Interior Architecture and Design BA (Hons)

About the course

The course pursues a progressive and yet holistic teaching approach by design process that is not linear or sequential (i.e research first, design later) but based on various feedback systems that include skills development, manufacturing technologies, aesthetic judgment, scale iteration, 3D modelling, and evaluation protocols in a constant attempt to bridge academia and practice. We cultivate a learning environment as to support independent innovative and responsible designers with a thoughtful and imaginative approach to existing buildings and space making.

Why choose this course?

• Interior Architecture and Design students have participated in live projects with a number of commercial partners including Letchworth Garden City urban regeneration, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange, The Forum Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and St Albans Museums.
• The degree focuses on working with existing buildings and spaces and exploring different possibilities for habitation.
• The Interior Architecture and Design degree pursues a progressive and holistic teaching approach as we consider the design process as something non-linear or sequential (i.e. research first, design later).
• Graduates from the course are eligible for associate membership to professional institutions such as: The British Interior Design Association, The Society of British Interior Design and The Chartered Society of Designer.
• View student work on Flickr
• Read our blog

Study routes

• Part Time,
• Sandwich, 4 Years
• Part Time, 5 Years
• Sandwich,

Locations

• University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

Careers

The Interior Architecture and Design degree will develop your knowledge, skills and techniques of Interior Architecture and Design,  to broaden and deepen your understanding of and competency in Interior Architecture and Design. Students are encouraged to engage with some key contemporary issues and learn to develop their design exploration and experimentation, to be more self-directed in their design processes and to produce coherent and more complex design resolutions.

This degree will introduce students to thinking about the "interior" as a space of intersecting environments within an urban realm. Interior Architecture is explored as the engagement with and adaptation and transformation of the existing built fabric across both inside and outside spaces, generating ideas from a critical engagement with occupation, material form, site context and culture.

You will develop proficiency in a wide range of communication and technical skills from hand drawings, physical model making, CAD drawings and knowledge of structure, construction, materials and detailing. Learn how to observe, analyse, represent and communicate the qualities of existing spaces, adapt and improve existing building fabrics. In addition, a Critical and Cultural Studies modules offer the opportunity for students to acquire the theoretic and historic knowledge of the discipline while exploring a particular contemporary issues in depth.

Students will foster the transferable skills which will enable them to respond to current and future career challenges. Create opportunities for live projects and work placements in the industry. This degree equips students with career development skills to work professionally in the disciplines related to interior architecture and design and contribute creatively in a variety of roles, working independently and as part of multidisciplinary design teams.

Interior architects and designers can work on new construction projects or within existing buildings, as an individual practitioner or entrepreneur, within an architectural or interior design company, or as part of a multi-disciplinary design consultancy. They may also move into areas such as retail design and display, production design for stage, film or television, exhibition design, event design, styling of photo shoots, or virtual environments, interactive design and game design. They may work on small-scale domestic schemes for individual clients, or be involved in large corporate identity and branding projects. The Interior Architecture and Design programme enables students to explore the design possibilities of these different areas, to develop their own position as a designer and help them achieve their personal and career development plans.

Teaching methods

Lectures, Workshops, Seminars, Field Trips, Group and Individual Tutorials, Critiques, Live Pitches with Clients/ Industry Panels.

Work Placement

There is an opportunity to undertake a work placement on this degree.

Professional Accreditations

Member of the Interior Educators Group.

Structure

Year 1

Core Modules

• Communication 1: Representing Space

  The module introduces a basic range of skills and techniques of representation and communication for Interior Architecture and Design, typically running in sequence to Anatomy of Space, so as to provide intensive introductory skills. Students study different ways of drawing, measuring and communicating the characteristics of material space and form. In this way they acquire contact with architectural terms and orthographic drawing techniques and begin to learn how to translate them into spatial configurations, which are both accurate and evocative.

• Design Studio 1: Anatomy of Space

  The module introduces a basic range of skills and techniques of representation and communication for Interior Architecture and Design, typically running in sequence to Anatomy of Space, so as to provide intensive introductory skills. Students study different ways of drawing, measuring and communicating the characteristics of material space and form. In this way they acquire contact with architectural terms and orthographic drawing techniques and begin to learn how to translate them into spatial configurations, which are both accurate and evocative.

• Communication 2: Digital Skills

  This module aims at using and developing CAD skills and mediums to assist in the visual communication and presentation of design ideas and thinking relevant to Interior Architecture and Design. Various forms of 2D and 3D digital representation and development are explored. Students use generic ideas relating to design and use digital design methodologies to realise a series of defined projects during supported workshops and directed study time. Whilst some of the assignments are technical exercises that ensure the student has acquired a body of skills that support more freely interpretative assignments, others will support their design development in the Serious Play module.

• Technology 1: Introducing Materiality

  This module introduces physical making, prototyping and testing as a central component of developing knowledge and skills about materials and their characteristics.

• Design Studio 2: Serious Play

  This module introduces the basics of the design process as a dynamic process of investigation and analysis. This involves analysing situations, exploring ideas, experimentation, testing and development and the representation and communication of a realisable, creative, elegant and appropriate design proposal.

• C&CS L4 Interior Architecture and Design

  This module aims to introduce students to the notion that critical and cultural aspects of Interior Architecture and Design are a vital component of innovative professional design. Teaching and learning will be integrated into Interior Architecture and Design studio modules and will take the form of lectures, practical and theoretical seminars, visits and workshops. Module content may include materials, technologies and processes; key art and design movements and disciplines; and how design is shaped by a variety of cultural and professional contexts. The module will enable students to begin to locate their practice within a wider contextual and professional framework. To complement discipline specific studies this module aims to provide students with a repertoire of study skills of research, critical analysis and communication including academic conventions.

Optional

Year 2

Core Modules

• Design Studio 4: Inside Out

  This module considers the range of possibilities available to interior architects from temporary installations and events-based work to more permanent realisations. Here, we explore how Interior Architecture and Design can act as a catalyst of social space and improving the built environment. Projects will generally be set within an urban context. Students will be required to draw out conceptual ideas from a study of specific historical, social and physical aspects of this context. They will collate visual and textual research in order to establish a response to a range of contemporary design issues and will use these to drive their strategic thinking. The module brings together aspects from previous studies and requires students to integrate the knowledge and skills they have already learnt and to begin to take a position, that is, a personal attitude and approach towards the discipline of Interior Architecture and Design.

• Technology 2: Detail

  This module explores design thinking in conjunction with 1:1 physical exploration, through research of a selected part of the interior and supported with the study of the lighting, acoustic and other environmental conditions. It explores the site, not just as space but as a deep manipulation of surfaces, structure and construction which integrates functional, environmental and expressive roles.

• Communication 3: Digital Skills 2

  This module is concerned with developing proficiency in 3D CAD Modelling and Rendering/Digital Fabrication, with the aim of using and integrating representational techniques in order to explain design proposals both accurately and evocatively.

• Design Studio 3: Close Up

  This module sets the framework for enabling students to develop inventive and appropriate approaches to the detailed reworking and transformation of existing built spaces at the 1:1 scale. This work will be supported by the parallel technology module Detail and by the communications module Digital Skills 2. Students will engage very specifically with materials and construction, they will be introduced to concerns relating to sustainability, maintenance and resource-effectiveness, so as to examine the possibilities and limitations of recycling and re-use.

• C&CS L5 Interior Architecture and Design

  This module aims to encourage students to see critical and cultural studies as a vital tool to further innovative and well-informed practice in Interior Architecture and Design. Students will consider a range of theoretical positions that inform recent and contemporary practice, to reflect critically upon their own work and to locate their practice within cultural and professional contexts. Key areas include the various cultural perspectives that have shaped design practice, including innovation; technology; and sustainability. The module will utilise themes, debates and case studies identified in the studio. Teaching and learning will be integrated into studio modules and will take the form of lectures, practical and theoretical seminars, visits and workshops. There will be a particular emphasis on student analysis of contemporary practice and innovation through presentations and visual analysis. To complement discipline specific studies, the module will enable students to develop their analytical skills through a variety of theoretical approaches. The module will build upon the repertoire of study skills of research, critical analysis and communication established at Level 4.

Optional

• Professional Work Experience 15: Design

  Students may identify a work experience opportunity or have a work experience suggested to them. Before starting students meet with the Programme Leader or their nominated tutor, to agree the impending placement. All aspects of the intended experience are addressed from health and safety to client confidentiality and students are given guidance on behaviour and how to manage expectations. Proposals need to identify an outline work programme, the number of days in placement and the main learning outcomes; and are subject to agreement of the Programme Leader.

• Professional Development 1: Preparing for Industry

  The module includes several forms of peer appraisal in areas such as role play interviews and reading through CVs and application letters of both fellow students and industry professionals. These activities provide feedback and critique and are used as a means of developing students' self awareness and critical perception of themselves and their performance in the context of others. Students will explore and critically appraise a range of current publications, contemporary work and creative events which are part of the 'design culture' of Interior Architects and Designers. The development of these key skills is essential when considering career opportunities with the intention of enhancing their employability. The module will be taught through a mixture of lectures, tutorials and workshops. Alternatively, students may undertake work experience instead of this module and are encouraged to seek work experience during their study and in the holidays, to be agreed with the Course Director. Full details are set out in the Programme Specification. (See also Section 19.)

• C&CS L5 Creative Arts

  This module will run in parallel programme specific Critical and Cultural Studies modules at Level 5 during Semester A, should there be a need for the school to provide a single semester (15 credits) option for its students. For example, to aid in transitional arrangements stemming from the development of C&CS in the school (2012/13), or to provide a 1 semester option to international students who will be studying at UH as part of an exchange from a recognised partner institution.

• CCS L5 Creative Arts

  This module will run in parallel programme specific Critical and Cultural Studies modules at Level 5 during Semester B, should there be a need for the school to provide a single semester (15 credits) option for its students. For example, to aid in transitional arrangements stemming from the development of C&CS in the school (2012/13), or to provide a 1 semester option to international students who will be studying at UH as part of an exchange from a recognised partner institution.

Year 3

Core Modules

• Sandwich Year (Creative Arts)

  The optional 'Sandwich' placement year may be undertaken between the levels 5 and 6. Students undertake the placement within a commercial, public or not for profit setting that is able to provide an appropriate learning experience related to the creative and cultural industries. A placement could take a variety of forms, including: * working in an external organisation; * working with a University company or professional team within the University; * self-employment within defined context and externally refereed. The placement duration would typically be sustained for at least 48 weeks, though may be sustained for a full year. While the Faculty/School actively supports the placement process, ultimately it is the placement provider that will agree to manage and select students, normally through an interview process. During the placement a member of the academic staff will be assigned to the student as a tutor and will monitor the student's progress during the placement period.

Optional

Year 4

Core Modules

• Critical and Cultural Studies L6: Degree Essay / Report (Design)

  Designers need to be informed practitioners who engage critically with their discipline, its history, the ideas which inform it and how it is likely to evolve in the future. This module will enable students to conduct an in-depth enquiry of an aspect of design culture with an emphasis on the analysis of appropriate social, cultural, economic, technical, historical and aesthetic issues germane to students chosen topic and their studio work. The content of the module will be student-generated in that each student will bring their identified interests to the sessions. Independent learning will be supported through a programme of study workshops, tutorials and learning support materials on StudyNet which will enable students to develop skills in research, organisation and planning, critical analysis, constructing an argument, studentship (independent learning processes) and presentation including academic protocols. The assessed element of this module consists of a 6000 word essay/report or negotiated equivalent.

• Design Studio 6: Augment

  AUGMENT: COMBINE, ADD TO, TO INCREASE AND IMPROVE SOMETHING. This module focuses on the development of a personal major project that is closely connected with design research and technological investigations undertaken in Semester A. The project undertaken in this module will be a significant part of each student's graduate portfolio and is intended to indicate their readiness for professional practice or postgraduate study. Students will develop their own major design project programme, as agreed with Level 6 tutors at the end of Semester A. This will consist of critical and creative analysis of and engagement with, a specific built fabric and context, so as to transform and improve the existing environment.

• Technology 3: Contemporary Technologies

  This module provides the opportunity for self-initiated exploration of thematic cutting edge technologies relating to spatial practices explored in the studio projects. Through a series of lectures, workshops and independent study, students will develop a portfolio of related work that can include a particular technical aspect to inform their own projects in the Design Studio 5: Generator module.

• Design Studio 5: Generator

  The central activity of Interior Architecture and Design is to use design to adapt, transform and improve existing buildings and spaces through enabling new uses and experiences. In this module students will investigate how Interior Architecture and Design can take on a truly transformational role through an inventive engagement with and the re-defining of existing technologies, contexts or uses. During semester C (between L5 and L6) students may undertake a work placement, with the agreement of the Programme Tutor. Details are set out in the Programme Specification. It is the responsibility of the student to negotiate with the host organisation and conclude detailed arrangements of timing, location and content of their work placement. See section 19 for further details.

• Professional Development 2: Professional Practice and Employability

  Building on professional development at level 5, this module delivers a series of lectures and seminars designed to consolidate the students' understanding of professional practice, in the context of the range of possibilities for Interior Architects and Designers. Students will develop their understanding of changing approaches, practices and opportunities within the discipline's contemporary practice and of different professional and creative roles across, for example, space curation, design consultancy, retail, TV and theatre set design and interior photography. These could typically include work placements, case studies involving research and presentations of findings to peer groups, live project work (working on real projects with real clients in a competitive pitch situation) and lectures/seminars delivered by a variety of practicing professionals specifically chosen to reflect a wide range of practice.

Optional

Fees & funding

Fees 2013

UK/EU Students

Full time: £8,500 for the 2013 academic year

International Students

Discounts are available for International students if payment is made in full at registration

View detailed information about tuition fees

Additional course costs

In addition to the fees there are some compulsory course attached to this course:

Year 1
Materials kit; paper, card, modelling materials, drawing equipment, materials for making - £120-£160
Periodicals/magazines - £60-£120
Field trips, site visits -£80-£100

Year 2
Materials kit; paper, card, modelling materials, drawing equipment, materials for making - £150-£250
Field trips, site visits - £80-£100

Year 3
Degree shows & materials - £200-£300
Professional portfolio / Design show Printing, Final Model, models - £100-£180
Field trips, site visits - £80-£100

Scholarships

• National Scholarship Programme

Find out more about scholarships for UK/EU and international students

Other financial support

Find out more about other financial support available to UK and EU students

Living costs / accommodation

The University of Hertfordshire offers a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

View detailed information about our accommodation

How to apply