Interior Architecture and Environmental Design

Overview

The professions positioned under the umbrella of design, ranging from large to small and general to specific respectively, are urban planning, architecture, interior architecture, industrial design professions. They are all related to the design of spaces for human activities on different scales and are all closely related to each other.

Interior architecture mostly covers the design of interior spaces of a building, but sometimes may include spaces that have no specific boundaries but are used for functions related to the human body and its immediate surroundings (exhibition stands, exhibition elements, bus stops, etc.). Interior architects are a group of designers aiming to improve the quality of life in interiors and working for public safety, comfort and well-being.

An interior architect takes part in the design of many different types of interiors such as education (school), health (hospital, clinic), entertainment (restaurant, bar, cafe), culture (museum, performing arts center), accommodation (hotel, dormitory) and housing (apartment, villa). An interior architect is responsible for planning and programming interior spaces according to the function and user needs; designing and drawing the aesthetical and structural implementations in accordance with regulations; deciding on the material, furniture, color, texture to be used in the space; and designing and implementing the spatial elements that affect the comfort of the user such as lighting, air conditioning, and acoustics.

Graduates of the interior architecture department usually work in interior architecture and architecture offices and construction sites. If interested, they specialize in furniture design and production and work in furniture design offices and production workshops; or they work as project managers and practitioners in lighting, acoustics, and air conditioning companies. They also take part in companies operating in the production, research, and sales of interior and building materials. In addition, if interested in doing research and scientific activities, they continue their education with master’s and Ph.D. degrees and take part in universities as faculty members/academicians.

Interior architecture is a profession suitable for those who are interested in interiors, art, design, architecture, psychology, and sociology; and those who are creative, innovative, solution-oriented individuals, willing to be a team members and continue learning and researching.