Interior Design is an interdisciplinary practice that is concerned with the creation of a range of interior environments that articulate identity and atmosphere through the manipulation of volume, the placement of specific elements, such as furniture, and the treatment of both new and existing surfaces.
The Interior Design programme describes projects that require little or no structural intervention with the existing building. The building is usually retained in it's original architectural condition with the new interior inserted or installed within. It can often have ephemeral and temporal qualities. Interior Design accepts the existing architectural context and evolves new interiors that are sensitively and appropriately responsive.
The programme can also be taken over four years in a sandwich mode that includes a one-year professional placement within the design industry, taken after your 2nd year of study. This enables you to incorporate a substantial professional practice element in your studies, for which you will receive an Advanced Diploma Professional Practice: Interior Architecture & Design at graduation. The programme are highly regarded within both the academic sector and the design industry and, over more than thirty years, have acquired a considerable reputation for providing high quality graduates to the creative industries.
The practice of interiors is frequently described as 'placemaking', which demands an explicit articulation of the functional, physical and experiential relationships between the existing and original, and the new, imagined and sustainable re-use of the built environment. The subject of 'the interior' is explored at Middlesex in two closely related but distinct courses, BA Interior Design and BA Interior Architecture, but both aim to:
Learning on the course is based on a sequence of 'integrated design projects', in which you are asked to apply and demonstrate various aspects of your learning, as well as your individual creativity and originality, to specified design tasks. Projects are supplemented by a variety of lecture, seminar and workshop sessions to provide specialist skills and knowledge. Your ideas and proposals will be tested and explored in regular tutorials and reviews, in which critical evaluation, guidance and feedback is provided, and from which you will be expected to develop and improve your work.
The curriculum focuses on six core learning strands which are developed progressively throughout all years of the course.
The module aims to introduce concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design. You will examine materials and technologies for the construction and operation of building interiors and identify environmental and performance issues in the construction and use of building interiors. You will explore the communication and representation of design in a range of media as well as establish the contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation. This module will also introduce approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to refine concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design. You will explore materials and technologies for the construction and operation of building interiors and will investigate environmental and performance issues in the construction and use of building interiors. You will develop the contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation as well exploring further the communication and representation of design in a range of media. This module also aims to develop your approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to extend concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design. You will develop the use of materials and technologies for the construction and operation of building interiors an examine environmental and performance issues in the construction and use of building interiors. You will refine the contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation as well as develop further the communication and representation of design in a range of media. This module also aims to broaden your approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to further extend concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design. You will develop the use of materials and technologies for the construction and operation of architectural interiors and examine further environmental and performance issues in the construction and use of architectural interiors. You will further refine the contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation as well as further develop the communication and representation of design in a range of media. This module also aims to extend your personal approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to utilise employment experience to provide an insight into the work, methods and operation of a professional design practice. You will enable the skills and knowledge acquired during the academic programme to be applied and related to personal and professional practice. This module will provide an opportunity for you to advance professional knowledge and skills in the context of a professional design practice working on real projects.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to encourage articulation of the contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation. You will evaluate concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design. You will further extend your use of materials and technologies for the construction and operation of architectural interiors and will examine further environmental and performance issues in the construction and use of architectural interiors. You will further develop the communication and representation of architectural interiors in a range of media as well as enhancing and refining your personal approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning, this module aims to reinforce the use of materials and technologies for the architectural construction and operation of interiors. You will critically review concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design and will embed environmental and performance issues in the architectural construction and use of interiors. You will be able to strengthen your contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation as well as synthesise the communication and representation of architectural interiors in a range of media. This module also aims to consolidate your personal approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
Building on prior learning and professional practice experience, this module aims to reinforce the use of materials and technologies for the architectural construction and operation of interiors. You will critically review concepts of design thinking and the processes and practice of brief-led design and embed environmental and performance issues in the architectural construction and use of interiors. You will be able to strengthen your contextual and critical basis of design and its analysis and interpretation as well as synthesise the communication and representation of architectural interiors in a range of media. This module also aims to consolidate your personal approaches to reflective and professional design practice.
You can find more information about this course in the programme specification. Module and programme information is indicative and may be subject to change.
Each year we take our highest achieving graduates to the Interior Educators Exhibition held at the Truman Brewery. This event showcases Interior graduates' work from over 35 courses nationally.
Last year BA Interior Architecture graduate, Lauren Slevin, won the top award of Best Overall Student Project. Her project focused on issues of consumption, detoxification and well-being in the, soon to be remodeled, location of Smithfield Market, in East London.
We also won the Best Stand award for the best exhibition of student work, designed by a group of graduating students during their second year of study.
Interior Architecture and Interior Design students at Middlesex work on cross-disciplinary live projects which see them explore their creativity in exciting ways. A recent collaboration saw second year students work with Edgar Davey, visiting lecturer in graphic design and Middlesex alum, on an installation where Davey's mind blowing graphics were projected onto a sculptural form designed by the students.
Originally exhibited at the Red Gallery in London's Shoreditch, The Void has since been showcased at Middlesex's 2015 art and design degree show and at the Interior Educators exhibition at London's Truman Brewery.
Follow us on Instagram or scroll through the images below to see the great work our students have produced.
Graduates from the BA Interior Design course are equipped to fulfil design roles in interior design practices, specialist studios and consultancies, building and property companies, advisory agencies, and the design departments of public and commercial organisations. The creative industries sector is currently one of the fastest growing employment markets and graduates can take advantage of the many opportunities for design-related roles and activities across the built environment sector, as well as in the education, media, retail and entertainment sectors.
The course will also prepare you for further postgraduate and specialised study in interior architecture, interior design, the built environment, design history and theory, visual culture, and design management.
If you are interested in this course you might also like to find out about our MA Interiors (Architecture and Design).
The specialist resources and facilities available to students in the Grove are extensive and the most up-to-date available, and there is professional technical support in all areas to help you use our workshops and studios to the best advantage.
The Sheppard Library houses computing and audio-visual facilities, a language centre, learning support services and the student help centre. There is an entire floor dedicated to design resources, including the Materials and Product Collections.
The Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDA) is MLA accredited and houses the important Silver Studio collection of late 19th and early 20th century decorative art and design, designated as of national importance, together with a range of other collections including the J M Richards Archive of books on architecture and town planning.
Jonathan has been both a professional Interior Designer and design educator for over twenty years. His specialisms include the design of hotels, spa’s and leisure spaces, restaurant design, exclusive residential design, and retail and exhibition design. He also worked on the design of a private island in the Caribbean. A keen advocate of contemporary visualising techniques which utilise graphical software, he also maintains a strong connection with hand drawing and painting, being an ardent Urbansketcher and life drawing. In 2015, Jon published a collection of short stories creating new myths for an old village in Kent and illustrated each of the fifty-five fairy tales with linocut black and white illustrations.
Start: October 2018, EU/International induction: September 2018
Duration: 3 years full-time
Code: K120