module specification

This module develops and applies the knowledge and skills established in DN4008 Interior Materials and Technologies, and in preparation for DN6029, Integrated Design Practice, at Level 6. The module will develop students’ understanding and confidence in approaching the production of interior spaces through strategic and detailed design processes.

The module focuses in detail, through analytical and reflective site analysis projects, on how different aspects of context and history, and of material, construction, services and environmental design, interact in the context of large or complex interiors and buildings. The module will provide a progressively more detailed knowledge of the interior from structure through interior organisation, to details of fixings, fittings and surfaces.

The module introduces methods, terms and techniques that can be used to evaluate and describe the range of different relationships that appear under the heading of technology. In particular, the module investigates interiors that may involve multiple clients, for example, retail, hotels or public buildings. It examines how and why standards are developed and reinforces understanding of architectural and design industry conventions and communication.

The development and production of a range of drawn (manual and CAD) and written information is used to establish an understanding of professional standards in design communication and the individual’s scope to represent ideas and decisions precisely.

The module features a work placement adding practical, relevant, insightful experience to the curriculum where a strategic and informed approach to the workplace can start to develop, this is embedded and developed through CV and portfolio development techniques.

Completion and pass (120 credits) of previous level.

The module has three stages incorporating the following;

1. analysis of interior and architectural precedents to understand the effect of strategic factors, considerations and decisions on the design and organisation of interior spaces; LO1, LO5
2. detailed understanding of a physical space or component; LO2
3. work related learning; LO3
4. generation of a detailed report relating to work related learning experience; LO3
5. personal development planning through review of CV and SWOT analysis; LO3, LO4, LO6
6. implementation and application of this accumulated knowledge on a design project. LO1, LO2, LO6

The first stage requires students to produce an individual, analytical and critical investigation of a design precedent. The project considers the designer’s role in producing a design in relation to contextual, technological and theoretical issues; the understanding of design development from client and concept through to strategic organisation and built space, and generally; the competing concerns informing the organisation and making of interior space. Through the production of drawings, diagrams and models ,students will seek to extrapolate the diverse organisational factors around which decisions are made. LO4, LO5, LO6

The second stage focuses on understanding construction, materials and finishes within a particular setting or purpose. The project looks at design development at a detailed level through a process of reverse engineering of an existing interior component. Students are introduced to the range of production drawings, information and specification required to build. Processes and conventions are described in relation to the different audiences they serve. This will include demonstrations of industry standard methods of production, in University workshops, or hosted at external industrial facilities. Working in small teams, students will research and collate information prior to the individual production of sets of detailed drawings. Students will research relevant materials, technologies and processes – including those new and forthcoming – that would be deployed in the design and production of an element of their interior design. LO3

The third stage focuses on work related learning. A series of lectures and workshops, CV writing classes and the study of professional roles and responsibilities support students’ application and readiness for the work placement. This is followed by a reflective and critical account of the professional context of the work-related experiences.

Scheduled teaching ensures that independent study is effective and addresses the learning outcomes and assessment tasks. Students are expected to, and have the opportunity to, continue with their studies outside of scheduled classes. There will be a range of learning strategies deployed and individual learning styles will be accommodated. The module’s learning outcomes, its contents and delivery, have been scrutinised and will be regularly reviewed to ensure an inclusive approach to pedagogic practice.

The module and course utilise the University’s blended learning platform to support and reinforce learning, to foster peer-to-peer communication and to facilitate tutorial support for students. Reflective learning is promoted through assessment items and interim formative feedback points that ask students to reflect on their progress, seek help where they identify the opportunity for improvement in learning strategies and outcomes, and make recommendations to themselves for future development. Throughout the module, students build a body of work, including reflections on progress and achievement.

The School’s programme of employability events and embedded work-related learning within the curriculum supports students’ personal development planning. Through these initiatives, students are increasingly able, as they progress from year to year, to understand the professional environment of their disciplines, the various opportunities available to them, and how to shape their learning according to their ambitions.

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding
LO1 understand the value and professional use of a range of design information and terminology and begin to apply these appropriately by producing accurate and appropriate diagrams, drawings and texts to represent or respond to specific contextual, technological and regulatory factors in a design for an interior;

Cognitive and Intellectual skills
LO2 demonstrate their understanding of the integrated relationship between ideas, context, technologies and environments in the production of interior designs;

Subject Specific Skills
LO3 undertake a placement within the interiors sector, recording and analysing the experience of the professional context; and identifying personal strengths and possible career routes, through a written and illustrated account;

Transferable Skills
LO4 undertake through a series of annotated scaled detail drawings a design proposal for an interior space or component;

Knowledge and Understanding
LO5 identify and classify different structural, environmental, constructional and material systems conceptually and practically;

Subject Specific Skills
LO6 produce a collated, coherent body of work demonstrating their engagement and learning.

Practice Book
The practice book is a collated document presenting the precedent study.
Reverse Engineering Project: Annotated Drawing
Reverse engineering project and the research supporting the development of the detailed design proposal and the subject of the annotated drawings.
1:50, 1:20 and 1:5/1:1 scaled, referenced and coordinated orthographic drawings demonstrating, as appropriate to the subject matter, the integration of structure, building services, materials and construction.
Work Related Learning Report
A work placement reflective and critical report together with CV and SWOT analysis developing personal development planning.

The accuracy, legibility and aesthetic judgement shown in these drawings and those in the practice book will be a key assessment consideration.

Anink, D., Boonstra, C., and Mak, J., (2004) Handbook of sustainable building: an environmental preference method for selection of materials for use in construction and refurbishment, James & James (Science Publishers)

Deplazes, A., (2013) Constructing architecture: materials, processes, structures : a handbook, Birkhäuser.

Dernie, D., (2014) Architectural Drawing, Laurence King Publishing
EBook:
Dernie, D., (2014) Architectural drawing. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=1876199.

Innes, M., (2012) Lighting for Interior Design, Laurence King Publishing

Plunkett, D. and Reid, O., (2013) Detail in Contemporary Hotel Design (& rest of series), Laurence King
Plunkett, D., (2015) Construction and Detailing for Interior Design, Laurence King Publishing
EBook:
Plunkett, D., (2015) Construction and Detailing for Interior Design, Laurence King Publishing
ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/londonmet/detail.action?docID=4394137.

Schittich, C., (2008) In Detail: Interior Surfaces and Materials: Materials for Interiors, Birkhäuser

Yakeley, D., and Yakeley, S., (2010  The BIID interior design job book: how to run a project, RIBA Publishing.

Online resources:
http://drawingarchitecture.tumblr.com/