Print this page Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design

The Postgraduate Diploma in Architectural Interior Design is an intensive professional course that combines the development of practical design skills with an investigative approach that prepares students for the demands of this competitive interior design profession or for further research.

Aimed at those who wish to gain a deep understanding of interior design, the course explores the issues involved in creating and understanding effective interior spaces, enabling students to critically analyse design, explore design philosophy and theory and investigate the impetus and consequences of their design solutions.

You will develop design skills through a series of projects, some of which are shared with the Diploma course, using the survey, analysis, design method, and will learn to explore conceptual method and practice. Projects increase in complexity, facilitating the understanding and development of the core skills of design, design analysis, graphics and presentation, construction, job administration and research methodology.

Contemporary visualisation skills, hand and computer drawn, are introduced and developed throughout the course enabling you to prepare a portfolio that communicates a clear and practical approach to professional requirements and client needs.

Further exploration, through seminars, written work and projects, of aesthetic and practical issues, form the basis for self-directed study and student-led discussion in preparation for possible entry to the MA course in Architectural Interior Design.

Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design – course aims

The course aims to help you to:

• develop an understanding of design as it relates to the domestic and commercial interior together with the capability to present design ideas visually, verbally and in written form
• evaluate site and functional constraints and evolve design solutions through critical analysis and research
• develop spatial awareness, the capability to organise space with a knowledge and understanding of ergonomics and ability to handle interior decorative elements.
• Develop a portfolio demonstrating your skills and your design approach.

Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design – course contents

Throughout the course you will develop skills in the following modules:

Design

You will study how to organise complex spaces with multifunctional uses, in relationship to the particular requirements of a client. Through a variety of domestic and commercial projects, you will be expected to support your design concepts by a sophisticated handling of the core elements of scale, light, form, colour and texture, and maintain a record of design development work showing how you achieved your goals. Verbal presentations and critique sessions take place in studio. In addition, you will need to maintain a critical diary through all assignments in which you identify, describe and evaluate your design rationale and progress throughout the course.

Design analysis

This module encourages spatial awareness and the analysis of site in terms of quality, character and scale. You will explore the geometry of spatial organisation, concept and expressive technique. Exploration of accurate survey method as the basis for design development coupled with an interpretation of the client brief, contributes to a dynamic process of critical analysis and reflection and the development of alternative solutions through loose freehand graphic overlays. This is further considered by the use of diagrammatic assessments of tasks and the space needed to carry them out in conjunction with analysis of survey, circulation and ergonomics. Intensive studio tuition is the best method of promoting analysis and you are encouraged to keep a record of your progress through each design assignment to be submitted for assessment alongside the finished project. You also develop a methodical approach to the evaluation of alternative schemes which informs and confirms the final design solution. Precedence study and the evaluation of like situations contribute to the analytical approach alongside the investigation of issues of feasibility that crucially inform the creation of any spatial design.

Graphics and communication

This module is preceded by a preparatory drawing programme initiated prior to enrolment. Within the programme and in studio sessions, intensive examination and practice of a wide range of alternative graphic communication skills prepares the way for later, more specialised application and development in the MA programme. You will have the opportunity to produce and compare manual graphic work with computer generated communication using Vectorworks software. The module also establishes the basic principles of graphic composition relating to layout and the arrangement of visual presentations.

Research methodology

This module is introduced through a short course, delivered to both interior and garden design students. You will be introduced to research strategy and practice, the Inchbald library and other important reference libraries, the use of IT in research and the identification of primary and secondary research resources. You will be required to undertake two pieces of coursework – a research report exercise and a proposal exercise linked to the thesis, which will form the basis for completing the MA programme. You will explore, through seminars and written assignments, the methods used to express and evaluate findings and conclusions as a direct result of analysis of design and design writing. You are also required to critically analyse and reflect upon the work of other designers, presenting written reports in standard academic formats. Analysis of the peer group, renowned practitioners, or critics and commentators is expected to evidence clear results in your own work. Preparation of research on design projects and exploration of subjects in preparation for possible consideration at MA level make up part of this module. Through a critical diary, which you keep throughout the year, you maintain an ongoing discussion with the course director which assists and determines the self-directed scope of your work.

Construction

In this module you will explore the principles of building construction and structural behaviour, developing with more detailed information on domestic construction, the technical application of hard and soft finishes and the detailed installation of services. You will also study the principles of staircase design and an understanding of the design of built-in fitments. More specialist and applied construction studies dealing with the fabric of commercial buildings complete the module. The understanding of constructional issues informs and exposes what is possible in interior design terms and it is crucial to comprehend the constraints and regulations with regards to the alteration of the built environment.

Job Administration

This module introduces the processes relating to job administration covering contract management, planning and legal issues, and the control of quality built into a design contract through the specification and scheduling of all elements relevant to the scheme proposal. The process of on-site management including site supervision, site meetings, and the co-ordination of the contractor and consulting professionals is considered and debated.

Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design – teaching methods and entry requirements

Places are strictly limited to ensure that you gain close working relationships with the teaching staff. You will be supported in studio at a ratio of 8 or 9:1.

Entry requirements are as follows: first degree, generally at a first or upper second level which could be in a non-design subject; or aged over 25 with relevant experience, to be assessed. The Postgraduate course is open to students enrolled on the Diploma course and runs concurrently with it.

If you are interested in the Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design, please contact the Course Administrator to arrange an interview with the Course Director.

The Postgraduate Diploma Architectural Interior Design is validated and awarded by the federal University of Wales.