Course Contents – Interior Architecture MSc Program (With Thesis / In English)

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE (THESIS) MASTER PROGRAM COURSE CONTENTS (2023-2024)

COMPULSORY COURSES

INAR 5590 SEMINAR

The course addresses methods of structuring a scientific research on a specific subject and writing a paper in conjunction with thesis requirements. The course content includes clarifying the specifics of selecting a topic, and the preparation, development and submission of the term paper. Students are encouraged to think independently and develop their ability in written, oral and visual presentations.

INAR 5596 CURRENT TOPICS IN INTERIOR ARHICTECTURE

The course aims at exploring current debates in the realm of interior design/architecture as well as contemporary issues of the discipline. Based on socio-cultural framework of interior design theory, it also aims to equip students with the academic terminology of the discipline. The students will be presented current debates on the disciplinary boundaries of the field selected among the most recognized and original discourses.

INAR 5599 THESIS

The aim of this course is to provide student the opportunity of obtaining essential technical and academic skills in order to complete his/her thesis successfully. The thesis period is conducted by the monitoring of student’s dissertation supervisor.

UFND 5500 RESEARCH METHODS AND ETHICS

The course covers scientific research methods, and research and publications ethics. For the research methodology part, the course covers the basic principles of research, the philosophical basis of these principles, and the methods for the accurate production of scientific data, verifying and testing the credibility of information, testing hypothesis and assumptions, observing and questioning results objectively, following the guidelines to evaluate and write up the findings. The second part of the course is devoted to general description and basic conceptual framework of ethics, history of ethics, ethics in science and technology, and research ethics: data management, bias, conflict of interest, authorship, publication, peer review, collaboration, social responsibility and other selected topics.

RESTRICTED ELECTIVE COURSES

INAR 5562 HOME, CULTURE AND DESIGN

This course aims to investigate the architecture of dwelling in terms of the background of changing life-styles and new technologies, which make up our daily environment, indicate the relationship between culture and housing, stress the transformation of inner-city areas in terms of adaptive-reuse of existing building stock as new housing forms, underline the issues of sustainability from different perspectives focusing on cultural and social issues. The course covers the meaning of home, house and family relations, house and symbol, identity, culture-housing and lifestyle-housing relations, social and cultural sustainability, neighborhood regeneration, creative housing approaches.

INAR 5572 INTRODUCTION TO INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

The aim of the course is to give basic information about Indoor Environmental Quality issues. The course examines a wide variety of factors affecting the indoor environmental quality (IEQ), its impact, how to measure it, how to analyze it, and how to improve it. IEQ is comprised of indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal comfort (TC), visual comfort (VC), and acoustic comfort (AC). Students will get awareness about maintaining acceptable indoor environmental quality in different settings (such as occupational and residential settings).

ARCH 5564 CONTEMPORARY THEORIES IN ARCHITECTURE

This course focuses on the architectural discipline in the digital age from contemporary theoretical perspectives. The aim is to develop students’ interpretive skills in architecture to enable fresh approaches to design. The first part of the course is devoted to the modernist heritage in architectural theory and criticism. The second part engages with contemporary approaches to architectural design that claim a break from the critical tradition.

ARCH 5580 SPATIAL PRACTICES

The aim of this course is to introduce the range of theoretical frameworks to understand and interpret spatial practices in relation to the materiality of space. The course covers readings and discussions on critical spatial theories and the interpretation of particular urban and architectural spaces from an interdisciplinary perspective. Discussions focus on the relationship between everyday spatial practices and design disciplines through the understanding of social and cultural factors.

ARCH 5595 ADVANCED DESIGN ENVIRONMENTS

The course aims to integrate technological development, control, and use, based on design constraints. Students are actively involved in the organized and integrated application of technological resources, design concepts, and scientific procedures. Students address the complexities of technology that stem from designing, developing, using, and assessing the built and natural environments.

ELECTIVE COURSES

INAR 5500 ERASMUS PLACEMENT

Erasmus Student Placement includes internship period of an Erasmus fund granted student in a European company/organization. The content may change according to the field and company/organization of the student and determined based on the training agreement which is prepared and signed before the start of an internship period. Training agreement is bounding for the student and placement company/organization and it includes specific task description, responsibilities, reporting requirements and evaluation process. Erasmus placement does not have any prerequisite courses however it is expected from the student to find an appropriate company/organization for his/her placement period, to apply for Erasmus funding according to the calendar and to be granted by Erasmus funding.

INAR 5551 USER PERCEPTION IN INTERIORS

The course aims to analyze perception of users in the regard of physical and psychological experiences in hospital design. It also aims to reveal spatial factors influencing perception both in individual and social levels. The course will be based on the spatial analysis of interior spaces in hospital. The students will be presented spatial parameters on the perception from the perspective of different user groups.

INAR 5554 INTERIOR LIFE CYCLE

This course aims to develop strategies to reduce the effect of materials on environmental degradation by using a cradle to cradle approach. Interior designs’ life cycles will be examined considering environmental impacts, energy sources, building materials, natural resources and waste. The course will make use of design theories, methods, and tools derived from various fields, concentrating on problem definition, description, creativity and analytical processes.

INAR 5555 ADVANCED LIGHTING DESIGN

This course aims to give advanced lighting design knowledge on both daylight and artificial lighting design. Students will be introduced to lighting simulation software and expected to design and evaluate various scales of projects in terms of visual comfort and energy consumption. This course aims to provide detailed information on artificial lighting and daylighting design. Students are expected to apply the given information onto projects by using simulation tools. Students will also be introduced to current technologies on the market with site trips and presentations of production companies.

INAR 5556 LITERARY SPACE ANALYSIS

The aim of this course is to propose alternative research methods that will contribute to spatial epistemology by referring to spatial clues within literary spaces. Within the scope of the course, new information will be searched by reading and reinterpreting space in a critical way using the tools of literature, which will be used as a source of inspiration for exploring other ways of understanding space.

INAR 5557 ADVANCED LIGHTING RESEARCH IN INTERIORS

This course is an introduction to lighting design and research. It aims to provide the knowledge that students will need to carry out their graduate studies not only on the visual effects of light but also on its considerable effects on our well-being and environment. Within the scope of the course, students are taught about the basics of light and lighting and how to develop a research proposal on a topic that they are interested in. Students gain insight into current research trends in lighting design. Within the context of the course, they select a research topic, conduct a systematic literature review, determine a research problem and present the most appropriate data collection and analysis method for that problem.

INAR 5558 CINEMA AND DESIGN

This course aims to develop the awareness of interior architecture students on the cinematic medium as a mass communication tool. Students are asked to form a link between cinema and design by means of interpreting design works in the context of films. Doing close readings of interiors in various cinematic genres, they will be able to develop comparative perspectives in understanding the role of interior design in different narrative contexts.

INAR 5560 INTERVENTION & MODIFICATION

Rather than Preservation, deference to old buildings, the main topic of the course is Transformation: a physical rather than historicist approach to constructing new form from old fabric. The process of Building Assessment (Form and Structure, History and Function, Context and Environment, Proposed Function), the Strategies (Intervention, Insertion, Installation) and the Tactics (Planes, Objects, Light, Surfaces, Movements, Openings) to bring new life into an existing structure while investigating the design principles of building remodeling.

INAR 5562 HOME, CULTURE AND DESIGN

INAR 5564 INTERIOR DESIGN IN ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATION

The concept of remodeling is an architectural discipline that deals with the renewal of existing structures according to current needs or the transformation them into new functions. INAR 5564 course includes all the theoretical/practical information about the intervention to be made to the existing structure; It defines the role of the designer in interventions such as changing the circulation, reconstructing spatial relations, constructing new additions, demolishing unqualified sections. It explores the physical, visual, structural, contextual and spatial relationships between the existing structure and the new design inspired from it.

INAR 5566 ARCHITECTURAL CULTURE AND INTERIORS IN İZMİR

The course aims to discuss social and cultural sustainability, characteristics of architectural culture and interiors of İzmir, İzmir history project and current issues related to the history of the city in terms of protection of the architectural and cultural heritage. By discussing/analyzing/rediscovering/documenting a set of urban readings on the history of the city of İzmir and its architectural development, unidentified richness of the city will be understood. Urban, architectural and interior design characteristics of the city will be analyzed throughout the history by means of the examples that are existing/lost/transformed.

INAR 5568 HEALTHY BUILDINGS AND INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

Among the principal objectives of this course is the desire to develop better understanding of designing healthy living environments and interiors. Students will develop key research skills and gain an in-depth understanding of architectural design process in physical and psychological aspects. The course covers essential aspects of architectural and interior design including healthy building principles, indoor air quality, ventilation/cooling/heating strategies, natural and artificial lighting strategies, healthy material selection and as well as environmental/social/technological issues. The main focus is to develop productive and healthy environments for improving productivity. Students will understand environmental impacts on buildings, climate, comfort requirements, ventilation/heating/cooling strategies, daylighting, artificial lighting needs, and healthy material selections and be informed about decisions on healthy architectural design practice. The course includes a comprehensive research on the subject reflecting current issues concerning objective analysis of environmental effects by applying rational as well as innovative methods aiming on raising health awareness in design practice.

INAR 5570 INDOOR COMFORT MANAGEMENT

This course aims to provide the students with the fundamentals of indoor comfort concepts like thermal comfort, adaptive thermal comfort, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), indoor environment control and its effect on health and productivity, benchmarking standards, energy-cost optimization. Main objective of the course is to equip the students with the knowledge of causes and mitigations of thermal comfort and IAQ issues. Students will develop key research skills to conduct an IAQ and thermal comfort investigation and procedures to execute appropriate remediation measures. The main focus is to develop healthy environments for improving productivity. Investigations will allow students to suggest retrofit opportunities for healthier environments by greening the existing. This course content is a combination of introduction to indoor environmental controls’ measures and optimization of indoor comfort conditions with more efficient environmental design tools. In this respect students will first understand indoor comfort requirements, related ventilation/heating/cooling strategies and standards, healthy material selections, and efficient controls. Second part of the course will enable students to evaluate indoor comfort conditions of existing case studies, which will lead to question further retrofit and optimisation decisions. Theoretical practice will be supported with energy modelling cases, where fine tuning and optimisation exercises are practiced by participants.

INAR 5572 INTRODUCTION TO INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL

INAR 5580 HISTORY AND THEORY OF ADAPTIVE REUSE

INAR 5580 course includes all the necessary theoretical/practical information and techniques to conserve historical buildings/urban textures; examination of architectural characteristics of old buildings, determination and evaluation of conservation problems, develop proposals for their solution, definition of principles and methods of conservation, examination of adaptive reuse approaches.

INAR 5597 INTERIOR DESIGN WORKSHOP

The course aims at challenging graduate students to the application of a large variety of practice-oriented design methods and principles to interior design problems formulated with the intention of promoting research-based solutions and with the consideration of the relevant contribution of specialistic focuses related with cultural, environmental and heritage issues affecting the practice of interior design. Within the frame of a defined set of ‘dimensional’ and ‘functional’ indications, given at the beginning of the semester and considered as ‘project boundaries’, the course will promote a preliminary phase for the identification of individual ‘project intentions and targets, ‘research directions and disciplinary integrations’ toward the formalization of the ‘project proposal’ presented to a committee composed of course coordinator and department experts in different design-related fields. Graduate students will be requested to conduct and complete their project proposal with the supervision of the course coordinator in collaboration with the selected ‘project co-advisor’.

SOFL 5500 ACADEMIC WRITING FOR GRADUATES

The course aims to help students acquire and practice writing skills at the Master’s level for students in the sciences, engineering or related technical disciplines. The course will focus on the practice of expository prose techniques, reading advanced texts, formulating a thesis and defending the thesis via the development of structured arguments, especially addressing the opposing viewpoints effectively within the structure of the essay. The students will write an essay every week on the material discussed in class that week by formulating their original thesis regarding the material and defending it in writing.