Interior Design and Scenography

Bringing spaces to talk. In interior design and scenography we engage with all aspects of space, always with a focus on us as human beings.

In the BA study programme you will learn to analyse the functional interdependencies and communicative motives of internal and external spaces. You will develop temporally limited and lasting spatial transformations, make thematic contents come alive in exhibitions by means of multimedia, and learn how to conceptualize and plan site-specific and modern, state-of-the-art spatial structures within architectural contexts. Moreover, during your studies you will also acquire a sound foundation of theoretical knowledge and learn how to reflect on the experiences you make.

You will approach the design of spaces not only in studios, workshops and classroom environments but will also receive the opportunity to implement your concepts publicly and on a 1:1 scale in collaborative projects which the Institute initiates on a regular basis.

By attaining a BA degree you are qualified to enter the programme Master of Arts FHNW in Design (with specialization “Studio Scenography & Exhibition Design”). Furthermore, it opens the door to a wide range of career options. For more information see under “Career Prospects”.

Target Audience

Whether during or after your studies, you will be dealing with professionals from the fields of architecture, theatre, film, fair construction, digital media and the arts and with experts from a variety of other fields as well. Whatever the task, working as an interior designer or scenographer requires the ability to cooperate, which is why we place such emphasis on the team and communicative skills of our students and help to develop them in the course of their studies.

News, projects, publications

The Institute’s website contains information on what’s new and on projects and publications.

Information on programme contents

Bringing spaces to talk

Interior design and scenography engage you with all aspects of space: with its dimensions, with the colour and the materiality of its surfaces, with lighting and the objects that lend it structure. The focus is always on the human being in his or her capacity as a user and consumer. It is he or she you address and involve with your work, sensitively and purposefully. They analyse functional relationships and communicative intentions from within outside spaces and conceptualise and plan temporally defined or permanent changes to space. In exhibitions they make contentual themes spatially visible, put exhibits in perspective and support the temporal and dramaturgical sequences of events with sound or moving image. They conceptualise and plan site-specfic spatial structures reflected contemporarily.

Practical relevance and perspectives

For the Institute of Interior Design and Scenography it is important that learning about design is not restricted to classrooms, studios and workshops which is why we often enter into practical collaborations so that students get the chance to see how models or plans develop impact in reality and on a 1:1 scale. It is only when ideas are transformed into a design for a real exhibition, into concrete suggestions for outdoor furnishing, temporary lighting or projected images, that the conceptual work carried out in the studio or workshop becomes real and the nature of a profession tangible.

Regardless of whether you are dealing with stage sets, exhibition designs, urban settings or interventions in gastronomy, the workplace or corporate design: you are always critically involved with the different facets of high and popular culture and touch upon socially relevant discourses. The transdisciplinary study programme equips you with a wide range of skills and knowledge and provides you with the tools, new media and technologies included, to perform many different practical tasks.

Connecting to the theoretical discourse

Like all design-related practice, interior design and scenography build upon research, analysis and reflection. In order for you to deliberate on and critically discuss your own work, you will be introduced to a broad pool of knowledge and experiences in the course of your BA studies. Dealing with theoretical considerations and appreciating historical as well as contemporary contributions to your field of work will help you to create outstanding designs of your own.

Working in a collective

Whether during or after your studies, you will be dealing with professionals from the fields of architecture, theatre, film, fair construction, digital media and the arts, and with experts from a variety of other fields as well. Whatever the task, working as an interior designer or scenographer requires the ability to cooperate, which is why we place such emphasis on the team and communicative skills of our students and help to develop them in the course of their studies.

Interior design and scenography

Interior design and scenography mutually enrich and reinforce each other. During your BA studies you are called upon to form your own impression and develop an individual approach to both fields before, according to your own skills and preferences, settling for either one or the other in the context of your BA thesis. Both disciplines deal with space from the perspective of the people who apprehend and use it. While scenography concentrates on the spatial composition and dramaturgy of timelines and narrations, interior design focuses on the atmospheric impact of space in due consideration of the optimization of functional and operational processes. As far as methodology is concerned all study projects are subject to the same sequence structure: from “research and analysis” to “concept and design”, and from “preliminary project” and “project” to “documentation”. The procedure reflects a combination of scenographic practice and architectural design appreciation.

With a BA degree in Interior Design you qualify for a wide range of career options. Our graduates enjoy excellent opportunities of entering into the professional world in architecture firms and interior design studios, in the field of exhibition design, in scenography, on film sets and as stage designers, providing you the chance of earning a living in the culture and creative industries. This was confirmed by a survey conducted by us among alumni who had received their degree between 2004 and 2014. The results of this survey and additional facts of interest are included in our Yearbook V.

We interviewed some of our BA graduates on their experiences before, during and after their studies. The video portraits provide insight into their everyday life.

We regularly invite former students to lecture on their career paths and their works. You can see parts of these lectures online.

Organizational matters

Title:
Bachelor of Arts FHNW Interior Design and Bachelor of Arts FHNW Interior Design with specialization in Scenography, respectively.

Admission of students:
once per year

Number of students:
on average 25 – 30 students per academic year

Time schedule:
regular study hours during term: Monday to Friday between 08.30 and 18.15, exceptionally to 22.00.

Total number of students:
ca. 70

Registration costs:
Aptitude assessment (per entry) CHF 100; Enrolment (once) CHF 200 / Bachelor thesis (per entry) CHF 30

Tuition fees per semester:
CHF 700; for students not living in Switzerland or a EU state, the tuition fees are CHF 5,000.

Additional study costs:
Between CHF 1,700 (semesters 1 – 5) and 3,500 (semester 6) for books, teaching materials, laptop, study trips, etc.

REG B acknowledgement:
with BA degree without exam after three years of professional experience.

Regulations:
as issued by Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) and the Academy of Art and Design / Study regulations of the BA programme Interior Design and Scenography (incl. appendixes)

Info events:
Upcoming info events are announced here.

Module description

The first two semesters provide you with the opportunity to approach space as an activity field by way of experimentation. The workshop “Space and Scenography” introduces you to a wide range of design methods for dealing with a variety of tasks. You are familiarized with the tools of design practice and learn how to present and communicate your findings. You gather experience in matters such as colour, light, sound and material, learn about different research techniques and approaches and address the issue of reception. In addition you gain practice in the fields of concept formation and argumentation with regard to creative and design-related work.

The Basic Studies Course ends with a qualifying exam, known as the Basic Thesis. The purpose of this exam is to ascertain whether you have the ability to complete the Main Studies Course, which involves semester-overlapping project work. The Basic Thesis includes work on a design project of your own and answering questions on the theoretical matters dealt with over the last year.

By means of specific, practice-based projects you implement the knowledge and skills acquired during the Basic Studies Course. In the context of clear-cut assignments, treated in depth over the course of a semester, you conceptualize and design interior and exterior spaces, exhibition spaces and stage sets. You deal with all steps of the project including research and analysis, conception and planning as well as implementation and documentation. If possible, selected designs are implemented and presented in public.

In each semester you have at least two set tasks to choose from and are free to select the one that suits you better.

Project work is complemented by specific workshops, allowing you to expand the knowledge and skills acquired during the Basic Studies Course.

The Main Studies Course is concluded with a Bachelor thesis and an exhibition in which the diploma theses are presented to the public. For your thesis, which should involve practical as well as theoretical aspects, you can choose from two set tasks in the fields of Interior Design and Scenography. In your Bachelor thesis you bring to bear the knowledge and skills acquired during your studies. It takes on shape with regard to content, concept, space and dramaturgy before being assessed by a jury of internal and external experts.

During your BA studies in Interior Design we encourage, and support to the best of our ability, you to complete one full year of practical training either in a renowned architectural office, a design company or a scenography studio. Such an internship improves your qualification and enhances your chances of finding a satisfying job after attaining your degree. An internship is especially recommendable for high-school graduates who have little or no professional experience. A year of practical training, ideally after the third of fourth semester, extends your studies by two semesters.

The Institute encourages its students to complete an exchange semester at a university or academy in Switzerland or abroad. The ideal time for such a step is either the fourth of fifth semester. The Institute has exchange agreements with numerous universities and academies in Europe and the United States. In return, the Institute of course invites per semester two or three students from foreign universities with a comparable study programme to come and study in Basel.

We include below a list of universities and academies that have, in the past, hosted BA students from Basel in exchange, and vice-versa:

Akademie der Bildenden Künste, München (D), Interior design

ArtEZ hogeschool voor de kunsten, Zwolle (NL), Interior design

Beuth Hochschule für Technik, Berlin (D)

Burg Giebichenstein Hochschule für Kunst und Design, Halle (D), Interior design

Design Academy Eindhoven (NL), Architecture

Diputació de Barcelona, Barcelona (ES), Institut del Theatre

EINA, Centre Universitari de Disseny i Art, Barcelona (ES), Interior design

Fachhochschule Münster (D), Architecture

Fachhochschule Hannover (D), stage sets and costumes

Fachhochschule Kaiserlautern (D), Interior design

Fachhochschule Lippe und Höxter (D)

Hochschule für bildende Künste, Hamburg (D)

Hochschule für Gestaltung, Karlsruhe (D)

Hochschule Coburg (D), Interior design

Hochschule Wismar (D), Interior design

Hogeschool Rotterdam (NL), Willhelm De Kooning Academy

IEC College of Art & Fashion, Kathmandu (NP), Interior design

Kunst- og designhøgskolen, Bergen (NO), Furniture and interior design

Kunsthochschule Kassel (D), Product design

Ecole nationale supérieure des arts visuels de La Cambre, Brüssel (BE), Scenography

Lahden ammattikorkeakoululla, Lathi (FI), Interior design

Muthesius Kunsthochschule, Kiel (D), Spatial planning/scenography

Scuola Universitaria della Svizzera Italiana, Manno (CH)

Shenkar College Tel Aviv (IL), Interiors and environment

Tongji University Shanghai (CN)

Universidad Veritas - Arte Diseño Arquitectura, San José (CR), Interior design

University of Technology, Sydney (AU)

Weissensee Kunsthochschule, Berlin (D), Stage sets and costumes/product design

Züricher Hochschule der Kunst (CH), Theater: Specialization on scenography

Cooperation partners

Basel – A City of Architecture, Art and Design

Basel ranks as one of the richest cultural cities in Europe, featuring just on forty museums on merely thirty-seven square kilometres. In addition, with Art Basel the city hosts every summer one of the most renowned international art fairs. The city also has very lively theatre and music scenes and is home to a number of world famous architecture firms.

Over the last few years the Institute of Interior Design and Scenography has launched a number of student projects in collaboration with leading cultural institutions in Basel, among others with Kaserne Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel, the Canton Basel-Stadt State Archives, Kunstverein Binningen, Allgemeine Lesegesellschaft Basel, Bildrausch Film Festival, Museum Kleines Klingental, Theater Festival Basel, Historisches Museum Basel, Swiss Architecture Museum SAM, Vitra Design Museum and the Kammerorchester Basel.

In recent years, the Institute has also launched a number of cultural as well as service-related projects beyond the city boundaries, for instance, with the Solothurn Literature Days, the women’s clinic of the Cantonal Hospital Baselland, Swisscom, and the Valais Wine Association.

Institute of Interior Design and Scenography

The innovative engagement with space and its impact is at the core of all concerns and activities conducted by the Institute of Interior Design and Scenography.