Douglas R. Seidler, Assistant Professor of Interior Design
Associate AIA
BDes & MArch, University of Florida
Courses: Advanced Materials & Methods, Senior Studio, Digital Visualization Studio, Furniture Design & Detailing Studio, Advanced Interior Design Communications, Orthogonal Drawing, Construction Drawings, and Thesis Documentation
For Douglas Seidler, using technology is more than a technical exercise. “I try to teach students how to integrate computers in the interior design process to help them find their way back to the studio.”
He worked full-time for the architectural firm Ellenzweig Associates when he began teaching at The School of Art & Design in fall 2003. “As someone with an architectural background, my niche is the more technical aspect of construction and design,” Seidler says. In his Advanced Materials & Methods studio, students design projects using the latest software. “Rather than building furniture, they built it virtually, in pieces the way it would be constructed. That allows them to see how things go together and understand what it means when metal touches a piece of wood,” he says.
Seidler’s enthusiasm for teaching tech-savvy interior designers inspired him to write his first book, Digital Drawing for Designers: A Visual Guide to AutoCAD. The text relates the software to the art of drawing by hand and illustrates key concepts through the work of his former students—of whom he is most proud. “When I see my students enjoying professional success,” Seidler says, “I feel that I’m truly contributing to the field.”