Interior Architecture

What you will study

This programme runs over three consecutive semesters and is full time. The programme is composed of core and elective courses. Semesters 1 and 2 are split into 3 courses of 20 Credits each, covering design practice and theoretical studies in the field of design. The summer semester consists of a single 60 credit course. Semester 1 In Semester 1, there are two core courses: Adapting Interiors Reading Interiors Both are taught by IASD staff and focus on a chosen site, situation, or institution. The remaining 20 credit course is elective, which you will choose from a selected list of courses with a more theoretical and written focus. These are delivered by other colleagues in ECA . Semester 2 In Semester 2, the two core courses are: Connecting Interiors (taught by IASD staff and focusing on the chosen site) Disseminating Design Practices (delivered by other colleagues in ECA) The third course in this semester is elective. You are encouraged to choose a course that will develop your design thinking beyond interiors to gain valuable experience in a related field. You may take suitable elective courses from anywhere within the University. Options vary each year and are dependent on level, availability and timetable suitability. Summer semester The final summer semester consists of a single core course, Intersections, which contains three elements: An individual ‘synthesis’ design research project, based in our site/situation/institution, but following a project brief of your own choice. A group project in which you work together as a team disseminating the approaches and work of the programme to the broader public beyond ECA . A portfolio in which you document your learning throughout the year and propose the future directions of your practice.

Find courses for this programme Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed. The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme. Full-time MA (eca) Interior, Architectural and Spatial Design (1 year) (2025-2026) We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Field trips Our core course consists of design projects that are site-based and you be spending much time engaging with these sites and situations in the city. In the past, these have included: various historic buildings on the university campus the former Edinburgh Royal Infirmary the Edinburgh Freemason’s Hall Summerhall Arts centre Leith Custom House. In addition, where appropriate, we organise day trips to encounter buildings, exhibitions or events that are relevant to your studies. Approach to site We think of Edinburgh as a ‘living lab’ which we can use to experiment with the ways in which interior, architectural and spatial design can unlock the potential of buildings and the communities and institutions that occupy them. Each of our core courses begins with a visit to our site, situation, and/or institution of interest, and we regularly engage with those institutions and communities throughout the design development process for each project. Each of our core courses, and our programme, all culminate in events, physical exhibitions, or digital media that you will conceive, design and implement in order to share your work with the people for and about whom it has been created.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching Our core teaching and learning is based in our studio, which is a collaborative working space for staff and students. Working with our experienced staff, we expect you to take charge of the direction of your coursework as a postgraduate student. We are here to guide and advise you on developing your own practices and thinking in new directions, rather than instructing you in preconceived ideas and practices. While much of your work is self-directed, your weekly core classes will involve engagement with your peers and academic staff. In these classes, you will encounter: lectures and seminars group and individual design tutorials workshop activities intensive design ‘lock-ins’. In our core courses you will explore the potential of our host institution and/or situation through design projects set at different scales, from detail to masterplan. In each, you will follow a structured process that will introduce you to practices and processes from building survey to construction drawing, urban and community, to structural analysis. In the final third semester you will pursue design projects of your own with greater autonomy, building on the approaches you have learned in earlier semesters, and turning these approaches to your own career aims and objectives. Assessment We have designed our core assessments to reflect and reward a continuous and student-centred model of creative learning. To complete each core course you will produce a portfolio of work summarising and reflecting on your learning journey, as well as the resolution of completed design work. Along the way, you will produce specific pieces of work for interim review, including drawings, physical models, short pieces of writing, digital animations, and temporary installations. Learning outcomes To successfully engage and complete this programme, we expect students to do the following: Critically engage with and analyse the characteristics of an aspect of a given interior, through a variety of theoretical lenses, with a view to making original proposals for its adaptation. Use a significant range of forefront professional skill, techniques, practices and materials to conceive, develop, and resolve original detailed designs for the adaptation of an aspect of a given interior. Communicate, using appropriate methods, diverse understandings and proposals for the adaptation of an aspect of a given interior to a range of audiences with different levels of knowledge/expertise, including peers, more senior colleagues and specialists. Using autonomy and judgement, write a critically constructed, original and personal definition of ‘the interior’. Apply varying interior, architectural and spatial theories, through a range of special research techniques and enquiry in the formulation of a brief for a given interior. Show independence and initiative in developing masterplan responses to complex problems in a given interior. Communicate to a range of audiences a cohesive creative solution of outline scheme design. Apply critical analysis to a body of work in relation to a given site, and using informed judgement, develop a synthesised design response to it. Develop and realise an original creative response to the practice of professional dissemination within the context of interior, architectural and spatial design. Communicate professionally an edited and critically analysed body of work practices in response to the presentation of a body of self-generated work relating to the programme. Support for your studies You will have access to a range of support services if you need them throughout your degree. We will assign you to a student adviser, and this should be the first person to contact if you need help. They can guide you to other University service teams depending on what support you need. How we support you

Our academic staff Staff on the programme include: Edward Hollis Rachel Simmonds Dave Loder

Where you will study Study location Our base is a studio in ECA’s Lauriston Campus, in the heart of Edinburgh. This is where you will have a place to draw, make models, meet your classmates for social and group sessions, and attend classes and seminars. The Lauriston campus is 10 minutes’ walk from the University of Edinburgh’s central campus, with its libraries, museums and social spaces. In addition Scotland’s national galleries, museum, opera house and parliament – all examples of exceptional design, both ancient and modern - are all within 30 minutes’ walk. ECA are excited to be undertaking a capital redevelopment of ECA’s Lauriston Campus over the next 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027. The project aims to maximise the use of existing space, improve accessibility, and create a vibrant campus that fosters collaboration and innovation. The project involves refurbishing and repurposing various spaces across the Lauriston campus, including technical facilities, student and teaching spaces, and the relocation of the Reid School of Music from Alison House to the Lauriston Campus. New social spaces, seminar rooms, and studios are being created to accommodate our growing community. You can find more about the project at the below link: Building work starts at ECA’s Lauriston Campus | Edinburgh College of Art Academic facilities The ECA campus is well-furnished with diverse workshops facilitating digital and analogue methods. We encourage you to use these, and you can access them with short induction courses. It also has two art and architecture libraries, and numerous spaces to encounter your fellow students and their work. Virtual tour You can take a closer look at the Edinburgh College of Art and explore our facilities and campus with our virtual tour. Take a virtual tour of Edinburgh College of Art