Project Brief: My Room, My Interior

Looking to boost your Art & Design Portfolio content for College or University application? Using found objects and materials you are going to build a scale model of your bedroom

For those looking to study spatial design - interior, architectural, model making - making a model (especially to scale) is an important skill in communicating and developing ideas.

This project is ideal for students applying to:

  • ModelMaking

  • Interior Design

  • Interior Architecture

  • Architecture

What is ModelMaking?

Modelmaking is a skill in itself. Model makers study a degree lasting typically 3 years where they learn everything it takes to create 3D models both physical and computerized.

ModelMakers go on to a wide range of roles from freelance work, to in-house at Architecture firms, with product designers right the way up to special effects on movie production.

ModelMaking takes a great deal of time and patience but can be a lot of fun, and if you can show your ability in your portfolio then it’ll set you ahead of the competition as this is not something taught at school level.

What you’ll need:

  • Time and patience!!

  • Good craft knife, the sharper the better but be careful, for obvious reasons. If you are using a scalpel and blades, change the blade often and dispose of it correctly.

  • Cutting matt so as not to cut your parent’s dining table.

  • Glue, and not tape. ModelMakers use superglue and a whole range of different glues but for this exercise UHU is good, PVA can be used but might not dry flat.

  • Metal ruler, do not use plastic as your blade will hack into it and may slide off and into you. Safety first.

  • Material, any. Try to stick to one colour, I recommend using white. Yes, it seems boring but it looks professional. Don’t spend a lot of money on material, reuse and recycle. Cardboard from boxes and packing is absolutely fine.

  • A bedroom, or room.

Assignment: Build a Model of Your Bedroom

You are going to try to build a 3D model of your bedroom. So your model will likely have four walls, a floor, door, and windows (or whatever your room looks like).

First, sketch out the outline of your room - this is the floor plan and will help you build the overall structure (walls). Mark where the door is and then cut the walls to fit the right length, then cut the door and windows into the correct walls. This is the basic model of your room.

Next, start to plan out the furniture and create miniatures of your bed, cupboard, desk, chair, mirror, etc until the room feels complete.

Don’t be lazy here - try to recreate as many details within the room as possible.

It gets fun and the more you add to it, the better it will look. And whoever is looking at your model and portfolio will notice.

Start with fabric items such as your bedding (fold paper), curtains (curl or bend paper), and move on to items such as dressing gowns (get super creative with your paper and fabric, add thread, etc) model items on your desk or bedside table like a computer, books, and so on.

If you have time and are able to, try to cut a little silhouette of yourself as a scale person. Look at the door to help you draw out what height you should be compared to the door opening and then stand yourself up in your model.

TOP TIP: Architects and other spatial designers do this all the time in the office. Try building your model in only white materials and mount it on a larger board than the floor, so there’s a kind of frame around it. White (or all one colour, could also be black or cardboard brown) is more forgiving to mistakes and looks a lot more finished - even if it’s not.

Here are some examples from Pinterest

How to present your model in your portfolio

Now take photographs of your model to include in your portfolio as carrying around the actual model is a little impractical and could damage it.

It’s also a good idea to place something beside it to show a scale for the model (if you aren’t happy with your silhouette person) and the detail you have put into it. Use something obvious like a pencil or ruler. Something that would naturally be on hand and not distract from the model itself.

Try out different angles for your photos (front for elevation, top for plan, side on for perspective). You can also consider doing a step-by-step page showing how you constructed your model.

Now either print these out or create a layout on A3 paper (or as a PDF) and add some text explaining the model.


Architecture 'Additional Reading' List

Architecture 'Additional Reading' List

Seen as you have all these spare half days, empty slots in your timetable, and possibly even a reading week, as if, I've taken the time to list out some of the books I think you will find interesting - let's be honest...even if it's just to look at the pictures.

So, as for a more general and inspirational collection, there is a huge selection to choose from regarding Design and Architecture, Furniture, and Product. It is a great idea to have a copy of the main books as recommended by your course however often there is not a huge selection to choose from when it comes to the Interior, here is a selection of additional book, perhaps for the Christmas and birthday lists:

  1. Brooker, G & Stone S. (2008) Context & Environment (Basics Interior Architecture Series 02), Lausanne: AVA Academia

  2. Ching, F D K, & Binggeli C. (2012) Interior Design Illustrated, Van Nostrand & Reinhold

  3. Frampton K, Modern Architecture, A Critical History, London: Thames & Hudson

  4. Gagg, R. (2011) Texture & Materials (Basics Interior Architecture Series 05), Lausanne: AVA Academia

  5. Massey, A. (2008) Interior Design Since 1900, London: Thames & Hudson

  6. Rasmussen, S. E. (1962) Experiencing Architecture, Boston: MIT Press

  7. Farrelly, L. (2014) Representational Techniques, (Basic Architecture Series 01), Lausanne: AVA Academia

  8. Aquilino, M J. (2011) Beyond Shelter: Architecture For Crisis, Thames & Hudson

Architecture Student's Booklist

Architecture Student's Booklist

Whether you're heading to an Open Day, had your interview, got your place, or already started on a course, you will need to start thinking about the dreaded book list, and if you will actually spend any of your hard-earned cash purchasing any of them. My advice is if you have some pennies to spare, take advantage of this time and money to invest in the basic book list. I suggest the following books mainly for Interior Design/Architecture courses but you can adapt if you're studying another art and design course.



Library

Universities and Colleges have fantastic Libraries, with Librarians who are not only friendly but can and will, assist you in finding out what it is you are after. There are loads of books, e-books, magazines and journals, online links, and tutorials, plus they often have a large selection of DVDs and videos from educational documentaries to inspirational movies. And, do not forget your local library too, they are perfect for local historical information, maps, old photos, etc. 

Books

If you are planning to study the interior, be it Interior Design or Interior Architecture and Design, I have listed some great books to help get you started and feed into your studies. The start of term is when students tend to have a little bit of money and therefore there is far more chance they will spend it on course supplies than any other student spending. With this in mind, I recommended the following four books:

  1. Ching, F D K. Architectural Graphics, Van Nostrand & Reinhold

  2. Littlefield, D. (2012) Metric Handbook: Planning & Design Data, London: Routledge

  3. Ross, A., Hatreed, J. & Baden-Powell, C. (2011) Architects Pocket Book, London: Architectural Press

  4. Architecture For Humanity. (2006) Design Like You Give A Damn, Thames & Hudson

  5. Pile, J. (2013) A History of Interior Design, London: Laurence King

  6. Plunkett, D. (2010) Construction and Detailing for Interior Design, Laurence King

  7. Brown, R. (2012) Materials and Interior Design, Laurence King

  8. McLeod V. (2012)Detail in Contemporary Residential Architecture, Laurence King [with CD of drawings] full series also available


PDF downloads:

Metric Handbook | Architect's Pocket Book 

Most of the books listed above will be used by both Interior Design and Architecture students alike, and are often a good investment as they will stay with you from student life to the working world. 

The General Design & Inspiration Booklist

The General Design + Inspiration Booklist

This is my 'coffee table' selection of books that I love to sit down and have a flick through with a hot cup of coffee under a cozy blanket on the sofa. When I have a new project or are looking for inspiration, I love to sit and flick through books, get ideas and it always helps me feel re-motivated. Some of the lists below are books from my university days and others more recent, some you might have read or heard of, and others are well worth looking up.

  1. Kate Spade. (2013) Things We Love: Twenty Years of Inspiration, Intriguing Bits and Other Curiosities, Kate Spade New York

  2. Amoruso, S. (2014) #GIRLBOSS, Portfolio Penguin

  3. Becker, H. (2011) Decorate: 1000 professional design ideas for every room in the house, Jacqui Small LLP

  4. Bowkett, S. (2013) Archi-Doodle: An Architects Activity Book, Laurence King

  5. Frederick, M. (2007) 101 Things I Learnt in Architecture School, MIT Press

  6. Schumacher E F. (1988) Small Is Beautiful, Abacus

  7. Banham, O. (1980) Theory And Design In The First Machine Age, MIT Press

  8. Wilson, R. (2010) Soulpancakes: Chew on Life's Big Questions, Hyperion Books


What are some books you’d recommend?

Interior Architecture: Recommended Magazines and Journals

Interior Architecture: Recommended Magazines + Journals

Working as an academic, I wrote courses, project briefs, helped lead tutorial groups, and supported final year students in their dissertation and final major projects. In order to do this, I had to be up to date on the current trends, technologies, building projects, and research. I spent a lot of time online and in the library reading up and watching documentaries, skimming journals, and following competitions. 

As a student, this is also important and is a good habit to get into. Over the next few posts, I will be giving you a list of my go-to books, magazines, and journals for you to find, buy and subscribe to. Today we start gently with my best picks for Interior Architecture Magazines and Journals. 

Magazines & Journals

Stay current with design news and get into the right frame of mind at the beginning of a project. There are loads of journals out there, plus it's always interesting to pick up an international one when you're traveling too. I recommend starting with FrameWallpaperELLE Décor (and looking into possibly taking up a subscription). 

Online Journals & Websites

Aside from this, you can always have a look online at dezeen.cominhabitat.com, and bdonline.com and there are loads of blogs to follow too. 


Which Design journals do you read?

RMI: Study Trip To Singapore

RMI: Study Trip To Singapore

Last week me and eight of my students packed up and headed to Singapore for a five days study trip. Our first stop was the newest mall on Orchard Road - ION Orchard where they had a tour by the Art Director to understand the design from the overall layout, retail units and their art collection. After an interesting lunch trying the local cuisine, the group walked along Orchard Road looking at the many retail outlets and discussing their design. 

The next day the students visited Raffles Design Institute where they met Prof Louis who gave them a tour of the campus and introduced them to their RDI classmates. This was a motivating visit and their inspiration was enhanced by a visit to the International Furniture Fair afterwards. On show were new and current items of furniture, materials and supplier information. The evening was spent wandering along Haji Lane and taking in its ambience. 

The following day was the financial district where the students spent the morning sketching, visiting sites such as The Fullerton Hotel and also catching a glimpse of the iconic Merlion transformed into ‘The Merlion Hotel’, an installation by Japanese artist Tatzu Nishi as part of the Singapore Biennale. Next was the incredible Marina Bay Sands where our group was invited to the top floor to observe their 150m long infinity pool set atop the world's largest public cantilevered platform which overhangs by 67m.

Safely back on solid ground, the next day was a trip to IKEA where the students filled their sketchbooks with floor plans and perspectives of room layouts, furniture and lighting before hitting the shop.  

The final day was spent looking at the Singapore library and its outdoor study areas, the famous Raffles Hotel and then a trip to the stationary and book stores before catching the MRT to the airport. Back at college now and only a week until final presentations. The students are motivated and ready to complete their projects, inspired by their experiences in Singapore!