Students work on the wall build portion of Dr. Eun Young Kim’s Interior Systems Design class in Davenport Hall. Photo by Angela Foster.
Successfully creating interior design projects and equipping future professionals to improve the quality of life within the built environment are both learning outcomes for a new class that was offered this semester at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
For anyone with an inclination toward interior style, the new Interior Systems Design course, which focused on design criteria and illumination principles, was a great fit. So said Dr. Eun Young Kim, an assistant professor at UTC who specializes in interior design and architecture.
The Interior Systems Design class incorporated collaborative learning by offering students an opportunity to bounce ideas off each other and grow creatively. The class covered wall treatments, window treatments, lighting selections, heating and cooling basics, floor coverings, fabric selections and furniture selections.
Studying illumination principles, design criteria and systems, students applied their knowledge to real-world architectural interiors.
Students in the class worked with all types of walls but specifically focused on load-bearing walls. Using immersive building activities, the class provided a realistic idea of what it’s like to be a real-life architect or interior designer, building their own load-bearing wall in Davenport Hall.
Dr. Eun Young Kim
“I decided this year to teach them to learn by experience. I plan to get 2×4 lumber for the project, and though we can’t build a full room, we can build these two walls,” said Kim, who earned her Ph.D. in Interior Architecture and Built Environment from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, in 2014.
Kim shared her creative learning idea with the Walker Center for Teaching and Learning, where the hands-on learning experience was given the go-ahead.
The Interior Systems Design class encouraged students to apply artistic techniques and principles to professional furnishings and designs.
The Interior Systems Design (2220) class is a 2000 level class, which requires prerequisites including Design Fundamentals 1000; Volume, Space and Form 1050; Architectural Drafting 1100; Color Systems 1150; Space Planning 2000; Idea and Visualization 2050; Kitchen and Bath Planning 2100; Computer Application in Design 2150 and Interior Materials 2200.
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The UTC Interior Design program offers two undergraduate scholarships and one graduate scholarship.
The Bethany Clariday Scholarship awards annual scholarships to help sophomore-level students achieve their academic goals. This scholarship is awarded to the student with the highest Interior Design department entrance exam score.
The James Avery Scholarship is available to undergraduate Interior Design students in good academic standing and demonstrating successful academic performance.
The Riverstreet LLC Scholarship is awarded to a graduate student majoring in Interior Architecture and Design who has completed an undergraduate degree in Interior Design from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville or another top-rated Interior Design program in the Southeast.
According to Kim, “Using all the knowledge from being an interior architecture and design major encourages former students to find employment doing what they studied for and what they enjoy.”
