Interior Architecture Prep (IARP)

This introductory studio course is for graduate design majors within CABE. It introduces fundamental design principles and vocabulary, theory, process methodologies, problem-solving strategies, and craft with abstraction as a primary building block. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between production (the process of creating) and expression (the conveying of ideas and meaning) in design. Students will analyze and synthesize multiple contextual elements that impact design solutions.

Through a series of projects of increasing size and complexity, students explore conceptual, theoretical, functional, and aesthetic frameworks for developing a design language to define spatial environments. Place making, behavioral factors, and socio-cultural and environmental influence are studied. The experiential and intuitive nature of the design process is investigated, as is the contributing role of form, scale, tectonics, materials, dynamic systems, and light/color.

This course covers the fundamentals of architectural graphic representation for exploration, presentation, and documentation. Topics include freehand sketching, 2D orthographic drawings, para-line projections, site surveying and digital and analog modeling/fabrication. In addition, students learn how to enhance their drawings using basic rendering techniques.

Emphasizing the presentation of spatial environments at many scales, students will refine and expand their drawing and model-building skills using a wide range of media and integrating manual and digital techniques. This course also addresses the interrelationship of the visual and verbal components of making an effective presentation. Building on skills and tools used in Vis 1, software and tools will be expanded to include generative modeling, digital fabrication, and evolving technologies.

This lecture course surveys Western and non-Western architecture and interiors, beginning with ancient history and extending to the 19th century. Throughout the course, students acquire a working vocabulary for both analyzing and evaluating the built environment and relating developments in the built environment to other disciplines such as the arts, furniture, and material culture. Architectural works are placed within a broad historical context by considering factors such as religion, philosophy, political and economic developments, as well as materials, construction methods, and local environments.

The primary intent of this course is to use established and emerging digital technologies as an effective tool in the design and presentation process. The course will focus on visual communication of information, particularly design thinking. It includes visualizing design concepts in two and three dimensions in a manner consistent with interior design studio and professional level work. Methods will include graphic composition, digital model construction, creating and applying surface materials, lighting, rendering, and post-processing.