Interior Architecture
At the intersection of architecture, conservation and design, Interior Architecture takes an innovative approach to the reuse and transformation of existing buildings. Studios focused on adaptive reuse are central to both the undergraduate and graduate programs. And unlike interior design and decoration, Interior Architecture aims to understand the design of buildings from inside out.
Degree programs
Emphasizing social and environmental responsibility, Interior Architecture’s BFA in Interior Studies teaches the spatial design skills you need to make transformative interventions for a wide variety of architectural forms.
Intended for students seeking a first academic degree in architecture, Interior Architecture’s one-year post-professional MA program offers you a specialist education and pathway to professional practice.
Interior Architecture’s two MDes tracks—Adaptive Reuse and Exhibition and Narrative Environments—provide distinct directions for you to gain expertise in specific areas of the field.
In the studio
In the studio, students use digital and manual means to research and recommend design alterations and renovations that give existing buildings new life. Studios focus on a wide range of approaches, from domestic to retail design, theater/production design to issues of preservation and conservation.
Student work
Alumni
Interior Architecture alumni go on to find creatively satisfying work around the world. Some launch their own practices while others join larger firms or smaller studios. In addition to practicing as interior architects, alumni make a mark as sustainability specialists, set designers, educators, home furnishings designers and more.
When Alina Vadera first graduated in 2011, she thought about moving to New York. But she reconsidered when she realized that her home country was where things were really happening in the world of architecture at the time. So she returned to her home city of Delhi to join Studio Lotus, where she completed a new retail space for fashion designer Gurav Gupta, among other projects. She is the founder of a-va design studio, which she has operated since 2013.
Throughout her career, Andrea Valentini has focused on incorporating unconventional industrial materials into inventive designs for furniture, lighting, handbags, accessories, wearable art and interior applications. Her Coosh egg chair has been recognized by the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum and her work has been included in the museum's triennial exhibitions. She continues to develop innovative new products and design sensual interiors and remains committed to creating art for everyday living.
Featured stories
Grad students in a spring Interior Architecture studio worked with real-world client FamilyAid.
Grad students Claudia Peck, Priyata Bosamia and Shivani Pinapotu gain hands-on experience working with museum staff.
A brief interview with one of RISD’s Schiller Family Assistant Professors in Race in Art and Design.