Ella SidesIn the fall semester of 2024, students in UK’s second-year Product Design course, PRD 220, were tasked with designing and building a new battery charging station using materials from Campus Woods, a program that repurposes felled campus trees into usable lumber for student projects.
The finished shelving unit – now holding batteries for backpack blowers – is the first furniture piece designed by Product Design students to be implemented by UK Facilities Management.
Product Design faculty member, Pooya Mohaghegh, has worked with Campus Woods since its inception and has integrated the program into his courses as an applied learning experience for the past three years. His goal is to treat campus not just as a backdrop for learning, but as an active, collaborative environment where students can see their work become a permanent fixture.
“Having a university department serve as a client is rare at this stage in a student’s education,” Mohaghegh explained. “UK Grounds was generous with their time and encouraging throughout the process. This project, and our engagement with their team, was a great example of using campus as a teaching platform.”
To create the battery charging station, students first worked in teams to participate in a design competition amongst themselves, pitching concepts to Mohaghegh and the end-users. Throughout the semester, members of the UK Grounds team visited students to offer feedback on their designs. Eventually, a final design was selected and a group of students worked together to fabricate and install the shelving unit. This process is not only educational – it also allows the students to experience the full lifecycle of wood, deepening their connection to the materials they are working with.
“The ability to work with wood from its raw form gives students a connection to materials they often don’t get,” Mohaghegh said. “It’s a part of the process that’s usually overlooked because of how easy it is to buy finished planks at a store.”
Carson Ferrin, student, played a major role in the build and installation process. “I constructed the overall framework, shelving, and veneering with a couple of other students,” he explained. “I also put up the slat wall and helped move the station into place.”
Carson noted that the project helped him build confidence in the shop. He learned new fabrication skills, like more efficient screw patterns and assembly techniques, and appreciated the mentorship of faculty throughout the process. “The most fun part was putting everything together. It was such a nice feeling when we finally got it all assembled because we had worked so hard on every aspect.”
According to Jerry Hart, UK Grounds Superintendent, the collaboration was not only more cost-effective than purchasing a new shelving unit, but it also added meaning and value to the final product.
“When I first started thinking about replacing the old shelving unit,” said Hart, “I immediately thought of Campus Woods. How can we use this program to show the campus that we care for our trees – even after they’re gone?”
Thank you to all the students involved in this project: Carson Ferrin, Alex Diakov, McKenzie King, Mikey Sims, Aubree Hay, Brady Bradshaw, Chaterine Bongivoni, Caroline Bradley, Abril Garcia, Chase Lobaldo, Abby McGuire, Brady Mulley, Jayci Nickell, and Kylah Wright.
