86006 History and Theory 1

Description

This subject is an introduction to History and Theory and its relationship to contemporary interior architecture practice.

In articulating this relationship over the year, the two history and theory subjects (86006 and 86007) look at a wide range of relevant precedents located across Australia, Japan, China, India, SE Asia, Iran, The Middle East, Europe, North and South America. History and Theory 1 (86006) introduces theory and its application to contemporary interior architecture practice in the first semester of interior architecture. After an initial two weeks spent on questions of what is a theory, what is history, and their application to the discipline, including discussions and exercises on academic writing, referencing, description and analysis, the subject continues around two week modules delivered by six tutors that students rotate through.

Students aided by their tutors examine historical and contemporary precedents in material, compositional and theoretical terms. Current theoretical lenses and themes include; Memory, Narrative, Nature, Tradition, Climate, Representation, Model, Body, Technology, Vernacular, Activism, Utopia and Ornament. This strategy exposes first-year students to a range of themes, teaching styles and approaches. The overall emphasis of the subject is to instil an understanding of the relevance of historical precedent and theoretical frames in the development of their interior design language and to establish a common, understandable discipline-specific language to serve students in communicating, developing, and rationalising design decisions both within the course of the study and in students' professional career. The modules are a mix of in-class exercises, lectures, readings, discussions and academic writing. Drawing, Model Making, and Photography operate in parallel and as the subject of 300 to 800 word essays that range from the descriptive to the analytical.

Typical availability

Autumn session, City campus