Interior Design-Build

This was a Undergraduate Skill-Based Vocational Programme studio in the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology which I co-taught with several other colleagues, pitching in when needed. Unlike the shorter 5-week and 2-week studios taught to B.Des students, the Vocational Programme studios run for the full 16-week span of the semester, with several overlapping modules and units that run simultaneously.

In Year 1 of the Undergraduate Skill-Based Vocational Programme, students gain a comprehensive understanding of the fundamental concepts of spatial design, layout planning, and material usage, cultivate precise observational skills to record and represent design elements accurately, learn technical conventions, industry-standard design software, and the basics of interior services and practise essential space-making techniques, the design process, and the selection of appropriate interior materials.

Part of this training is regular visits to the Srishti workshop, in which students learn and practise techniques and concepts from a master craftsman, designer or artist. The image above is from one of the students’ first visits to the Srishti wood workshop, where the students were personally mentored by master carpenter Selvan. The students were shown examples of wooden joinery for furniture and provided with timber to practise clamping, marking, and sawing. They also learned the Kannada words for ‘saw’ (garagasa), ‘hammer’ (suttige) and ‘mallet’ (koDati), which would help them work efficiently with master carpenters onsite.