making, but also in design logic, aesthetics, and creative problem solving that is transferable into many fields.

The Furniture Workshop provides comprehensive courses of study for Undergraduate, Honours, and Postgraduate students. The ANU School of Art Furniture Workshop, with it’s professionally active practice-led research staff, opportunity for collaboration in other workshops, and proximity to Australia’s national collecting institutions, provides an excellent environment for study and research.