22. Ways of Teaching—Simulating Real-Life Scenarios into Twenty-First Century Interior Design Education

The dichotomy that exists between the sanitised atmosphere of campuses versus the messy reality of ‘sites’ often strikes interior design educators and practitioners alike as anomalous. It is imperative for students to better understand real-life scenarios, but the very nature of interior design sites means that it is difficult to recreate those conditions on campuses, and hence, the experience is incomplete. All design schools christen the core courses in which projects are undertaken by their students as ‘studios’ (similar to what design practices call themselves), but in their present form these do not allow for several crucial issues to be addressed. While certain other design disciplines find it easier to simulate these conditions as the nature of their creations is of a standalone variety, the proposed design of an interior space is a conception that is rooted and hence dependent on many external factors. Secondly, if an interior design proposal (or even a mock up) is to be created in three dimensions for the purposes of demonstration, it requires such a high investment of resources (time, labour and money) that it becomes unfeasible. This paper aims to investigate the ways in which students, through their undergraduate interior design education journey, can learn in a studio environment that accurately reflects the potential which an ongoing site holds, along with its intrinsic constraints and challenges. While the wind beneath the students’ wings is the educator who encourages them to dream, experiment, make mistakes and be free of the commercial shackles that often dictate design decisions on sites, in order to have a complete education and become well-rounded designers, today’s design studio must better equip them with a holistic outlook of the profession, which includes the ability to recognise and acknowledge practical considerations. This, in the long run, will only improve the employability and placement prospects of the graduates of tomorrow.