Interior Architecture Year 1 ARCHIVE

Tutors: Liz Ellston, Inan Gokcek, Jo Hagan, Jo Meehan, Sylwia Poltorak, Henning Stummel, Anastasia Tsamitrou

Liz Ellston is fascinated in the psychology of spatial environments, people : place, process : pattern. Her many years of practice experience feeds into development of pedagogy and learning methods.

Inan Gokcek is an interior and architectural designer running Studio Anares. He collects cultural artefacts which he upcycles for various design projects.

Jo Hagan is principal of USE Architecture, driven by the fine line between pragmatism and pretension. 30 years’ of teaching adds passionate engagement with contemporary culture.

Jo Meehan is an architect interested in the interface of domestic and civic space; large-scale public housing retrofit projects and small-scale sustainable interventions. She is an associate of MAS_architecture and co-founder of Audible OKR.

Sylwia Poltorak is a set/installation designer. Cheerfulness, vitality and longevity drive her practice. As ‘Lobster Architect’ she investigates atypical design methods that sustain well-being.

Henning Stummel is an architect with extensive international teaching experience. His work explores innovative and sustainable solutions, while simultaneously seekingt ranquillity and poetry.

Anastasia Tsamitrou is anarchaeologist and architectural designer at Pilbrow&Partners. Her research in Material Studies emphasises biomaterials and sustainability.

Design Fundamentals & Strategies for Interior Architecture

In first year students on the BA Interior Architecture course are introduced to underlying concepts and principles associated with the discipline and learn fundamental processes, skills and techniques relevant to conceive, develop, resolve and communicate spatial design proposals.

In the first semester, students are set a range of short projects to develop techniques and spatial understanding, including: personal collage and timelines; constructs to investigate qualities of light and drawing conventions; group precedent study to understand intent and architectural representation; measuring and surveying of people and spaces. Building on these skills they are then asked to design their first piece of interior architecture.

This year, they were challenged to address the idea of Balance, in terms of student well-being. Beginning by surveying Regent Street campus, they then designed a transformable piece of Unitecture (architectural furniture) for students to inhabit and use as a standalone spatial environment within a selected area on campus.

In the second semester, students individually re-ordered the interiors of Bradbury Works, Dalston, for a specified Maker with a critically relevant programme of specialised repair, re-purposing, modification and upcycling of ‘stuff, waste, existing buildings and lifestyles’.

An inspiring visit to the Museum of the Home, and immersion in the environs and community of Dalston – burdened by consumer waste, but with a strong community potential – fuelled students’ site and context investigations. While developing an understanding of re-making, reuse practices and circular design, they iteratively investigated materials and techniques to create spaces aimed at engaging and interacting with the local community.