The design course teaches practical skills in three-dimensional furniture and exhibition design. It sharpens awareness of the cultural, historical and psychological effects of objects and spaces.

Social shifts are particularly relevant: in view of climate change, political upheavals, the re-evaluation of the relationship between humans and nature, and AI-driven technical innovations. Students learn to develop forward-looking designs as seismographs of social change.

Creation of independent designs

The core element is the "third" – a design that goes beyond personal or teaching intentions. It integrates historical influences (e.g. functionalism) or craft techniques as well as current challenges: sustainable materials and digital form finding. The process begins with small-format three-dimensional sketches and leads to 1:1 prototypes and spatial fragments.

The design process in detail

Designing is an open, cyclical dialogue with form, material and space. Initial ideas – fed by a theoretical examination of design, exhibition and social history – are implemented using a variety of means: drawing, photography, sculpture, analogue and digital. The haptic experience through concrete material work remains important to complement virtual tools. Photography and drawing/artistic communication help to take a step back and re-evaluate. Unexpected "accidents" serve as creative impulses and open up new perspectives.

Workshop-based implementation and reflection

In specialised workshops (wood, metal, ceramics, model making, digital) and project rooms, concretisation and review alternate. Virtual designs are regularly confronted with real materials in order to examine historically, socially and ecologically sound qualities.