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BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
- Duration: 3 or 4 years full-time
- Placement year: Optional 1 year
- Course code: KW12 (UCAS)
- Institution code: A66 (UCAS)
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Overview
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design will help you to become a skilled designer, capable of understanding the spaces in which we live, work, rest and play from a four-dimensional perspective.
This includes factoring structure, context, atmosphere, environmental consideration, narrative, and human need to create multi-faceted spaces.
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design course information
This course will offer you the skills, knowledge and work experience you need to become a leader in one of the most dynamic, creative, economically valuable and diverse areas of design. You’ll have the chance to work with real clients on real design projects in a studio-based and professionally-focused learning environment.
Through the adaptive reuse, rebranding, remodelling, recycling and re-communication of existing spaces, structures and environments, BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design offers you the skills, knowledge and work experience that you need to become a leader in one of the most dynamic, creative, economically valuable and diverse areas of design.
Interior Architecture and Design has an enviable record in graduate employment, often working with clients on real design projects in a studio-based, professionally-focused learning environment.
We offer you the chance to gain extended work experience in your second year; a uniquely valuable opportunity among UK degree courses and one which increases your graduate employment potential. This course will teach you to understand the three-dimensional potential, the atmosphere, and the identity of the spaces in which we live, work, rest, and play.
Placement year
All undergraduate courses at AUB offer an optional placement year, to be taken between your second and third years of study.
If you’re unsure about this optional placement, you don’t need to decide now. Once you’re here and studying with us, the course team will discuss the placement options with you, so when the time comes, you can make a decision that’s right for you.
If you’re required to have a Student Visa to study in the UK, it won’t be possible to undertake the one-year placement option; there’ll be other opportunities for you to engage with industry during your study at AUB.
Level 4 (first year)
Understanding the interior
Level 4 aims to generate a fundamental understanding of space: its analysis, theoretical manipulation, habitation, technological construction and materiality and scale.
The units at Level 4, and throughout your three years, are intended to show how the course looks at both interior architecture (generally considered to be the remodelling of existing buildings and the development of attitudes towards those spaces and structures) and interior design (the creation of a range of interior environments that articulate identity and atmosphere through the manipulation of spatial volume, placement of specific elements and the treatment of surfaces).
Studies at this level may include, but not be limited to:
- Colour
- Scale
- Problem-solving
- Communication of ideas through differing media
- Private and public and the effect on the design of spaces
- Analysing lifestyle and habitation: thinking of spaces as a designer, how people move and inhabit space, utilise space
- The construction of space and its materiality
- The intimate – the personal
- Spatial relationships
- Historical/contextual basis of design.
Level 5 (second year)
Up-thinking the interior
Level 5 aims to consolidate and refine the skills delivered at Level 4 and encourage you to develop your own methods of realisation and visualisation. Your second year has been designed to enhance your development both creatively and professionally.
Technical knowledge (construction/light/sound/materiality) will also be further developed with design units being used to demonstrate how your knowledge and critical understanding of the well-established principles of interior architecture and design have developed.
Technological developments and developments in the nature of interior practice will be explored such as the communication of semiotics, atmosphere and identity, ideas of brand and image, interactivity, the real and the virtual.
In Level 5, design will progress from the concentration on the personal and intimate at Level 4 to ideas of community – and the deeper understanding of scale, complexity and hierarchy in space that this will necessitate. You’ll explore concepts such as gender, ritual, workplace and domesticity, with reference to typologies such as spaces of power, spaces of commerce and spaces of faith.
You'll also be asked, through discussions with your unit tutor, to determine the broad area for research to be explored in the dissertation and the design project which will occur in the first unit of the autumn term of Level 6, your third year.
At the end of second year, there will be the option of progressing straight into third year or taking an extended work placement and progressing on your return.
Level 6 (third year)
Redefining the interior
Your final year is your opportunity to bring all of your learning, skills and knowledge together in the production of a package of professionally orientated, creative work that will examine and emphasise your research theme.
One of the fundamental strengths of the course is that it does not attempt to define the interior for you, rather it encourages you, over three years, to challenge, theorise, conceptualise, realise and visualise your notion of the “interior” in contemporary society: in other words we encourage you, in your final year, to look at what the interior can be.
Units at Level 6 will look to consolidate this approach through the work that has been undertaken at Levels 4 and 5. In addition, the course will encourage you to build on your Level 5 experience to contextualise your work in a professional studio environment that emphasises practice, law and the ethical and ecological roles and responsibilities of you as a designer.
At the end of the year you'll have produced a comprehensive body of written and design work that will demonstrate to both specialist and non-specialist audiences your practical and thinking skills and intellectual and critical engagement in the complex design of interior spaces.
Having undertaken this work in a professional setting, you'll evidence your readiness for the move to either practice or postgraduate study and you'll be proud of what you have achieved.
Our BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design alumni have gone on to win great things:
- Arts Thread Global Design Graduate Show (2023) – shortlisted – Product/Architecture/Interiors (Femke Burley)
- Creative Conscience Award (2022) – shortlisted – Architecture, Engineering, and Interior Design (Isabella Williams)
- Architects for Health Award (2021) – Best Project for Interior Design (Tom Pritchard)
- Architects for Health Award (2021) – Best Concept for Interior Design (Isabella Williams)
- Creative Conscience Award (2020) – Bronze – Architecture, Engineering, and Interior Design (Daniela Rendon Restrepo)
- Creative Conscience Award (2020) – Highly Commended – Architecture, Engineering, and Interior Design (Charlotte Lacey-Clarke)
- Creative Conscience Award (2020) – Highly Commended – Architecture, Engineering, and Interior Design (Lydia Palmer)
- Creative Conscience Award (2020) – Highly Commended – Architecture, Engineering, and Interior Design (Kseniya Silant’eva)
- Architects for Health Award (2019) – First Prize – Best Project Presentation (Jasmine Hunt)
- Architects for Health Award (2019) – Highly Commended – Best Concept (Lydia Palmer)
As a course, we've also been selected as finalists in the HSJ 2022 Awards for Integrated Care System of the Year, for our work with Our Dorset on the Think Big initiative.
Student gallery
Looking for inspiration? Browse our gallery of student work and take a look at some of the projects that current students have been working on.
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Meet the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design course team
On the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design course, you’ll benefit from the expert guidance from our experienced teaching staff. You can read more about their specialisms by exploring their profiles below.
MA, BA (Hons), FHEA
BA (Hons)
FHEA
The course is positioned with clear aim of creating interior architecture and design graduates who see themselves as creatively confident, technically competent, critically capable, and ready to commence their part within the professional interior architecture and design community of practice, or related fields. We believe that tomorrow's designers should be able to use technologies that continue to evolve. They should gain empathy and maintain a deep understanding of social issues, human behaviour, and modern business models and they must meet new ethical challenges in different global territories with different sustainability issues, different cultures, and different value systems.
Application process
Once you've found the perfect Undergraduate course, you can apply to study via UCAS, including direct entry applications to second and third year.
When applying through UCAS, use the institution code A66 for courses taught at Arts University Bournemouth. For courses based at Bournemouth and Poole College, use code B49. We'll then use your completed UCAS form to make decisions about your application. You can find out more on entry requirements in our apply section.
When you apply to one of our courses, it's important that you help us get a good picture of both you and your work – so you'll need a great personal statement. We want to know more about why you're interested in the course, your key influences, and what you hope to do after your studies.
If you're invited for an interview, many of our courses will ask to see a portfolio of your work so we can get more insight into your ideas and abilities. To help you, we've created guidelines outlining what we expect from your portfolio for each course.
The fee that you pay the Arts University Bournemouth provides the necessary equipment and training for you to complete your course.
You may also choose to buy some items of personal equipment such as a laptop or tablet computer, but this is not required; desktop and laptop computers are available for you to use in common study areas, including a loan system in the Library.
If you decide to undertake an optional placement year, the tuition fee is £1,850. This is subject to inflationary increases based on government policy, and providing you progress through the course in the normal timeframe (no repeat years or breaks in study).
For the majority of our courses, we'll ask you to digitally submit a portfolio as part of the application process.
Portfolios should show examples of your work – both finished and work in progress – that demonstrate your interests and skills. We expect to see around 10 slides/images in your portfolio that shows your identity as an artist.
If we ask for a digital portfolio then we'll give you 30 days to submit it. Sometimes we'll need a portfolio submitted quickly if there's a UCAS set deadline approaching, but if you need more time, just let us know and we'll try to help.
We've created specific portfolio guidelines for each of our courses, you can take a look at these below.
If you've applied to study an online postgraduate (MA) degree, please refer to the AUB Online portfolio guidelines.
None of our courses currently require an interview.
The only course requiring an audition is BA (Hons) Acting and if you're invited to one you'll have at least 10 days notice.
Studios and resources
As a student on the course, you’ll work across our studio and computer spaces.
Design work, tutorials and critiques take place in a dynamic and creative atmosphere using the latest in digital and audio-visual equipment.
Interior Architecture and Design Resources
The Interior Architecture and Design resources are categorised into exclusive IAD facilities and shared spaces with the...
Design Studio
You'll be working in a design studio, complete with computer suite and team workspace
The Library
The Library at AUB holds an excellent range of print and online collections
Lecture Theatres and Seminar Rooms
We have a number of lecture theatres and seminar rooms scattered around campus to assist students with their studies.
3D Workshop
Our 3D workshops with manual and digital manufacturing equipment and computers
Drawing Studio
Our iconic blue Drawing Studio is used by student from all courses and was designed by alumnus Sir Peter Cook...
Digital Suites
Our Digital Suites offer a digital post-production facility and digital teaching space.
Central Media Store
The Central Media store houses a diverse array of equipment, offering students the means to craft and capture...
Innovation Studio
The Innovation Studio operates as a lab for creative technologies, a nucleus for start-ups and enterprises and an industry engagement hub.
Printroom
Our printmaking facilities are a hub of creativity on campus and have been inspiring students since 1964.
Letterpress and Bindery
The Letterpress and Bindery studio is a central resource, where students can learn and explore bookbinding and letterpress printing.
Teaching, learning and assessment
The studio, and a studio culture, is central to the ethos of the course. From before you join the course (at open days and interviews) you'll have appreciated that, whilst not mimicking practice, the studio is central to your practice. The diversity of the student group brings benefits of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural experience; you can learn so much from making use of your space.
Each unit is assessed separately, and the assessment forms part of the unit. Assessment both provides a measure of your achievement, and also gives you regular feedback on how your learning is developing.
The course objectives are met by deploying a wide variety of teaching and learning methods including projects, lectures, seminars, group critiques and tutorials. In consultation with the Course Leader, staff are responsible for co-ordinating individual units of study, and for selecting appropriate methods of delivery according to subject matter and student experience.
The methods employed induct you to the disciplines required of a creative practitioner and promote the development of transferable skills.
The study time allocated to each unit in the course incorporates a balance of formal teaching, tutorial support and independent learning.
BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design is structured progressively to provide increased opportunities for independent learning as you reach the later stages of the course.
The tutor leading the unit will employ a variety of methods of delivery in order to encourage your participation in the learning process. These will be dependent on the nature of the unit and the progress of the unit. Throughout the units within a year (and year on year) in the course, you're encouraged to gradually become more autonomous, progressively being asked to consider yourself as a professional designer.
The understanding of the role and appropriateness of communication is essential: as designers of space – something that cannot be experienced in reality until it is built, and something that will not be built unless it has been communicated beyond any level of doubt – clarity and professionalism in the verbal, visual and written communication of the self, of ideas and solutions to problems is prioritised on the course from the moment you join us.
The progressive promotion of independent learning reflects your anticipated maturity as a student and allows you to direct your learning towards individual goals. The teaching across the course is directed at providing you with the judgements necessary to take increasing responsibility for the management of your own learning.
Teaching is directed at supporting individual engagement in learning, although there will be opportunities for you to work in teams to enable you to learn the value of peer co-operation.
Contact hours include all scheduled teaching sessions, but also supervised time in the workshop or studio. In line with national guidance, we include in our calculation of contact hours all the time which is scheduled in the studio for independent study which is also supported by staff (either academic staff, or technicians).
The information provided below gives the proportion of your study time which constitutes contact hours. Where there are optional routes through the course, we have used the figures for the most popular option.
For every unit of your course, we'll inform you of what you're expected to learn; what you have to submit; how your work will be assessed; and the deadline for presenting your work for assessment. This is made available through Unit Information, which is on your course blog.
You'll receive a final mark for each unit in the form of a percentage, which will be recorded on your formal record of achievement (transcript). Each component of assessment is graded using a notched marking scale, whereby only certain marks are used within each grade. The only marks available within any ten-point band are *2, *5 and *8 (e.g. 62, 65, 68). These marks correspond to a low, mid, and high level of achievement within each grade band.
The University has agreed that, during 2019/20, it will run a pilot project. This will mean that on some courses, one unit at Level 4 will be assessed on a Pass / Fail basis only, with written feedback but no numerical grade. If your course has been selected for the pilot, your Course Leader will tell you this, and the details will be clearly expressed on the Unit Information Sheet.
All learning outcomes must be passed to successfully complete the unit.
On successful completion of your Honours degree course, you'll be awarded a degree classification based on your unit marks. The final classification is determined using all unit marks at Levels 5 and 6 using two different algorithms, which are detailed in the HE Student Regulations. If the two algorithms produce different results, you'll be awarded the higher class of degree.
If you have joined Level 6 through either the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) route or having completed a Foundation Degree (FdA), the final classification is determined using only your unit marks at Level 6.
For further information on assessment, progression, awards and classifications, please visit https://viewpoint.aub.ac.uk
What our BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design graduates are doing
The 'interiors' sector is the fastest growing sector of design in the UK economy. The breadth of areas covered on the BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design course enable graduates to have a wide variety of career opportunities open to them such as: architecture, interior architecture, interior design, set and stage design, point of sale display and exhibition design.
On graduating from BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design, students find that their studies have prepared them to take-on the challenge of an increasingly diverse creative sector: design companies such as Terry Farrell and Partners, Conran Design and Black Sheep have offered opportunities and internships; international brands, such as Wedgwood, and high-profile, international, communications agencies such as Exposure are working with our students.
The course prides itself on its success in promoting work experience for students and graduates; the variety of positions that the students achieve are a reflection of the philosophy of the course, namely that the study of Interior Architecture and Design is broad, dynamic and exciting and allows you, the student, to work to your strengths and follow the path that is best suited to you.
The breadth of areas covered on the course enables graduates to have a wide variety of career opportunities open to them such as: architecture, interior architecture, interior design, set and stage design, point of sale display and exhibition design.
During the course, students have worked for organisations as varied as the English National Opera and even Formula 1. Here are some examples of companies that our graduates are working for:
- Studio Tilt
- OB Architecture Ltd
- Michael Grubb Studio
- Focus Design
- NIO Architects
- Design Unlimited
Jasmine Hunt – BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design
Jasmine has been employed in the role of a visualisation artist, contributing to various architectural endeavours...
AUB Human newspaper
The AUB Human newspaper features AUB student and staff work from the Environmental Connection project with BA (Hons) Interior Architecture and Design and BA (Hons) Graphic Design courses. The project was undertaken in collaboration with Activate Performing Arts, in relation to the Green Space Dark Skies project at Maiden Castle in June 2022.
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