Furniture and Spatial Design

In Furniture and Spatial Design, we work broadly with the development of furniture and fittings as well as interior design and planning of spaces for homes, institutions, workplaces, urban spaces, and exhibition and presentation design. From furniture and interior design as a cultural phenomenon to spatial design as a setting for lifestyle and the communication of identity, from the overall concept to the concrete development of form.

You learn to work with the many applications of the area, developing a clear professional, theoretic and artistic foundation as well as thorough knowledge of the processes, methods and expressions associated with the design of furniture and space.

Through your studies you develop methods that enable you to work in an independent, creative and experimental manner. Furniture and Space Design consists of the topics aesthetics, culture and history, process, form and material, function, and visualization. The aesthetic aspect is a fundamental element in the mode of expression of this discipline. Culture and history components give you a larger perspective and strengthen your ability to analyze, examine and research. The design process involves the artistic and intuitive aspects of the design process as well as functional and technical aspects and strategic design, ethical considerations and relevance for society. The programme gives you in-depth knowledge of the role of materials and technologies as links between functional properties and aesthetic possibilities.

Furniture and Space Design springs from the main areas of furniture design, with wood as the main material, and interior design, but today the topics have a wider scope. Important developments have taken place with regard to new materials, analogue and digital tools and production conditions, and new lifestyles, working conditions and forms of communication also make new demands on the design of furniture and space.

About the programme - Furniture and Spatial Design

After the first year of the basic programme you have considerable freedom to select and combine modules to achieve a high degree of specialization or design your own unique professional profile. The programme revolves mainly around project work, theory and method courses and general as well as more specific tool courses. Most students take part in work placement and exchange programmes as well as competitions, exhibitions and collaborations with companies.

The programme typically focuses on either furniture design or space design. However, through your studies you will gain a wide range of technical, form and strategic competences that together form the furniture and space designer’s general knowledge and command of methods and processes.

Based on research and analyses of cultural phenomena, sustainable issues, strategic design and architectural aspects you learn to see needs, solve problems and engage in dialogue with users and specialists as well as interdisciplinary teams involving other specialties. The development of new furniture, spaces and interiors is based on societal, ethical and new technological issues that point to future possibilities within the field. You also learn to cooperate and to convey your visions, ideas and problem solutions.

Through your studies you learn to act independently on a high artistic and technical level and eventually become able to contribute aesthetic and responsible solutions in a highly diverse world.