More about this course

We are fascinated by the way people inhabit existing and new spaces, both at the scale of the home and at the scale of the city. Interior architecture and design is a distinct, rigorous practice that requires a specialist way of thinking about how we occupy complex spaces and how the elements of space are brought together at a human scale both to accommodate and to delight.

This degree course will help you develop specialist skills in the areas of observational and spatial drawing, computer drawing, model making and technological and material investigations. Alongside making design proposals we ask you to comprehensively research, analyse and articulate the culture and context in which your design thinking is being applied.

As you progress through this course, you'll develop your own individual enquiry, creative approach, critical thinking and deepen your understanding of design processes. We encourage you to combine intellectual and creative ambition with detailed resolution of your work and to test how to communicate your ideas effectively to your peers and in the wider world.

Our teaching programme is supplemented by study trips, practice visits, design workshops and weekly lectures by designers and architects. Where possible, we link with The Projects Office, to other areas of the University and with our established international partners.

Follow @ldnmet_interiors on Instagram for the latest student work and news from the course!

Assessment

You'll be assessed via your portfolio presentations, illustrated documents, a dissertation, essays, seminar papers and tests.

Entry requirements

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum of grades BBC in three A levels from relevant subject areas in the arts, humanities and social sciences (or a minimum of 112 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National Diploma in an art related subject with DDM and at least five merits in the final year, excluding common skills entry from appropriate Foundation and Access and courses will also be considered) plus a portfolio review
• GCSE English grade C (grade 4) or above (or equivalent)

We look for potential in spatial design, creative imagination and visual or constructive aptitude, together with motivation and ability to complete the course.

If you don't have traditional qualifications or can't meet the entry requirements for this undergraduate degree, you may still be able to gain entry by completing our Interior Architecture and Design (with preparatory semester) BA (Hons), Interior Design (including foundation year) BA (Hons), Interior Design (with preparatory semester) BA (Hons).

Interviews

Students must pass a portfolio interview where they'll be required to demonstrate an interest in, aptitude for and knowledge of the field of architecture, or where not possible submit portfolio of art and design work for review.

Please be aware that digital portfolios cannot be viewed at the interview.

The interview day includes a general introduction to the course, a tour of the facilities and the chance to meet and speak with staff and students.

Accreditation of Prior Learning

Any university-level qualifications or relevant experience you gain prior to starting university could count towards your course at London Met. Find out more about applying for Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL).

English language requirements

To study a degree at London Met, you must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. If you require a Student visa you may need to provide the results of a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. This course requires you to meet our standard requirements.

If you need (or wish) to improve your English before starting your degree, the University offers a Pre-sessional Academic English course to help you build your confidence and reach the level of English you require.

Modular structure

The modules listed below are for the academic year 2023/24 and represent the course modules at this time. Modules and module details (including, but not limited to, location and time) are subject to change over time.

Year 1 modules include:

Critical & Contextual Studies 1 (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Tuesday afternoon
• all year (January start) - Thursday afternoon

The module aims to orient and critically engage you in the history and theory of your discipline, to examine its scope, conventions, and broader social and material context in culture and practice. The overarching purpose of this is to enable a greater ability to think through and develop your studio practice, enriching it with knowledge and ideas gained from study of the contexts in which it is framed. You will be encouraged to explore issues relevant to your own background and identity.

The module will help you to reflect on what you see and experience, and to find connections between different ideas that have shaped your discipline. In particular, the module investigates how ideas about practice in your field might be framed, for example in relation to history, the economy, cultures, society and the environment, through both theory and practice. You will be encouraged to question received ideas and to broaden your thinking and understanding of the global and previously marginalised contexts and histories of your discipline. The current and historic practice, impacts and implications of your discipline in relation to matters of sustainability, equity and accessibility will also be a focus of your studies.

The module will begin to introduce you to a range of academic skills needed to produce a graduate level study (a dissertation) in your final year. It will help you to develop and define your own interests, and to reflect on and take responsibility for the development of your own learning.

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Design Principles for Interiors (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Monday afternoon
• all year (September start) - Monday morning
• all year (January start) - Wednesday morning
• all year (January start) - Wednesday afternoon

Successful design outcomes are reliant on sound design development and principles. These design principles inform and create opportunities for you to apply your creativity to the conception, development and eventual realisation of effective design solutions through an iterative process testing of concepts in the context of a rapidly changing contemporary culture with ever-developing needs and problems. In this way, by engaging with materials, media and processes, interior designers become agents of change, engaging their personal and creative identity and cultural capital in the design process.

Design is concerned with bringing about change, impacting on human experience. This module introduces a range of contemporary and traditional discipline-related design approaches and processes, some of which will be tested in design exercises and some of which may be realised in studios and projects carried across other modules.

You will be introduced to systems and methods of research, observation and analysis, ranging from human behaviors, experience and cultural context to site, building and materials. The module will develop an understanding of spatial awareness linked to design and the organisation of space, interventions and added elements.

Design concepts will be tested through the application of exercises, workshop and studio methods through a range of drawing techniques, modelling and making.
Materials, processes and technologies are introduced, developing creative outcomes relevant to the possibilities and constraints of the context, the needs of the client and users, and industry conventions and regulations, with consideration to sustainable approaches.

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Interior Design Communication and Techniques (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Tuesday morning
• all year (January start) - Thursday morning

This module introduces the idea of communication through drawing. You will become familiar with what are commonly termed the ‘industry conventions’ for describing architectural details, including those for heritage and conservation sites. You will be taken through a series of workshops relating to your studio project to identify the differing and diverse types of drawings, diagrams, and related regulations that you would encounter within the design process and how these are used to communicate to varying audiences. You will also gain an understanding of how to devise and communicate sustainable and environmental approaches and will explore inclusive design methods and principles, investigating the historic and contemporary contexts in which a building is located and its social, cultural community connections.

Through a series of set tasks and lectures you will acquire key knowledge and understanding of scale, proportion, anthropometrics and ergonomics and principles of geometry, materials, colour and light linked to requirements for design. You will learn orthographic drawing methods, analysing building construction, for exterior and interior contexts. The module will use a range of learning and teaching methods to establish this knowledge, including site visits and surveys, case studies, hand and digital drawing workshops, including developing vital CAD skills.

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Spatial Design (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Thursday afternoon
• all year (September start) - Thursday morning
• all year (January start) - Friday morning
• all year (January start) - Friday afternoon

This module introduces you to the ‘spatial journey’, a critical term used throughout the field of interior design, describing the spatial programming and planning that leads to the realisation of a concept for an entire and complex space.

The module encourages you to explore and manipulate the spatial qualities of interiors by applying design principles relating to, for example, the rhythm, pattern and differentiation of architectural and environmental elements in their contexts, which are often termed the ‘spatial journey’ in the interior design sector.

It considers human responses, both ergonomic and anthropometric, to commercial and community spaces and environments, and the specific impact of these spaces on people. You will consider the physical and emotional values of spaces and learn how to relate these spaces to their purposes. Examples of existing spatial environments will be surveyed and documented, using industry standard recording and publishing techniques and tools.

You will develop and present proposals relating to a spatial journey, exploring ways to manipulate spatial choices and realising your ideas through drawings, models and visualisation techniques. You will be introduced to sector-specific traditional and digital design modelling techniques, and the visualisation and presentation skills necessary for the practicing designer. This module supports the generation and development of design proposals, and will facilitate the realisation of concepts and projects generated in other modules.

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Year 2 modules include:

Critical & Contextual Studies 2 (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Thursday morning

Critical and Contextual Studies 2 continues to orient and critically engage you in the history and theory of your discipline, its extent and conventions, and its broader social and material context in culture and contemporary practice. It builds on studies undertaken in Level 4 and prepares you as independent thinkers to be capable of selecting an appropriate topic and producing a sustained piece of independent study in the form of a dissertation in Level 6.

The module continues the process of constructing and questioning knowledge about your discipline, its history, contexts, and professional and ethical dimensions. It introduces and rehearses the analytical and discursive skills you need to become critically aware of the authorities, objects and practices in your field and able to express and debate the issues attaching to them. You will consider the roles and responsibilities of professionals in your field and examine the ethical questions relevant to the discipline, becoming conversant with current debates in the subject. You will consider the priorities and points of view of the industry, the client, the designer, the consumer or user, the critic and wider society.

You are encouraged to think critically and creatively and to take responsibility for the development of your own learning. The module recognises that you are an active contributor to the process of learning: what you as a student bring to the construction and evaluation of knowledge matters – and how effectively you construct and evaluate that knowledge depends on how well you understand the field of your discipline as outlined above.

Critical and Contextual Studies for second year students is structured in order to foster confidence, through applying analytical skills to a growing body of knowledge and expressing this through debate, discussion and public presentation. Dialogue and exchange between students and tutors takes place in informal in-class settings and ensures that student experience and cultural and social capital is expressed and valued.

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Design Details (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Friday morning

Materiality, form and structure, colour and light, surface and texture affects meaning and value in all design. This module requires your critical evaluation of subtle and implicit design details, resulting in sustainable and environmental design proposals expressed through materials and construction, considering how material selection and manipulation provides the interior space or the artefact with qualities and values expressed as the spatial experience.

You will explore and experiment with both physical and virtual material representation, drawing on concepts and ideas originally generated within the studio. Outcomes will be developed through material and/ or constructional experimentation including scaled interventions or working models. Through in-depth practice-led research, you will consider the sustainable, social, functional and environmental impacts of material choices and the performance of these upon designed-spaces or objects. You will realise relevant design solutions for studio briefs, in response to specific users and/or sites.

You will work towards a professional standard of presentation, developing a logical and creative approach to design problem solving, appropriate to the needs of users and clients. You will build upon your employability skills, understanding the relevance of your project work within the various industry sectors and work towards confidently presenting your project proposal.

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Human Scale (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Wednesday afternoon
• all year (September start) - Wednesday morning

As humans, we live in a continuous and ongoing relationship with our environment This module aims to show how our understanding of the human body (its scale, proportions and movement) together with awareness of sociological and physiological human behaviour are key aspects to successful design.

This module will examine how humans live, work and spend time together and through the analysis of contemporary and historical precedents will study performance, interaction and customs and in relation to economic, political and environmental conditions and how this fosters new practice.

Close observation of the interaction between the behaviours of people within the immediate environment will be at the core of this area of study. It will show how analysis of the human being, at a range of scales, is vital to relevant, safe and ethical, innovative design that responds to physical and sensory needs. Environmental observation and reflection will be documented through a range of media, analysed to support the generation of concepts and design ideas.

Informed selection and application of material processes are an intrinsic part of the design and production of both objects and the made environment. Workshop activities will explore and test ideas, resolving design issues through modelling in traditional and digital materials and technologies. Material experimentation and knowledge will enhance both the concept and its communication.

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Interior Design Practices and Techniques (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Thursday afternoon

This module develops and applies the knowledge and skills established in DN4018 Interior Design Communication and Techniques, and prepares you for DN6029, Integrated Design Practice, at Level 6. The module will develop your understanding and confidence in approaching the analysis and production of interior spaces through strategic and detailed design processes.

The module focuses in detail, through analytical building studies and reflective precedents, on how different aspects of context and history, and of material, construction, services and environmental design, interact in large or complex interiors and buildings. The module will provide a progressively more detailed knowledge of the interior from structure through interior organisation, to construction details of fixings, fittings and finishes. The module introduces methods, terms and techniques that can be used to evaluate and describe the range of different relationships that exist within interiors. It examines how and why professional practice standards are relevant as well as the remit for research, analysis and knowledge of construction and detail.

The main component focuses on the development and production of a range of drawn information, such as analytical and illustrative diagrams, and orthographic drawings, with written information used to establish an understanding of professional standards in design communication and the individual’s capacity to represent ideas and decisions precisely.

The module will use different learning and teaching methods to establish an understanding of professional practice through the analysis of spatial conditions, including site visits, surveys, case studies, introduction to regulatory guidelines and supportive lectures. The module will enhance development of CAD skills and increase knowledge of construction and detailing.

In addition, the module features a work placement component adding practical, relevant, insightful experience to the curriculum where a strategic and informed approach to the workplace can start to develop, this is embedded and developed through a CV, and reflective journal.

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Year 3 modules include:

Critical & Contextual Studies 3: Dissertation (Interiors) (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Wednesday afternoon
• all year (September start) - Wednesday morning

Critical and Contextual Studies (CCS) in Level 6 offers you an opportunity to understand and explore the historical, social, cultural and economic factors which influence, and provide a context for, the development of architecture, art and design practice. Building on critical and academic skills gained during two years of previous study, the module encourages you to develop an awareness of issues around which there is some debate, uncertainty or contest. Based on this awareness, you will develop a set of research questions which constitute the topic of your study. This topic can be theoretical, historical, or technical and you may, with guidance, decide to engage with an area of scholarly interest outside the territory of your degree course.

You will develop your topic and respond to your research questions in the form of an extended critical study or Dissertation (6,000–7,000 words). Through this study you demonstrate that you can thoroughly research a topic, use appropriate methods of investigation, and work in a methodical and organised way to develop a coherent argument or line of thought. Teaching and Learning on the module is designed to support you in this process through a combination of tutorials and one to one supervision; as well as a series of formative and summative assessments which prepare you for the final submission.

The final form and presentation of your Dissertation can reflect a broad range of approaches to research and writing. It may include visual materials or other non-written forms of presentation as long they support your enquiry and comprise an integral part of the whole. By prior approval at the start of the module, your research can be part practice-based, and include primary research and fieldwork.

The dissertation may, by prior approval at the start of the module from the Head of Subject, be part practice-based and can include fieldwork and primary research in its methods. Its form and approach can reflect a broad range of design-specific approaches based on discussion and agreement with your supervisor.

By virtue of the sustained, independent nature of the learning and substantial final output, the dissertation is also intended to prepare you for possible postgraduate study.

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Integrated Design Practice (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Friday morning

This module provides a link between the completion of your undergraduate studies, and professional interior design practice. It establishes your ability to integrate and document the key areas of design knowledge within the context of your major design project and through this, a readiness for employment within interior design professional practice.

The coursework records and responds to key stages of professional practice delivered through a range of lectures including from specialist contributors. The module aims to enable you to demonstrate a knowledge, understanding of and ability to evaluate the following five areas of study in relation to your major project and that this is effectively and appropriately communicated:

1. cultural context;
2. professional and regulatory requirements;
3. environment and sustainability;
4. construction, materials and specification;
5. communication.

The module aims to provide you with the means to demonstrate, through and in relation to your own design work, the extent of your understanding and evaluation of these key areas of professional interior design knowledge that inform a design project. The employability and professional practice lectures offered will enable you to better understand the industry, allowing you to make informed choices and prepare a career strategy.

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Major Project Realisation: Interior Architecture and Design (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Friday afternoon

This Major Project module enables you to prepare for independent practice in the workplace or to progress onto higher studies. It is the opportunity to synthesise your specialist knowledge and skills and effectively communicate these. In this module, you will carry out the project conceived and developed in the parallel Project Design and Development for Interiors module, fully realising it in appropriate form by its conclusion.

You will exercise and display your abilities in selecting, analysing and applying knowledge, skills and understanding to a negotiated and fully researched project in order to properly understand your strengths, interests and position in the field, and the potential for your future professional development.

You will show that you understand the complex and changing nature of problems in the professional sector of interior design and can devise and apply realistic strategies for constructing, applying and managing a process designed to provide solutions for complex situations with competing demands.

A professional standard of realisation, contextualisation and presentation will be expected, providing the elements for a portfolio of practice with which you may enter the fields of employment, self-employment or further studies.

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Project Design and Development for Interiors (core, 30 credits)

This module currently runs:

• all year (September start) - Tuesday afternoon
• all year (September start) - Tuesday morning

Together with your Major Project Realisation module, this module is intended to prepare interiors students for independent practice, entry into the professional workplace, or for higher study.

Through synthesis of knowledge of processes and principles, using an appropriate range of intellectual, creative and practical skills, you will research, analyse, design and develop a self-directed project. This will require in-depth investigation of a site, its cultural context, human inhabitation, activity and enterprise through a well-constructed design process involving practical and digital 2D and 3D methods of exploration and communication as a significant body of creative work for public exhibition.

A negotiated and approved proposal will confirm the individual project. Using creative exploration and experimentation, you will undertake research, selection, concept development, material investigation, modelling, prototyping and visualisation. The final outcome will be produced in the Major Project Realisation modules, and will be distinctive to the course in approach, scale, communication and visualisation or making and modelling.

This module will ensure that you review and reflect upon your own work and understand your prospective position in the creative sector. The module emphasises self-direction and personal focus whilst acknowledging external and professional expectations and constraints.

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What our students say

"I feel I truly hit my stride during [my] interior design project. I only started using Photoshop since I started my degree programme, and these software skills were indispensable. After graduation I’m hoping to get a job in a firm that’ll allow me the opportunity to continue expanding my skills and knowledge of interiors."
Jade Clarke, Interior Architecture and Design BA (Hons) student. Have a read of Jade's blogpost about designing early years classrooms.

"London Met stood out over other institutions because of its broad international student population. I wanted to meet other students who could relate to the changes that come with moving to a different country. I also enjoyed the idea that there is a separate campus for the School of Art, Architecture and Design which gives us the ability to be surrounded by others doing arts-based degrees."
Hailey Savage, Interior Architecture and Design (including foundation year) BA (Hons) student. Find out more about Hailey's experience studying as an international student.

"I love how creative and hands-on my degree at London Met is and how invested my lecturers are in supporting our success."
Daniela Kroning, Interior Architecture and Design BA (Hons) student. Read our interview with Daniela.

Where this course can take you

The collaborative nature of this course prepares you to work with confidence as a specialist in design or architectural practice where interacting with other professionals and construction industry processes requires a range of skills and experience beyond the purely creative.

Recent graduates have been employed by design companies including Brinkworth, Casson Mann, Claudio Silvestrin, Conran Design Group and Softroom.

Other graduates have chosen to continue to study architecture or design at postgraduate level.

Every student on our three interiors courses has the opportunity of a work placement at a leading London design practice. In 2016 students were placed at 50 design companies including Foster + Partners, Gensler, turnerbates and Sundae.

Important information about this course

We're committed to continuously improving our degree courses to ensure our students receive the best possible learning experience. Many of the courses in our School of Art, Architecture and Design are currently under review for 2023-24 entry. We encourage you to apply as outlined in the how to apply section of this page and if there are any changes to your course we will contact you. All universities review their courses regularly and this year we are strengthening our art, architecture and design courses to better reflect the needs of employers and ensure you're well-equipped for your future career.

Collaborations and international links

All of our Interiors courses welcome Study Abroad and Erasmus students, please contact our International Office

Study visits

Students are encouraged to explore the architectural and design culture in the UK and abroad. Each year, our students go on field trips within Europe and join a studio field trip in second and third year related to the studio subject. Field trip locations include Berlin, Madrid, Venice, Porto, Milan, Marseille, Budapest, Sofia and Amsterdam.

Additional costs

Please note, in addition to the tuition fee there may be additional costs for things like equipment, materials, printing, textbooks, trips or professional body fees.

Additionally, there may be other activities that are not formally part of your course and not required to complete your course, but which you may find helpful (for example, optional field trips). The costs of these are additional to your tuition fee and the fees set out above and will be notified when the activity is being arranged.

Stay up to date

Follow our School of Art, Architecture and Design on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date with everything that's happening in our creative community.

Discover Uni – key statistics about this course

Discover Uni is an official source of information about university and college courses across the UK. The widget below draws data from the corresponding course on the Discover Uni website, which is compiled from national surveys and data collected from universities and colleges. If a course is taught both full-time and part-time, information for each mode of study will be displayed here.

When to apply

The University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) accepts applications for full-time courses starting in September from one year before the start of the course. Our UCAS institution code is L68.

If you will be applying direct to the University you are advised to apply as early as possible as we will only be able to consider your application if there are places available on the course.