Frequently Asked Questions

Generally, the design of interiors of mobile spaces such as caravans and yachts as well as houses, hospitals, hotels and office buildings. Moreover, it includes theater stages, fair stands and the interior spaces of computer games and animation films. The design of fixed and some mobile furniture required in those spaces, the performance evaluation of spaces in terms of lighting and acoustics are involved in Interior Architecture. Lastly, as a human and environment centered action, the design of interiors consider the materials, details, user requirements, user experience and the sense of aesthetics.

Our graduates are able to work in private and public institutions as interior architects and consultants. They can be employed in the Ministry of Public Works and Municipalities or in Private Companies as a member or the leader of the design team. They are able to work for the design of every kind of interiors (house, restaurant, shopping mall, hospital, school, yacht, caravan, etc.) including fair stands and furniture design. They can prefer to work independently, so they can open their own office. Additionally, they can develop themselves in any design discipline (cinema/television, performance arts, art directorship, photography, fine arts, restoration and so on).

There are three summer internships in our department, Workshop Internship at the end of first year, Construction Internship at the end of second year and Office Internship at the end of third year. We mind the Workshop Internship in terms of our students to understand the nature of material, particularly wood with its various kinds such as pine, oak, walnut and their texture, how they are processed and the joint details. Construction Internship is very beneficial for our students to learn the finishings covering partition walls, suspended ceilings, raised flooring, etc. And the Office Internship is an opportunity for them to improve their skills in construction drawings, details, modeling and visualization.

The term environment commonly implies the physical environment. However, it comprises the natural environment, social environment and cultural environment also, moreover, from the Interior Architecture point of view, it expresses the medium surrounding humans in all senses. The medium is the sum of spiritual, social and cultural effects on the life of humans. To design a part of this medium necessitates a human-centered approach. One of the lanes of our department education is to raise the aesthetical values of the medium and the virtual environment is included in this as well.

No, none, although their names and university exam point types seem to be somehow different, graduates of all these departments are Interior Architects. Nevertheless, our department’s education differentiates from others with its human-centered design approach, special emphasis on sustainability, focus on special topics like mobile spaces design and finally, futuristic design studies.

In addition to the differences mentioned in the answer above, ten elective courses in the third and fourth years of education, give our students a chance for self-development in one of the three areas: Digital - Technical Specialization, Field Specialization and Social - Cultural Specialization. Besides, one third of our academic staff is non-Turkish and our graduates take active roles in international projects and applications.

Interior Architecture education is cognitive basically. Thus it depends on learning and labor intensive study. By this way, our students expose their creativity, develop their ideas and propose original, qualified designs. And drawing is only one of the many tools to present a unique design, and not an innate ability, but a skill that can be developed.  Our students can develop their drawing skills in the courses and design studios starting from the first class. It should be stated that the drawing is not used for professional visualizations, but used as a tool to present an original design in our department’s education.

Material, the student in other words, unobviously is the main actor for the success of design education. Therefore, every student, who is ready for a hardworking, flexible but not loose, four years education, who has enough energy, motivation and resistance for standing up to go on working after every fall, is graduated to the professional practice and to the society as an interior architect who has a word to say, after completing our department program. We believe that our students and graduates have the potential of changing the world.

Along with the Technical Trips, National and International Workshops and Exhibitions which are the integral parts of our education, various Student Clubs of the university, such as Cutpaper and Social Responsibility Club, organize informal activities in which member students develop their skills in a certain area. Furthermore, there are many national and international projects conducted by volunteer student participations and collaborated with Chiba University, Goethe Institute, İzmir Municipality and so on.

Like the other departments in the faculty, our department is using a building, D Block which was designed specifically for our needs. So the studios, winter amphitheaters, meeting halls, material library and most importantly, the sub-spaces, getting larger and narrowed in front of and in between the studios and classrooms, allow our students to gather in small or big groups, cause to meet coincidentally and encourage them to discuss and share their ideas.

Interior Architecture and Environmental Design is a space design, not a work for the purpose of ornamentation. That is why, it is not related to the concept of beauty, but the concept of aesthetics. All the elements of a space, undoubtedly the walls, floor and ceiling surfaces are also covered. These surfaces are not adorned, but designed. As a result, Interior Architecture is a human-centered design action, not an action to decorate.

Interior Architecture and Environmental Design Department students benefit from the knowledge background of other departments in an interdisciplinary body in which the collaborative works with Fashion Design, Visual Communication Design, Industrial Design and Architecture is live. Our students experience teamwork in many common activities.

Design Studio which is the backbone of four years curriculum, is nine hours a week in the first year, eight hours in the following years, helps our students to develop their skills of design problem solving, starts with two and three dimensional abstract and conceptual design exercises, then goes on with using interior components to solve ever-increasing complex design problems. Construction and Materials, Design History and Computer Aided Design courses which accompany the studios almost every term, construct a certain level of knowledge and background supporting design skills. Besides, our department offers a specialization in one of the three different lanes with ten elective courses taken in the third and fourth years: Digital - Technical Specialization, Field Specialization and Social - Cultural Specialization. Students become specialized in one of them by selecting the related courses.

Four of the full-time instructors are non-Turkish among twelve in our department. Furthermore, all of the Turkish instructors have studied abroad in their Masters or PhD period, or worked as a resident professor. There are three research assistants, all are PhD students, and fourteen part-time instructors who are well-known with their success in the professional practice.