Interior architecture refines architecture and guides it through time. Beyond being merely a lifestyle choice or a matter of products, the discipline of interior architecture advocates an attitude towards quality. Interior architecture operates at a high resolution because of its proximity to the user. The experience of an interior begins with this immediate relationship between space and user. It is therefore not merely a matter of materials, but is also connected to rituals, the passage of time, and other immaterial qualities.
Rather than merely embellishing interiors, our Interior Architecture Programme at KU Leuven (Campus Ghent and Brussels) aims to critically enhance and innovate the spatial qualities of the interior and the ways in which it is experienced. Within this framework, Interior Architecture at KU Leuven conducts design research at both Bachelor’s and Master’s level. One example is our research into the theme of ornament, exploring its meaning and applications within the discipline of interior architecture and in society at large.
Whereas the Bachelor’s Programme focuses on developing building expertise and exploring one’s identity as a designer, the Master’s Programme offers a deeper theoretical development of this expertise. Students are expected to pursue an autonomous trajectory within a collective context: one that is internationally oriented and enriched by the expertise of teachers, mentors, and fellow students.
The International Interior Architecture Programme is anchored within the Bachelor’s Programme, while maintaining vital connections with the Master’s Programme.
Four conceptual lines structure the International Programme: design, theory building, experience, and the development of one’s own trajectory.
1 – Design Education : lab(o) & studio
Design education unfolds across two challenging learning environments: Lab(o) and the Studio.
Within the Lab(o) environment, Positioning, students are challenged to position their own work within a broader design field. They are encouraged to critically reflect on their individual position as designers and to situate their practice in relation to contemporary architectural and interior-architectural discourse.
Within the Studio environment, Implement Studio, students are asked to creatively respond to a set of technical requirements while repurposing an interior within an existing building. The studio combines conceptual thinking with technical and spatial implementation, challenging students to translate ideas into concrete architectural interventions.
2 – Theory Building
A second, more theoretical line is developed through the Architecture Theory & Criticism course. This course guides students in learning from and critically reflecting upon innovative architectural and interior-architectural perspectives.
Through a series of seminars, the course creates a shared learning environment in which Architecture and Interior Architecture students engage with theoretical discourse together. This exchange encourages students to develop a critical vocabulary and to connect theoretical perspectives with their own design practice.
3 – Experience: Interiors, This is Belgium
The third line, the Interiors, This is Belgium course, invites students to engage directly with historical and contemporary Belgian interiors through visits to a range of sites across Belgium.
Students are encouraged to identify the core values of these interiors, learn from the different actors involved—including designers, owners, and users—and critically reflect on and reinterpret the spaces they encounter. These observations are connected to ongoing design research, allowing students to translate their experiences into new architectural and interior-architectural propositions.
4 – Developing One’s Own Trajectory
The fourth line allows students to identify and develop their own design preferences and interests through an elective.
Within the International Programme, the special elective Transformative Spaces: Education in Europe establishes a continuous connection between the International Programme and the Master’s Programme. Focusing on educational spaces as a thematic field, the elective brings Master’s and exchange students together in a shared research and design environment.
Through these four conceptual lines—design, theory building, experience, and individual trajectory—the International Interior Architecture Programme provides students with a framework in which they can develop their design expertise, broaden their theoretical understanding, engage directly with architectural contexts, and critically position their own emerging practice.
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