Interior Architecture and Scenography BA

Educational qualifications
Acceptance to the admission procedure regarding degree programmes in the field of Design (Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Scenography, Fashion Design, Process Design at Hyperwerk, Visual Communication and Digital Spaces) commonly requires one of the following certificates:

• a certified vocational baccalaureate
• a certified specialized baccalaureate
• a certified upper secondary school baccalaureate
• proof of equivalent education at upper secondary school level obtained otherwise

Language of tuition
The language of tuition is German. Applicants with a foreign language background are required to submit proof of their language proficiency in German at level B2 (or equivalent) before commencing their studies.

On-the-job work experience or preparatory course in design
In addition, candidates need to provide proof of one year of on-the-job work experience or completion of a two-semester preparatory course in design. The work experience must include practical as well as theoretical knowledge in a professional field related to the subject of study.
Note: Proof of work experience or completion of a preparatory course in design is not required of candidates who are able to provide proof of a vocational baccalaureate in a professional field related to the subject of study, a Swiss certified baccalaureate with a focus on visual design, or a specialized, design-based baccalaureate. The attained degree need not explicitly be in a profession related to the specific field of study.

approved professional fields (PDF in German)

Catching up on the vocational baccalaureate
Candidates who have not completed at least three years of upper secondary education (level II) are not legally entitled to admission to a Bachelor's degree programme. Information concerning full-time or part-time, on-the-job training courses focusing on a vocational, design-based or specialized baccalaureate is provided by the local vocational schools.

Admission on the basis of exceptional talent
In exceptional cases, candidates can be admitted to the Bachelor’s degree programmes in Design and in Fine Arts without being in possession of an upper secondary school leaving certificate (level II), namely if they can provide proof of exceptional talent, either in a design-related or an arts-related field. The application documents must include a portfolio, a CV in tabular format, a reasoned request, and a letter of motivation. The head of the respective degree programme decides on the basis of the submitted documents whether such proof is provided.
Note: Candidates that fulfil the admission requirements on the basis of a completed upper secondary school education (level II) are excluded from admission on the basis of special talent.

How to proceed with regard to an “admission on the basis of exceptional talent” and how to register online.
We recommend that you register or at least make inquiries no later than 8 February, considering that it takes some time to review the submitted documents.

• Inquire in writing by email to YWRtaXNzaW9uLkJBLWluMy5oZ2tAZmhudy5jaA== and arrange an appointment with the respective head of the degree programme.
• Normally, you submit the following documents for assessment: 
  
  • Portfolio
  • CV in tabular format
  • Reasoned request
  • Motivation letter
• Only then do you register via online registration (deadline 15 February).
• If the head of the degree programme accepts your application, you will receive from the degree programme’s office an invitation to the aptitude assessment.
• A successful aptitude assessment is prerequisite for admission to and enrolment in the degree programme.

To apply for a place at the HGK, the required documents must be submitted by 15.02.2023.

Info aptitude assessment 2023 (PDF in German)

Dates

• 15.02.2023
  Registration deadline and deadline for submitting the required documents for the aptitude assessment.
• 18.09.2023
  Fall Semester begin 2023/24

Programm Regulation, Interior Architecture and Scenography, Bachelor (PDF Download)

Bringing spaces to talk

In Interior Architecture and Scenography, you get to deal with all facets of space: with its dimensions, with the colour and material of its surfaces, with the lighting, as well as with the objects that structure its form. At the core of all considerations are human as well as non-human beings in their role as recipients and users, whom you directly address and involve through your approach and work. You analyse the functional relationships along with the communicative purposes of interior and exterior spaces, and conceptualize and plan time-limited as well as permanent changes to specific spaces. In exhibitions, you get the chance to make content-based themes spatially perceptible, cast exhibits in their right light, and underpin the dramaturgical sequences by means of sound and moving images. Within an architectural framework you create and plan spatial structures that reflect the site-specific and contemporary conditions.

Practical relevance and perspectives

Students engage in collaborations on a regular basis in order to test the actual applicability of models or plans, publicly and on a scale of 1:1. It is only when a design concept is published and implemented, either in a real exhibition, in a proposal for a specific outdoor design, in temporary lightings or pictorial projections, that the conceptual work carried out in the studio or workshop becomes verifiable. Whether it is in the realm of stage design, in exhibition design or in urban scenographies and interventions in the field of hospitality, work and corporate design, students are given the chance to engage critically with high and popular culture and participate in socially relevant discourses. The cross-disciplinary course programme equips students with a comprehensive range of skills – including new media and technologies – and prepares them for a wide scope of practical activities between architecture, interior design, scenography, and theatre.

Connecting to the theoretical discourse

Theoretical discourses interact with social discourses and changes in the design practice. In order to be able to critically contextualise and discuss your own work and position, you will be introduced to different design theory perspectives, knowledge and experiences. Through research-based teaching and learning approaches, the impressions gleaned from collaborating with various knowledge communities, local institutions and interest groups are conveyed and reflected upon in exchange.

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 architect 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 Architecture and Scenography

Interior Architecture 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 architecture 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 Architecture 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 architecture 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.

With its studios and central Campus.Workshops, HGK offers ideal conditions for combining craft curiosity, the acquisition of technical skills, and the necessary digital know-how. In addition, all students have their own 24/7 workspace in one of the spacious studios. The degree programme Interior Architecture and Scenography also features an analogue and a digital workshop. The facilities are open to students 365 days a year.

After attaining your Bachelor of Arts FHNW in Interior Architecture you are entitled to apply for a place in the Master of Arts FHNW in Design at the "Masterstudio Scenography”

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 Architecture 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
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

Overview Courses (PDF)
Basic Studies Course, Semesters 1 and 2 (PDF)
Main Studies Course Semesters 3 till 6 (PDF)

Here you will find everything you need to know about the enrolment process at the FHNW Academy of Art and Design.

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.

FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP)
Freilager-Platz 1
Postfach

CH-4002 Basel

FHNW Academy of Art and Design
Institute Contemporary Design Practices (ICDP)
Interior Architecture and Scenography BA degree course
Oslo-Strasse 3
4142 Münchenstein near Basel

Building: A 2.10

Phone: +41 61 228 40 55
Fax: +41 61 228 42 78
Email: aW5mby5pbjMuaGdrQGZobncuY2g=