Welcome to the bustling — albeit slightly dusty — epicenter of design ingenuity
The buzz of the saw. The spark of the welding machine. The creativity of K-State students is on full display at the APDesign Farris Family Fabrication Laboratory.
Spanning an impressive 20,000 square feet, this space helps students transform their conceptual musings into tangible creations.
From 3D printers to glass-fabricating kilns, the space is tricked out with tools to make any design come alive. Instructors from the College of Architecture, Planning and Design are on hand to help students sculpt architectural models and prototype furniture pieces.
It’s not just a space to create. It’s a place to learn.
“Learning and using relatively industry-standard things, like working a CNC router, lets me be creative and innovative in my studies,” said Emmett Lockridge III, a graduate interior architecture student. “Access to familiarize and push boundaries with these resources is something I’d never thought I’d be able to do.”
The Fab Lab welcomes various disciplines — architecture, interior design and furniture craftsmanship. Whether sculpting architectural models, prototyping furniture pieces or fashioning intricate crafts, the Fab Lab offers an expansive canvas for realizing imaginative visions.
“The versatility offered through experiences in the lab, where designers are not just making pretty pictures on a computer allows us to come down here and physically test things,” Emmett said. “There’s a pride in showing off your creations.”
Thanks to the intersection of ingenuity and resources, the Fab Lab gives students a space to innovate and problem-solve.
