Interior Design BA (Hons)

This unit forms part of a shared first-year curriculum for Architecture and Interior Design students, establishing a broad and integrated foundation in spatial and design thinking. It aims to introduce you to the fundamentals of architectural and spatial practice as you begin your studies, supporting the development of core skills and ways of thinking common to both disciplines. Through a series of carefully structured projects and exercises, you will explore key concepts such as scale, material, site, and context, and how these influence and inform the design of the built environment.

You will learn to observe, understand, and make architecture using a variety of media—including drawing, writing, and model-making—while engaging with cultural, sustainable, and ethical ideas that shape contemporary design. This process will help you to develop a critical and creative approach to spatial design, as well as confidence in your ability to represent and communicate ideas effectively.

40 credits

This unit continues your exploration of creative spatial design, emphasising the interrelationship between body, surface, and space. Through a series of carefully structured design projects, you will engage in spatial experimentation using both drawing and making as investigative tools. You will examine how space and place are formed and experienced, supported by the integration of technical and environmental design strategies. Emphasis will be placed on sustainable and responsible approaches to making—considering climate, comfort, light, material use, and carbon impact.

The unit also supports the development of key professional competencies, including planning and organisation, visual, written, and spoken communication, and effective teamwork. These skills will be developed within the shared context of Architecture and Interior Design, encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration and a broader understanding of spatial practice.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This unit will enable you to expand your specialist knowledge and skills and help you to identify areas for personal development. You will engage in industry-based briefs, developing and applying experimental approaches to factual and fictional ideas and stories. Technical workshops and seminars will develop your digital and analogue skills alongside sessions focused on illustrative thinking, materials, processes and development. You will develop an understanding of visual communication that will sharpen your research and evaluation skills, informed by design principles and cultural ideas. This unit will also explore contemporary issues such as sustainability and ethical practice in illustration and how visual language can raise awareness.

80 credits

This unit focuses on helping you understand your practice in a wider context through interdisciplinary working. You will be introduced to different ways collaborative working can help you focus and enhance your creative strengths. You’ll explore the principles of co-design and, as a group, conceive, develop and produce a response to a given brief. You will build your skillset using research and information from specialised design literature to inform and define an investigation and develop creative design solutions. You’ll also learn about the career opportunities within the design sector, which will help you identify your final year specialism and future career pathway.

40 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

An important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.

This is the first and shorter of the two units that make up your final year of study. You’ll continue to explore materials and technologies for the construction and operation of building interiors with a particular focus on sustainability, environmental and performance issues. You’ll be expected to respond holistically to spatial design and its conceptual framework, generating complex responses to contemporary design problems. The detailed communication of your ideas will be developed through critical debate and analysis. You will address a question related to your area of interest and professional development through a research project. Your research will identify and discuss contemporary or emerging issues around wellbeing, social challenges, human needs and sustainability within interior design.

40 credits

This unit will allow you to deliver a final major design project, embracing the entire interior design process and demonstrating your approach to and engagement with contemporary interior design issues. You’ll develop your briefs and strategies and respond creatively through an integrated design proposal. Throughout this year, you will consolidate your knowledge and understanding and develop an independent creative voice to prepare you for entry into professional practice or engagement in further research. You’ll display your work as part of our degree show – GradFest – giving you the opportunity to showcase your work to our network of industry professionals and prospective employers.

80 credits

The first week of each academic year is called Wayfinding week. It’s an opportunity get your bearings, establish new connections and, after your first year at Norwich, re-establish old ones. Your course team will talk you through the year ahead and explain the expectations for the year. We’ll help you navigate new encounters and identify areas to focus on as you progress through your course.

n important element of Wayfinding Week is taking part in our annual ‘Make it Manifest(o)’ project. Your course team will introduce the project in which we’ll ask you to consider your hopes and vision of the year ahead at Norwich and work with students in other year groups to bring your ideas to life. The project culminates in a celebratory display of work across the campus. The project will help you to develop your critical creativity through different approaches, concepts, and mediums. You’ll encounter diverse perspectives and build friendships and networks within our university community.

Interchange weeks are opportunities to step away from your disciplinary studies and engage in projects, workshops, visits and talks that extend your knowledge and understanding of the world. Whether you learn a new skill or take part in a global challenge project with students from other courses, you will come away with new insights to take back to your course. Interchange is part of the schedule for all Norwich students with sessions held across and beyond the campus led by university staff, visiting lecturers and students.