IARCH 320A – Interior Architecture Studio VI

Description
Italy: news from the interior.
We will not choose wall-papers, curtains or furniture, we will not “decorate” rooms in order to give them a particular appeal, we will shape interior spaces in order to better serve contemporary needs and life-styles.
“A constant, light background noise can be detected behind the apparently unchanged facades of our cities. It corresponds to a continuous change inside our houses, offices, factories, schools and theaters. An incessant bustle is transforming our inhabited spaces, our places of work, study, social life and entertainment from within. It is a reflection of a profound change in our way of life. This is mostly taking place behind closed doors. Protective masks hide today’s faces, which are so different from those of a few decades ago. Over the threshold, and behind apparently unchanged facades, new and constantly changing Italian interiors reflect a profoundly different society. The face of Italy is now composed of these numerous facets. They correspond to different stories and aspirations, but are only rarely expressed or directly perceptible on the outside.” This is how Mirko Zardini, curator of the Italian exhibition of the 2004’s Venice Biennale, presented the excellence of Italian architectural design. In this framework, the Interior Architecture Studio, will operate within the boundary of that phenomenon of gentle transformations, of constant redesign of the internal and external spaces that can be perceived as the main character of Italian urban environment. An approach that is not less important than the one traditionally expressed by disciplinary process of modernization which, until the 1970s, led to the country equipping itself with infrastructure, houses, social housing, factories, offices and schools.
This studio, open to architects and designers, will focus on the possibility offered by the use of architectural tools applied to the re-shape of interior spaces. From residential to retail spaces, from installations to refurbishments, we will experience the process of analysis of the needs, the development of concepts, the design of the solutions and the presentation to the clients.

Objectives
An ability to analyze potentiality and qualities offered by spaces, to critically analyze and develop expertise in interior architecture, in site analysis, basic programming, diagramming and design.
An ability to synthesize culture, technology, and design in a final project that demonstrates mastery of skills and develop a rigorous formal and theoretical response.
An awareness and understanding of Italian environmental and urban conditions, related to space re-modeling and re-furbishing.
Completing the assignments, the student will gain all tools and skills needed to design, communicate, evaluate and coordinate the process of the refurbishment of an interior space.

Textbooks
During orientation at the Institute, students will receive a list of textbooks and/or course readers they are required to purchase. Students should not purchase any texts before orientation.

Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.

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