Besides the knowledge of exemplary case studies within the design history from WWII to the present, the course aims at encouraging a critical approach towards the world of contemporary interiors, one that can interpret in an organic way the conception, the design and the use of the space. 

Students:
- know and understand the role of avantgarde tendencies when criticising functionalism and prefiguring the contemporary city;
- develop a critical sense, learning to read the nature of the contemporary space;
- can understand the changes that have occurred in this sphere and the reasons that produced them.

The profound effects – both permanent and temporary – that the recent pandemic has aroused on the conception of private and public spaces remark the complex nature of the “interior” in the contemporary and globalized society, as well as the multiple poles between which their design and their use take place. The interior – interpreted in the broadest sense, as shown by the design culture of the XX century – is historically shaped by mixed factors, which merge into a defined form of architecture and design that is a finite synthesis but also one open to an endless semantic update.

Starting from the issues raised by the current healthcare emergency, which also affect the mode and spaces of the academic teaching, the course will analyze – through a historical and critical attitude – some of the topics and architectural typologies that have characterized the project of the interior, between modernity and postmodernity, focusing in particular on the second half of the XX century. Such an approach will highlight the relationship between spatial organization and epistemological structures, aesthetical canons, functional mechanism, cultural and political aspects, individual and common ground. Among the subject matters, which will be analyzed also through the lens of cinema, literature, art, photography and graphics, there is the research around collective living, the relationship between design and coercion, the myth of transparency, the dialogue between pedagogy and architecture, the workspace, the role of utopia in shaping reality and the consequences of pragmatism in managing dystopia.

Furthermore, in a sort of overturning of perspective, that is moving from the idea of interior as a glare of the society to the transformative potential poured into the world by a single project or designer, the course will also focus on some exemplary figures and design movements, whose work has influenced interior architecture and design of the second half of the last century.

The course demands a basic knowledge of the history of design and architecture of the XX century. 

The exam consists of two parts: exercises + written test.

Exercises:

The course involves a series of exercises to be developed in class, which will be linked to the content of the course. They will be all collected in one single file (.pdf) to be uploaded on https://beep.metid.polimi.it by the end of the semester.
Further details will be provided during each class.

Written test:

The written test will be held during the exam session. It will verify the student’s knowledge of the contents of the course (lectures + compulsory readings). Further details will be provided during the course.

Updates available at https://beep.metid.polimi.it