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Interior Design Studio - Inhabitation

Unit Code: HDINT321HK




Duration

Contact Hours

Campus

Prerequisite

Corequisite

1 Semester

36 Hours per Semester

External Venue

 Competence in a 3D modelling package such as Autocad, 3D Studio Max, or Solidworks.
 

Credit Points: 12.5 Credit Points

Related Course/s:

A unit of study in the Bachelor of Design (Interior Design) offered at City U, Hong Kong.

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Aims & Objectives:

This unit aims to introduce students to the concepts of inhabitation and subjectivity through the exploration of the nature of everyday or ordinary urban spaces.  Students will design a series of interior spaces that explore and examine inhabitation and the experiential aspects of urban space.
 
At the completion of this unit students should be able to:
  • Explore subjectivity and personhood as these concepts may be applied to the design of an interior space;
  • Investigate the phenomenological aspects of everyday experience as these concepts may be applied to the design of an interior space;
  • Investigate the concepts of space, inhabitation and interiority as these concepts may be applied to the design of an interior space;
  • Using knowledge gained through the investigation of the qualities of space, light and materiality, develop a detailed design proposal for a medium scale domestic space that clearly articulates these concepts;
  • Communicate their design proposal in a succinct and sophisticated manner through documentation and presentations.

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Teaching Methods:

 This unit will be primarily conducted through project-based studio activities including individual reviews of work in progress and group-based activities that will assist students to develop their individual project through an understanding of the exhibition context. Students will also respond to a series of key readings and weekly design exercises as outlined in the Project Brief.

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Assessment:

Note: Percentage weightings are indicative. See Unit Briefs for full assessment details.

Part 1: Developmental Esquisses (Exercises) 50%

Part 2: Major Design Project 50%


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Generic Skills Outcomes:

Swinburne University works to produce higher education graduates who are capable in their chosen profession.  Learners bring to Swinburne a diverse wealth of experiences and graduate with individual understandings, abilities and attitudes.
Within this context the unit aims to provide students with the following attributes: 
  • Are capable in their chosen professional, vocational or study areas;
  • Are aware of local and international environments in which they will be contributing.

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Content:

The following aspects of interior design relating to the inhabitation theme will be considered / discussed throughout the semester:
  • Theories of subjectivity, personhood & individual identity;
  • Practices of the everyday / experiencing urban space;
  • Inhabitation, space, & interiority;
  • Practices of inhabitation / inhabiting everyday spaces;
  • Designing space for contemporary subjects;
  • Light, space & inhabitation.

Over the course of the semester, the following activities will be used to assist studio learning:
*   Reviews of ongoing work;
*   Project development
*   Research and investigation of themes
*   Peer support and critique
*   Presentations
*   Team or individual exercises (in class).

Preparation requirements
Projects will be conducted within a studio-based learning environment on a work-in-progress basis. Studio-based learning requires the active participation of all students both individually and in group-based activities.

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References:

Subjectivity / Personhood:
Taylor, C (1985) ‘The Person’, in Carrithers, M, Colins, S & Lukes, S (Eds.) The Category of the Person. Cambridge / New York: Cambridge University Press.
Taylor, C (1989). ‘Epiphanies of Modernism’, in Sources of the Self: The Making of Modern Identity. Cambridge. MA: Harvard University Press.
Inhabitation / Space / Interiority:
Benzel, K The Room in Context: Design without Boundaries. New York: McGraw-Hill.Hill.
Kernaghan, B (2005) ‘Architecture as Space’, in Interiority. London: Butterworth- Heinemann.
Millett, MS (1996) Light Revealing Architecture. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
Urban Space / The Everyday:
Lefebvre, H (1997) 'The Everyday and Everydayness’, in Harris, S & Berke, D (Eds) The Architecture of the Everyday. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

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