Department of Interior Architecture and Furniture Design
- Director of the Department
- Associate professor Jan Verwijnen
- tel INT[+358 0] 7563 568
- Office:
- fax INT[+358 0] 7563 569
- Secretary Ilkka Kouri, tel INT[+358 0] 7563 501
- Amanuenssi Birgitta Tuomaala, tel INT[+358 0] 7563 294
General
The teaching emphisizes the professional responsibility of the interior
designer in maintaining and improving the quality of our environment. The
aim of the improvements are to combine the global responsibility, the
need of the society, the contemporary creative interpretation of the
aesthetics and the effective use of production methods.
Furniture design remains traditional with the emphasis on the connection
to the architecture and its development.
In renewing the degree programme the changing demands in the professional
field has beentaken into consideration. The objective is to teach
students the professional skills of the interior architect, abilities to
recognise and solve problems in environmental- and product design, in a
creative way and to teach students to see architectural entitys. General
abilities of design are understanding of aesthetics, relations, form,
colour and material, developing the ability for spatial design and
spatial outlining and developing the constructive ability and the fantacy.
In the education there has been a shift in perspective from the handling
of interiors to a more architectural and sculptural approach of designing
spaces - being responsible for a spatial intervention - inside and
outside. This wider view of the professional field includes interventions
in urban and rural surroundings. Spatial interventions can range from
changes of existing structures or places to building new structures.
Furniture designing will be covered in its full range from ergonomical
aspects to knowledge of materials and production methods.
Knowledge
The starting points of designing are specifity of place and time, the
consideration of the human needs and the knowledge about manufacturing
and material techniques. In addition, adequate information about
production and marketing is given as well. A designer must have an
ability to present his/her plans by suitable plastic, graphic, visual and
computer-aided means and by scale, sketch and prototype models. A
designer is also supposed to have an ability to present his/her plans
both orally and in writing.
The Structure of Studies
The degree programme offers professional knowledge in the form of
lectures. In the years 1 and 2, organized as classes, this mainly
consists of the necessary data, ergonomical, typological and material
information (light, acoustics, services). In the years 3, 4 and 5
lectures will focus more on designing practice (history of furniture
design, architectural design, building analysis). Teaching in the
studios, is arranged to be given in periods (twelve weeks by duration).
In every studio, in the end of each period there is a critique session
which is open for the students of other study modules, too. The contents
of the studios and the time-table is published every autumn for the next
academic year.
Essential study modules in the advanced studies are two studios and the
Diploma Project. Each student presents her projects publicly to the
teachers and other students of the department. Also the diploma projects
are presented and criticized in public.
