LSU Students Display 15 Custom Chairs in Gallery

Baton Rouge residents can vote for a people's choice award and see the full-scale seating before the display closes Thursday.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Landscaping

Three handmade wooden chairs with visible joinery stand on a pale concrete gallery floor in soft window light. — Fifteen student-designed full-scale chairs from an LSU landscape architecture course are on display at Boyce Gallery through Thursday, with a community people's choice vote closing Tuesday. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

LSU landscape architecture students have displayed full-scale functional chairs they built in Boyce Gallery in Julian T. White Hall. The 15 chairs, each designed differently, will remain on view until Thursday, and a people's choice award vote for community members ends Tuesday.

Why it matters

For Baton Rouge households weighing outdoor furniture or seating, the project shows how custom, full-scale pieces move from sketch to finished build with professional guidance. The public display gives local residents a chance to see the work in person and vote before the gallery installation closes.

Fifteen students built 15 full-scale chairs, and each design looks completely different from the others. Community members can vote for a people's choice award until Tuesday, and students will answer questions in Boyce Gallery from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thursday.

The players

LSU

Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, whose five-year architecture program includes this fourth-year landscape architecture project.

Boyce Gallery

The LSU gallery in Julian T. White Hall where the student chairs are on public display.

The details

Students in the semester-long project first researched furniture design precedents and human body sizing. They sketched original designs, received feedback from their professor, and produced construction drawings and test models before building full-scale chairs with guidance from experienced wood craftsmen. Professional jurors including architects, civil engineers and art historians evaluated the models.

Tuesday: people's choice award voting ends
Thursday, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.: students answer questions about their chair projects at Boyce Gallery
Thursday: chairs remain on display in the gallery until this date

The Home Front

Custom outdoor and indoor seating built by trained designers is a niche alternative to mass-produced furniture. This class project illustrates how a university architecture program can turn design work into real, usable pieces for the public.

If you are considering a custom bench, patio chair, or porch seat, the student work offers a local look at how full-scale pieces are sized to the human body. Plan to see the display before Thursday if you want to ask the students about materials and construction.

The takeaway

Custom seating starts with measuring the human body and testing designs before any wood is cut, a sequence worth remembering when comparing handmade outdoor furniture. Visit Boyce Gallery before Thursday to view the chairs and ask questions during the 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. window.

What happens next

Voting for the people's choice award closes Tuesday, and student question sessions are scheduled for Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Boyce Gallery.