Project Overview

In partnership with Albedor Industries and Fiona Dunin from FMD Architects, Porta collaborated with RMIT University to lead an industry-based project as part of RMIT’s second year Interior Decoration and Design Associate Degree.

The project consisted of two parts:

1. TIMBER KNOWLEDGE & TIMBER APPLICATIONS:
Students outlined how timber can be used in a commercial room of their choice.

2. FEATURE WALL DESIGN:
Students designed a feature wall or walls in a commercial room using Porta’s FORESCOLOR coloured MDF.

The project was designed to build knowledge of how suppliers in the design industry work with interior designers to create and bring to life their unique designs. Albedor Industries, Fiona and Porta worked together to provide this interaction for the students, which included:

• Site visit to Albedor to learn about laminating and routing FORESCOLOR coloured MDF
• Training in the use of timber in residential and commercial applications by Claire Pizzey, Porta, and Fiona Dunin
• Training in using Porta’s FORESCOLOR coloured MDF to create a unique panel designs

The Outcome

The students created designs that demonstrated how they could bring their creativity to life through laminating and routing coloured MDF. The 3 winning designs were fabricated by Alebdor for display at RMIT University and also presented the winning students with a sample size for their portfolios.

The project and collaboration was a great success. Porta, the supplier, Fiona as the architect and Albedor as the fabricator (routing & laminating) provided the students with a real life commercial project to practice on.

Every submission was inspiring and worthy of a place in any commercial project. Porta would like to commend the students on their impressive design calibre, as well as the innovative culture of RMIT to develop this project with players in the industry.