“Minimalism is not defined by what is not there, but by the rightness of what is, and the richness with which this is experienced.”
Life House, Llanbister, Mid Wales, 2011 – 2016, John Pawson
This course will be a structured online team endeavor. Over the course of the quarter we will rigorously investigate the history of interiors and furniture. The course work consists of the following components.
Discussion Forums
Discussions will occur weekly in response to lectures and readings via Blackboard Discussion Forums. In order for students to successfully participate in the discussion forums, the assigned readings need to be completed, and schedule films viewed.
Presentations
To collectively build resources beyond the course textbooks, every student will be assigned a research topic. Students will be responsible for researching that topic and presenting their findings in a 10-minute presentation. Each presentation must be uploaded to the corresponding Blackboard assignments folder by 11:59 PM Tuesday before the scheduled presentation.
Presentation: Guidelines
Presentation: Topics — AVAILABLE Week 2
Presentation: Assignments — AVAILABLE Week 2
Presentation: Rubric
Creative Research
Watercolour Studies: There are many ways of exploring history and compiling valuable research. This quarter, watercolor studies will be employed as a method to investigate the history furniture and interior architecture. An advantage of drawing from images in the context of history is that it causes students to spend more time looking and actually observing visual information about significant furniture and interiors. Towards that end, students will complete a weekly watercolour sketch that includes significant historical information and details. The watercolor sketches will complement the readings, and presentations of the course. For non-Interior Design students, 2 short research papers are an alternative for the Creative Research requirement.
Creative Research: Watercolour Guidelines
Creative Research: Reference Presentation
Creative Research: Examples - 2019
Creative Research: Rubric
Please see these Successful Examples of Watercolour Studies
Exams
There will be 2 exams: a Midterm and Final Examination. The content of these will be taken from the readings, lectures, videos and discussions. These will be completed on Blackboard.