The final project in Surface + Space required students to transform the classroom itself into both subject and material. Over a weekend, the studio was left in disarray—trash on the floor, scraps on tables, dust in corners—so when the students returned, we set the final project: MetaSurface. They were tasked with forensically documenting and reconstructing the entire room. Every detail of the space—including ceiling tiles, lights, walls, furniture, garbage bins, and even their contents—had to be replicated at 75% scale using only paper-based materials.

This immersive exercise combined surface design, spatial reconstruction, model-making, and collaborative authorship into a single comprehensive challenge. It demanded not only craft and precision but also the ability to observe, analyze, and reimagine the familiar environment through poetic transformation.

This is one of the most epic and ambitious projects we have ever asked students to do. For this reason, Maysaa and myself also helped with the project and took on responsibility for suspending the ceiling (paper!!). It was surreal.