Course summary

Interior architecture is a distinct and separate discipline to architecture. Its specific focus is the creation of innovative and exciting interior spaces, primarily through the adaptation and spatial manipulation of existing buildings. The course is concerned not just with physical intervention but also with how space is understood and occupied. The course implicitly embeds issues of sustainability, through its concern with reuse, and refurbishment, as well as the critical ability to respond appropriately to a given context. It is inter-disciplinary in its outlook and acknowledges the importance of other closely related areas, including Interior Design, exhibition design, set and lighting design, retail and product design, interior conservation as well as multidisciplinary and traditional design practice. The Interior Architecture BA course is designed to equip you with the practical skills and theoretical knowledge required to pursue a career in interior architecture and design related fields and/or go on to further awards in tertiary education, most typically a Masters qualification. The design modules promote creativity, aesthetic sensibility and intellectual enquiry, together with the skills needed to work individually and in groups in developing design proposals. Design projects are taught in small groups in Year 1 (Credit Level 4), and students in Years 2 and 3 (Credit Levels 5 and 6) are organised within a studio system which facilitates peer-group learning. The work produced in the design studios forms the basis of your design portfolio through which you will prepare for practice/employment, or in support of your application for postgraduate study. Technical skills, cultural context, design management and economics, and the commercial aspect of interiors necessary for practice are integrated with design projects. You will be assessed through your design portfolio, design project work and an academic portfolio, along with visual and oral presentations in the form of individual or group seminars, tutorials and presentations of design project work.