The course focuses on understanding the origin of museums and recognizing the influence that certain dominant design aesthetics, approaches, and narratives had on exhibitions. The museum architectural space and its interior exhibition design are never 'neutral' and the study of its history, codification, and exploitation are essential to rebalance and subvert the structural inequalities between Trouillot's agents (museums/institution), actors (curators/exhibit designers), and subject of museum narratives (artifacts/art/belongings). Through lectures, readings, and class debate, students will be encouraged to question how aesthetics impregnate exhibition environments through materials, light, colors, forms, and meanings; to acknowledge that architecture and exhibition design aesthetics are always politicized and that in the tiniest details of their morphology and their organization, museums have the power to validate, the power to corroborate, the power to include, and the deliberate power to silence. 

Major Elective: MDes ENE

Topics in Exhibition and Narrative Environments I is the first part in a year-long exploration of a fluid field in which exhibition occurs in museums as well as other environments. This seminar offers various approaches for that exploration and will provide the student insight into different aspects of exhibition: curatorial matters, experience design, narrative creation, graphic design, new media, user participation, installation, site specificity, production, etc. The content may change from year to year to include special projects. The content may change from year to year and may include theory, hands-on installation, curatorial matters, research, design planning, materials, new technology, time based interactions, and, of course, design of the narrative environment.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies Exhibition and Narrative Environments

This course, the first in a sequence, explores design principles through design problems involving the unique fundamental framework for the reuse of existing structures. The semester is arranged around several projects, providing access to the discipline from as many related perspectives. The project assignments require the student to visually and verbally convey clear design intent, think visually in two and three dimensions, formulate and develop abstract design concepts, discern relationships between design interventions and their physical and contextual setting and develop presentation skills to effectively communicate propositions and positions.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

This course, the first in a sequence, explores design principles through design problems involving the unique fundamental framework for the reuse of existing structures. The semester is arranged around several projects, providing access to the discipline from as many related perspectives. The project assignments require the student to visually and verbally convey clear design intent, think visually in two and three dimensions, formulate and develop abstract design concepts, discern relationships between design interventions and their physical and contextual setting and develop presentation skills to effectively communicate propositions and positions.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

This lecture course is designed to familiarize students with structural principles and systems as they relate to the study of interior architecture and adaptive reuse. The course will examine the performance and composition of various structural systems, including wood, lightweight metal, steel, masonry, and concrete structures. Local examples in the built environment will be explored to gain an understanding of structures, their materials and components in adaptive reuse. Course work will be complimented by visits to local examples in the built environment.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies Adaptive Reuse

This class introduces the student to different building materials, their properties and characteristics as they relate to the design of interior, sustainable structures. This will include interior finish materials as well as the understanding of wood, metal, masonry and concrete for projects of reuse. The student will visit sites of material production as part of this course. The course structure includes sketch assignments, a midterm, a final exam.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

While introducing students to the principal concepts of structural design and mechanical systems, the course will attempt to provide a direct link to the built environment with focus on the rehabilitation, preservation and adaptive reuse of existing structures, both historical and contemporary. The presentation of case studies, focus on the structural and mechanical aspects of students' individual studio projects and the excursion to a construction site will bridge the gap between class room and the world of building.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

This class will introduce the fundamentals of orthographic drawing through the investigation of an existing object. Working with the object, the student will study and implement the use of plan, section, axonometric and perspective to expose the spatial qualities of the structure. Basic drawing conventions and model making techniques will be introduced. The concept of architectural scale will be explored.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

This class will introduce the fundamentals of orthographic drawing through the investigation of an existing object. Working with the object, the student will study and implement the use of plan, section, axonometric and perspective to expose the spatial qualities of the structure. Basic drawing conventions and model making techniques will be introduced. The concept of architectural scale will be explored.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

This class will introduce the fundamentals of orthographic drawing through the investigation of an existing object. Working with the object, the student will study and implement the use of plan, section, axonometric and perspective to expose the spatial qualities of the structure. Basic drawing conventions and model making techniques will be introduced. The concept of architectural scale will be explored.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using a local site in Providence, this studio will focus on the fundamentals of documenting an existing structure. These techniques will include, at a minimum, measuring, surveying, photographing, analyzing of materials and construction details, researching databases for relevant, related information and understanding the existing structural and mechanical systems. This information will be organized to create a full architectural documentation set. Documentation will also be explored in model form, building on the skills acquired in Studio Ia. Upon completion of documentation, the students will learn to analyze the existing structure both as an entity and within the adjacent urban context. The studio will also focus on the presentation of such analysis and the possible uses of it in design transformation.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using a local site in Providence, this studio will focus on the fundamentals of documenting an existing structure. These techniques will include, at a minimum, measuring, surveying, photographing, analyzing of materials and construction details, researching databases for relevant, related information and understanding the existing structural and mechanical systems. This information will be organized to create a full architectural documentation set. Documentation will also be explored in model form, building on the skills acquired in Studio Ia. Upon completion of documentation, the students will learn to analyze the existing structure both as an entity and within the adjacent urban context. The studio will also focus on the presentation of such analysis and the possible uses of it in design transformation.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using a local site in Providence, this studio will focus on the fundamentals of documenting an existing structure. These techniques will include, at a minimum, measuring, surveying, photographing, analyzing of materials and construction details, researching databases for relevant, related information and understanding the existing structural and mechanical systems. This information will be organized to create a full architectural documentation set. Documentation will also be explored in model form, building on the skills acquired in Studio Ia. Upon completion of documentation, the students will learn to analyze the existing structure both as an entity and within the adjacent urban context. The studio will also focus on the presentation of such analysis and the possible uses of it in design transformation.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using an existing site, this studio will introduce the concept of transformation and intervention through a program of new use. The students will propose a design intervention to transform the site for a new program. These interventions will be based on the accommodation of the design program but will also be a response to the analysis completed in Studio Existing Construct. It will require an understanding of the structural system and the issues of egress. The culmination of this studio will result in a design that is conceptually sound and complete in its description as a full architectural proposal in drawings and models. The student will prepare a design proposition including analysis of the existing structure and its inherent existence within the new work.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using an existing site, this studio will introduce the concept of transformation and intervention through a program of new use. The students will propose a design intervention to transform the site for a new program. These interventions will be based on the accommodation of the design program but will also be a response to the analysis completed in Studio Existing Construct. It will require an understanding of the structural system and the issues of egress. The culmination of this studio will result in a design that is conceptually sound and complete in its description as a full architectural proposal in drawings and models. The student will prepare a design proposition including analysis of the existing structure and its inherent existence within the new work.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Using an existing site, this studio will introduce the concept of transformation and intervention through a program of new use. The students will propose a design intervention to transform the site for a new program. These interventions will be based on the accommodation of the design program but will also be a response to the analysis completed in Studio Existing Construct. It will require an understanding of the structural system and the issues of egress. The culmination of this studio will result in a design that is conceptually sound and complete in its description as a full architectural proposal in drawings and models. The student will prepare a design proposition including analysis of the existing structure and its inherent existence within the new work.

Students are pre-registered for this course by the department. Enrollment is limited to Graduate Interior Architecture Students.

Major Requirement | MDes Interior Studies

Introduction to means of representation of ideas for Interior Architecture through various types of drawings: orthographics, axonometrics, perspectives, freehand sketching and mixed media. Work will be done on site from existing structures as well as in the studio concentrating on concept development through drawing.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

Introduction to means of representation of ideas for Interior Architecture through various types of drawings: orthographics, axonometrics, perspectives, freehand sketching and mixed media. Work will be done on site from existing structures as well as in the studio concentrating on concept development through drawing.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Studies

Interiority and Power addresses dominant power structures and narratives within the field of Interior Architecture, challenging students to build counter-narratives through engagement with historical, theoretical, and practical texts, case studies, and intellectual debates.

Practices of ‘situating’, ‘unlearning’ and ‘futuring’ ask students to identify systems of colonization, define their role as tools of cultural dominance in architectural design, and seek an alternative through forms of anti-colonial, representative, collective, and reparative practice. The course addresses the architectural canon, Western aesthetics, the concept of positional dominance, policy and planning histories, race and decoloniality, ecological and environment, and the politics surrounding adaptive reuse and architectural terminologies.

The course will also examine historiography, and how history is written, moving topically rather than emphasizing linear history. Through collaborative research, readings, debates, and the construction of a collective lexicon, students learn to challenge and decenter localities of power and aesthetics, allowing them to reframe values for design futures. This historical and theoretical framing positions students to engage with their studio and material practices as critical and historically-situated thinkers.Students learn the vital importance of a critical approach and implementation of this course’s learning outcomes into other course subjects and learning/designing in general.

The course is structured as a seminar, with a portion of each class day devoted to lecture and discussion, as well as periodic structured debates asking students to research and reflect on assigned module topics.

Major Requirement | BFA Interior Architecture

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is defined as a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. Revit is one of the most comprehensive and widely used BIM programs in the world. The software closes the gap between 3D geometry and building component data. This course will introduce students to Revit utilizing a hands-on approach. The class will introduce the essential concepts of the software through weekly class lectures/ tutorials. Weekly assignments will allow students to use their knowledge to complete real-life design tasks. Hands-on exercises will also focus on software interface, creation of parametric families and creation of construction document sets. Participants must have laptop with Windows, w/ Parallels recommended for Mac users. Free student download of Revit available.

Elective