Spaces and studios

Apparel labs are used by both undergraduate and graduate students and are accessible 24/7. They contain industrial production equipment for wovens and knits, as well as a state-of-the-art thermal bonding machine. The apparel CAD lab provides scanners, printers (with sample fabric printing capability), plotters, and digitizers. Software includes the latest versions of Adobe, Optitex, and Gerber software for graphic design and pattern design, including 3D patternmaking capability. The knit studio has a variety of hand flat knitting machines and a Shima Seiki SRY 123 programmable electronic machine. 

The Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection (CF+TC) is housed in HCD and is used for exhibition, research and teaching. The CF+TC holds over 9,000 items, including a fashion collection with materials from the 18th century to the present, and a textile collection including Coptic textiles, European examples from the Renaissance on, a lace collection supported by a major documentary archive in Mann Library, and an ethnographic collection including rare examples from all over the world. Search and view the catalogue of the collection online.

HCD has multiple display spaces:

• The MVR 1250 Gallery and the Jill Stuart Gallery feature rotating exhibitions of both student and faculty work.
• Glass cases line the hallway of the Human Ecology Building showing student-curated selections from the Cornell Fashion + Textile Collection.
• Two smaller display cases on the first and second floors of HEB also house exhibits.
• The walls on the fourth floor of MVR and the Terrace Level of the Human Ecology Building are pinnable and used for critiques and to display student projects.

Located in room 1424 MVR Hall, the dLib inspires students with current materials and innovative resources for interior designers, product designers, ergonomists and facility planners. It facilitates collaboration and exploration while developing smart solutions to conceptual and real world situations. dLib creates a learning hub for Design + Environmental Analysis students and professors, and provides a way to foster relationships with vendors and alumni. Product vendor representatives provide samples of the latest materials and products on the market and lunch-and-learn seminars.

This 2,500-square-foot design studio is used for classes, group work and individual study, developing and testing prototypes, and digital fabrication including two 3-D printers and a laser cutter. Located in MVR 1101, the space is accessible 24/7 to Human Centered Design students.

The Digital Design and Fabrication Studio provides a variety of design computing resources, digital fabrication machines and professional services that support teaching and research needs for the department of Human Centered Design. A wood shop, electronics studio, assembly studio, paint room, laser studio and 3D print studio are available for use by students and faculty. Contact ched2fs [at] cornell.edu (ched2fs[at]cornell[dot]edu) for questions.

Fiber science labs include a full range of textile testing equipment in a conditioned lab and a testing unit for characterizing fabrics for 3D virtual design. 

As a working lighting installation, this lab in MVR 4250 provides students with hands-on experience with a diverse range of lighting fixtures currently on the market. Various bulb types and fixture housings illustrate a wide variety of lighting effects, from wall-washing to concentrated down-lighting. Additionally, this space is used to teach the impact of different lighting systems on perception and the human response to lighting in the built environment. The tactile walls also make this a great critique space

The Cornell Natural Dye Garden was started in the spring of 2015 to cultivate a variety of colors for textiles that come from the natural world. We believe natural dyes are a sustainable intervention in the apparel supply chain and the garden has become a hands-on and direct classroom for students to learn how to cultivate, extract and create colors on textiles.

Located in the courtyard between the Human Ecology Building and Martha Van Rensselaer Hall, the garden is regularly used for teaching demonstrations and community outreach. We would like to thank those who generously donated monetary gifts through the Cornell Crowdfunding campaign, which helped us to establish the dye garden as a place of research, teaching and outreach.  Every summer and fall we welcome visitors to the garden and enjoy growing a range of dye plants.

Other labs available to student researchers within the college include the Human Metabolic Research Unit in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the SHED (Simulation and Human Engineering Design) Lab.

Students may access additional university facilities and collections. For example:

• The Anthropology Department Collections contain many rare items, including a number of Pre-Columbian textiles.
• The Johnson Museum of Art houses not only art works but also some exceptional examples of ethnographic and historic textiles and costume.
• Mann Library houses collections on apparel design and has extensive electronic resources including visual material collections.