Interior Design

The Interior Design program at Pratt Institute prepares students to engage in critical inquiry through theoretical and applied research, establishing them as innovators and leaders in the field of interior design. The curriculum addresses emerging and innovative technologies and sustainable practices, interdisciplinary collaboration, sustainable practices, and issues of ethical and social responsibility in a diverse and global context. Seeing the possibility of design as an agent of change, Interior Design at Pratt expands the potential of professional practice, design education, and our understanding of the built environment.

Interior Design BFA

Our CIDA accredited BFA in Interior Design is located in the ultimate learning environment of New York City—the interior design capital of the United States.

Consistently identified at the forefront of Interior Design education, our undergraduate program prepares students to become leaders in the discipline by setting high standards for critical thinking, professional aptitude, social and ethical responsibility, exemplary expression of skills and abilities, enhancing and transforming the human environment.

As one of the first interior design programs in the country, we continue to be a leading innovator presenting an inspiring and challenging course of study in an expanding and dynamic discipline. Our alumni have made significant contributions to the quality and character of the built environment, and we are confident that tomorrow’s graduates will continue to make a positive impact on our culture and sense of place.

Our BFA Interior Design is a spatially oriented program with explorations that bridge the interior with the exterior, often in an urban context. All aspects of the interior are studied in relation to their effects on the human spirit and experience. After a required year of Foundation studies, students begin the study of interior design in their sophomore year, in a stimulating studio setting that encourages a dynamic and supportive atmosphere for learning.

The curriculum begins with understanding the fundamentals of space, scale, proportion, and configuration in relation to the human body. The complexities of design are explored and taught through coursework in materials, color, and light, as well as architectural drawing, computer graphics, building construction, environmental concerns, sustainability, and professional practices. Students work closely with their professor on projects that develop in size and complexity through the six semesters of design studio and supporting coursework.

Interior Design students are encouraged to take advantage of the many courses available to them across the Institute, to enable them to fully develop their interests and talents. The senior year of the BFA culminates with a thesis project wherein students develop a body of critical research on a particular interior issue during the fall semester, that is more fully developed into a comprehensive design proposal in the spring semester.

The BFA curriculum is designed to enhance the student experience through a balance of intellectual exploration and the development of skills and practical experience needed to become successful professionals and leaders in the field. Students are introduced to the profession through professional practice coursework and internships that serve to prepare students for certification. Taught by practitioners and academics of the highest caliber who actively contribute to the discipline and the practice, our students are part of a professional network from the moment they begin study in the program. Throughout their studies they create important relationships in the profession and become part of the larger Pratt alumni network when they graduate.

Chair
David Foley

Assistant Chair
Tania Sofia Branquinho

Assistant to the Chair
Rachel Raiola

Office
Tel: 718.636.3630
Fax: 718.399.4440

Faculty Bios
www.pratt.edu/interior-design/faculty

INT-201 Design Studio I - (3 Credits)

These courses deal with our relationship to space, form and the environment in a broad sense. Emphasis is on human factors, scale, materials and structures. The courses progress from abstract to problem-solving through analysis and include consideration of professional design problems of modern scope.

INT-202 Design Studio II - (3 Credits)

INT-217 Assemblies & Environments - (3 Credits)

Assemblies and Environments is an introduction to the principles and practices applied to the constructed environment, providing an overview of their materials, components, assemblies, environmental systems, and construction theory. Through weekly lectures on topics related to materials and systems of the built environment, the course examines the anatomy of a building and how building systems are coordinated with and impact the design of the interior. Through a study of historical precedents, this course examines how, the evolution of materials, technologies and integrated systems have impacted design solutions. Beyond an introduction to the various building systems-including structural, mechanical, plumbing, and electrical-the course will explore how acoustic, lighting and thermal design impacts the quality of the interior environment.

INT-218 Color Materials Lighting - (3 Credits)

Color, Materials, Lighting is an overview of the fundamentals of these elements of the interior environment and examines their interactions in impacting interior spaces. Functional and aesthetic properties of color and light, material and form will be explored. Building upon the foundations of color theory, this course studies those principles with respect to the interior environment.

INT-233 Language of Drawing I - (3 Credits)

Language of Drawing I introduces students to the communication of physical and conceptual ideas of space, materiality, light and construction. Emphasis will be places on developing methods of working across media, understanding the appropriate form and means of representation to develop literacy and resourcefulness in design drawing and communication.

INT-234 Language of Drawing II - (3 Credits)

Language of Drawing II emphasizes the representation of spatial, material, and sensual elements in existing, proposed and remembered environments. The course focuses on using drawing and representation tools and techniques as means to analyze, distill and present complex information and ideas. Students are encouraged to develop and refine a personal representational language, building upon an understanding of graphic conventions. The course emphasizes the clarity and the expressive qualities of graphic communication applied to concepts of interior design.

INT-301 Design Studio III - (3 Credits)

Students study the design of large-scale spaces with an emphasis on planning institutional public and commercial spaces (contract design work). The courses include an exploration of complete solutions to environmental, interior and architectural problems based on space analysis and planning. Coordination of furnishings, materials, user needs and equipment is emphasized.

INT-302 Design Studio IV - (3 Credits)

INT-325 Emergent Platforms - (3 Credits)

Emergent Platforms introduces students to digital drawing, modeling and fabrication techniques, exploring the relationships between design, tools, and construction processes enabled through evolving digital platforms. Integral to the explorations will be an understanding of applicable materials-their effects, potentials, and constraints. Students will explore potential of digital technologies applied to various scales and applications across disciplines including furniture and objects as well as environmental constructs.

INT-326 Materials Methods Meaning - (3 Credits)

Through readings, discussions and assignments, this course introduces students to formal and material approaches to design and construction. Readings explore issues of aesthetics, form-making, materiality, spatial and atmospheric experience, decoration, and details. Writing and discussion will consider the design and fabrication processes, and how attitudes and interpretations of interior spaces are dynamic and changing.

INT-342 Time Culture Context - (3 Credits)

Through readings, discussions and assignments, this course students to psychological, social, and cultural approaches to design. Readings explore issues of identity, home, public and private, and ethics.

INT-401 Design Studio V - (3 Credits)

Advanced problems in design dealing with complex interior and environmental problems are presented in the fall semester.

INT-402 Design Studio VI-Thesis - (3 Credits)

The spring semester (INT-402) is devoted entirely to the development of a major design project: the Senior Design Thesis - a full semester of work on a self-initiated project based on a strong sense of professionalism and design maturity.

INT-405 Design Research Strategies - (3 Credits)

Design Research Strategies is a course intended to guide students in the research and development of a thesis project. As such, this course expands and builds upon the readings, analysis, and research undertaken in previous courses to address theoretical, social, cultural and physical design issues. In this course students will assemble the components of design brief hat will be used to continue to guide the project during the thesis design semester.

INT-419 The Working Set - (3 Credits)

The Working Set provides students the opportunity to develop and apply their knowledge of drawings, color, materials, lighting and interior constructed assemblies to an advanced-level study of an interior environment. Students will investigate, represent and present case study projects that reflect the design of interior space as Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art. Exploring scale from detail to room, analysis of the case study will reveal the relationships and integration of lighting, material, furnishings, environmental systems and details in a small-scale interior environment. The Working Set will provide students familiarity with interior documentation and representational methods employed in the practice of interior design culmination in the production of a comprehensive set of working drawings of the case study.

INT-431 Professional Practice - (2 Credits)

This course focuses on the practice of design as a professional business, including the skills required in office management, the marketing of professional services, and client/contractor relationships. It prepares the student both for employment as an interior designer upon graduation as well as for future opportunities as a manager of designers and/or the development of their own design firm.

INT-441 Positioning Practice Portfolio - (3 Credits)

Positioning,, Practice, Portfolio focuses on design as a profession, and the elements that go into forming, managing and marketing a firm. The course considers the broader view of interior design, such as the role and responsibility of the interior designer, engaging in issues of ethics, sustainability, and alternative practice settings. The course will prepare the student both for employment as an interior designer upon graduation as well as for future opportunities as a professional in design-related practice settings, and/or the development of their own design firm.

INT-456 Special Projects - (3 Credits)

Coursework/and or projects that are assigned on an individual basis.

INT-481 Interior Options Labs - (3 Credits)

Interior Options Labs provide the opportunity to explore focused topics related to the craft, materials and making of Interiors in a studio, lab or workshop environment. Projects will involve specific investigations related to the techniques and principles of constructing an interior environment. While engaging theory, the course will emphasize the fabrication of constructed moments, objects and details that make up the interior experience.

INT-482 Interior Options Theory Electives - (3 Credits)

Interior Options Theory Electives provide the opportunity to further research, develop and position critical theory in relation to specific areas of study that influence and affect Interior Design theory and practice. Interior Options Theory Electives will incorporate verbal and visual representation and communication strategies as tools to express researched and original concepts.

INT-485 Taste - (3 Credits)

This course examines the relationship of design and taste. This subject engages the material and the social, allowing course participants to examine the effect of rapidly changing cultural forces on design and on its representations over time.

INT-560 CADD I: AutoCAD - (2 Credits)

This first course in Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) covers the basic concepts and techniques encountered in today's microcomputer-based CAD systems. Major commands, defining a drawing and editing techniques are mastered. Basic prototype drawings are created and recorded on hard copy.

INT-561 CADD II: 3-D Max - (2 Credits)

Using specialized software, students learn to prepare detailed and rendered perspective drawings for presentation purposes.

INT-562 CADD III: REVIT - (2 Credits)

This course will cover the use of Revit Architecture, a leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software that is quickly becoming the industry standard for design professionals. The goal of this course is to get students familiar with Revit in particular, and the BIM design process on a more general scale. We will focus on how these tools can enhance student work using design studio/thesis examples, as well as how these tools are used in a professional environment using complex large-scale projects as case-studies.

INT-9400 Undergraduate Internship - (0 Credits)

The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.

INT-9401 Interior Design Undergraduate Internship - (1 Credit)

INT-9402 Interior Design Undergraduate Internship - (2 Credits)

INT-9403 Interior Design Undergraduate Internship - (3 Credits)

Academic Catalog 2024-2025

Interior Design

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