What is interior architecture

Today, interior architects are licensed to build and act as the bridge between architects and interior designers: While architects are concerned with buildings and how they interact with their environment, interior architects focus more on how the buildings interact with the people living and working inside of them. Unlike interior designers, however, interior architects work with interior structure and surface, coordinating all of the elements that make up an interior space from walls and windows to color, lighting,, furnishings and textures everything that makes up what they call a total space.

When thinking about the total space, interior architects have to consider the human experience, and the way people really operate at work, at home, at play, and in public life. They become experts in the safety, function and physiological aspects of spaces as well as psychological responses to color and texture and, depending on the project, individual aesthetic preferences.

The professional skills an interior architect needs influence the graduate program curriculum. In most graduate programs in Interior Architecture, students are invited to sample a cross-section of disciplines including architecture, fashion, fiber, theatrical design, lighting design and furniture design. Drafting and model-building are now often done on computers virtual space into computer literacy is a big part of the courses. The thin-skinned should beware: Constant critiques from fellow students and instructors are also a big part of the learning process.