Interior Architecture or Architecture

There was an open day at my university today, and speaking to some of the future students it made me think about the decision I faced before applying, do I apply to study architecture, interior architecture or interior design?

This post is aimed at anyone facing this decision. Before starting university I knew roughly what each of these similar courses would study, coming up to my final month of university there are a few differences I've grown to understand further that may help you to come to your decision. There is so so so much information out there, I certainly thought I had done a thorough job of researching courses, but I soon realised this wasn't as thorough as I had thought.

So what should you consider? Well first are you set on the career path you will take after university? You may be set on becoming an architect now, but after 3 years of university, placements and master's studies you might feel differently. Personally, I knew I wouldn't want to study for 6+ years to become a qualified architect, I thought I would want to travel and go to work soon after university, and so far, that thought 3 years ago has stayed the same for me.

Interior architecture, for me, was the perfect middle ground between architecture and interior design. Ultimately as an interior architect, my studies have been mostly with architecture and engineering courses. I've not had any joint lectures with interior design, and honestly, I know very little about interior design, but I felt that a short course post or during university about interior design would give me a lot of information if that is a path I decide to take. In comparison it would be harder to gain an in-depth understanding of the structural side, software and everything taught in architectural studies.

Throughout my course I've looked at the jobs posted by practices I would want to apply to in the future, this was mainly so that I can familiarise myself with the software they want people to have experience in; I have also realised from this that Interior Architecture positions aren't as common as an architect or interior designers, and often the position is for an architectural designer or interior architect/ interior design role. For me, it is important to have a rough idea of the role I would go into, if you're unsure of which course to choose now, have a look at a few job roles and the daily tasks involved, this may help clarify what you would like to do more than a university courses' overview.

It's also worth saying that you're deciding what you will be studying for the next 3+ years, so make the time now to understand what it means to be an architect, interior architect, interior designer or any other course you're considering. Ultimately, most universities will allow you to change course until the end of your first year without you needing to resit a year. That is still a year's worth of base understanding lost if you're starting out on a different course.

What I have noticed from Interior Architecture open days

First of all, it seems quite difficult to find which university courses actually offer Interior Architecture as a course. Search the places you think you would like to study in, cities, towns, countries, wherever. Now you've found the universities in that city, search directly on the university website to see which courses they offer, there might even be a course you've not heard of before on here that appeals to you more. You can also search university rankings, however, I know when I was applying to universities there was not a category specifically for Interior Architecture, although the chances are that a university offering interior architecture will also offer architecture and interior design so just choose one of these. These were the two ways that I found easiest to find universities offering Interior Architecture. Ultimately I hadn't heard of the university I chose until applying through clearing - I hadn't got into my first choice university and although I was accepted at my second choice the realisation set in that I didn't want to live in that city, I then applied through clearing and have really enjoyed the course offered at my university.

Looking at open days for different universities' interior architecture courses can vary quite a bit with which modules they offer. I found as a general rule of thumb, that bachelor of arts courses are orientated more toward set and exhibition design, they tended to offer more interior design modules than architecture/ structural. On the opposite side bachelor of sciences, courses might suit you if you're more interested in the architectural side.

So what differences have I noticed comparing interior architecture and architecture

As I had mentioned earlier I have not shared any modules with interior design studies, my knowledge of what modules they study, tasks, and class size is minimal so I won't try and pretend to know enough to make any comparisons.

This is just my personal experience at the university I am studying at, courses and lecturers' teaching styles will change between universities. Ok so the first major difference between architecture and interior design courses I've found is the cohort size, I think this would be pretty similar at any university but for example, my interior architecture class is around 12 people, whilst the architecture class is around 150. The support from lecturers has been much stronger in modules of just my course. I share some modules with the architecture and engineering courses - that's around 200-300 students. When you have deadlines it's understandable that a lecturer with 200+ students is not going to respond to you very quickly if at all. Having a small class size I think has helped push me in my studies, I honestly don't think I would achieve the grades I do now if I was in a class with a lot of students, purely from the difference in support from lecturers.

Modules, so one of the main differences you would expect is modules. Other universities might be different, but at mine, the modules are mostly the same. The modules we have that are different until my final year have only been the design modules. Interior architecture design modules might start off with a specific building, this is usually Grade II listed to get you accustomed to real-world challenges. In comparison, the architecture design modules will usually have either one or a few empty plots, a specific brief and the freedom to design whatever.

Things to consider for when you graduate

Once you graduate there are several boards you can register with; the key being arb and RIBA, and there are also some for interior designers. Architecture courses will often provide you with a RIBA 1, 2 and 3 qualification as you study, achieving your RIBA 1 at the end of your first 3 years. As far as I am aware as an interior architect or interior designer you cannot apply for this qualification, but if your knowledge is sufficient you might be eligible to sit an exam with ARB, from what I have been told you would be eligible if the course shares modules with architecture courses. If you're interested in finding out more about this have a look at the ARB website. The information I have been told from lectures and contacting arb seems quite ambiguous. I most likely would apply for this post-graduation so if you want to find out more on this topic and how it goes for me in the near future give this blog a follow.

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