DE6027 - Speculative Futures for Interior Design

Speculative Futures for Interior Design is a project-based experiential learning module. You will learn in design studios, CAD labs and, where appropriate, workshops in order to create a professional design-studio approach. The aim is to encourage the interaction of the student body, through peer learning, which is regarded as a critically important factor in the learning process and will be facilitated through staff-led group tutorials, one-to-one sessions and reviews.



We refer to this studio approach as follows;

Project brief(s) will be introduced through one or more briefing sessions where the brief will be fully explained and you will have the opportunity to ask questions. The module is delivered via a combination of studio teaching, seminars and interactive activities, tutor guided independent learning and student-led independent learning.

Formative studio-based feedback will support and guide your learning and the progress of your design work. Where appropriate, external site visits will support design briefs and your understanding of the interior design process and site enquiry. This approach will allow you to develop an understanding at both a theoretical and practical level prior to summative assessment.

You will take part in a final review presentation of your design project work where you will receive final feedback from staff, which you will be required to document and process to advance future design projects and define your own learning. Summative assessment is through the submission of a design portfolio, which will enable you to learn through an enquiry-based/problem-solving learning methodologies approach and reflect the accumulation and integration of knowledge accrued over the module.

Support and feedback will be provided by a variety of methods throughout design projects, starting at the briefing and concluding upon submission of each design project. Support includes;



Staff Contact

Module tutors who provide academic support.

Individual staff-student tutorials inform design project direction.

Group tutorials enable staff to interact with students and encourage peer learning and support.

Project briefs are normally introduced via a briefing session, where the brief is fully explained and explored by both staff and students.

The eLearning Portal will be utilised to communicate all relevant module information.



Studio Contact Time

Modules are delivered through a combination of lecture supported group tutorials and studio activity, practical demonstrations, studio teaching, guided and independent learning new skills are delivered through workshop activities.

Studio feedback takes place to facilitate students’ development in the areas being studied, to allow formative feedback and the identification of examples of good practice and development areas to be considered.

Independent study hours will be utilised to continue the development and progression of studio activity.



Peer and Independent Support

Students are encouraged and expected to maintain a personal development plan (PDP) and are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning.

Studio based activity also supports the development of appreciation and evaluation of peers’ work.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:



Critically analyse and reflect design research and development through a well-illustrated and communicated bound design development pack/s. (R&D)



Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:



Generate design concepts that are successfully validated through testing and/or ambitious in their innovative approach. (CONCEPT)



Create advanced commercial interior design proposals through an understanding of the functional and aesthetic requirements of design in response to a given brief. (DESIGN)



Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):



Communicate advanced interior design schemes using industry appropriate tools that showcase your advanced skill set. (COMMUNICATION)

A series of design projects will be carried out sequentially. At the end of the module grades will be collated to provide a final mark for the module, which is 100% design project portfolio, incorporating 2D and 3D design work.



The assessment and feedback strategy is:



a. Formative Assessment

Project tutorials and staged reviews with tutors and peers will provide an opportunity for critique and formative direction. This will allow students to reflect upon their own work and act upon feedback prior to final submission. Verbal feedback is designed to help students to identify areas of success and/or further development to be considered.



b. Summative assessment

The project brief/s driving the module will identify the assessment criteria and submission requirements (deliverables) appropriate to the topic of the project. The assessable elements will consist of a project portfolio, which will enable students to demonstrate the process and technical skills developed throughout the module. In addition studio contact, observations and presentations will ensure tutors are able to assess the learners’ overall performance holistically against the learning outcomes for the module. A single grade will then be aligned to the submission based upon multiple deliverables.



c. Feedback strategy

Feedback will be delivered verbally at the point of each tutorial, where discussion will clarify future direction. Upon receiving summative assessment students will receive a grade reflecting achievement against the learning outcomes of the module. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning by recording verbal feedback in order to reflect upon it as they engage in subsequent learning.

Business and Commercial Strategies for Interior Design

Research Practice for Interior Design

Speculative Futures for Interior Design will challenge you to generate boundary-pushing interior design concepts by envisioning alternative and/or near future scenarios, and develop these into a convincing design proposition supported by a compelling narrative. This module gives you space and opportunity to push beyond your creative boundaries.

"Design makes futures. What designers make becomes the futures we inhabit" (Cameron Tonkinwise). This is the power of design; what is produced by design today will become the fabric of future that we will live in. How can design lead innovation towards the futures that we desire?

Radically innovative design comes about through creative leaps that emerge through a process of completely re-envisioning the world around us. You will be supported to speculate about directions of future development, anticipated new applications of interior design practice, and emerging ideas about how we might live, work and play.